Radiator fluid leaking from top screw mount for fan cover.

[DavidB]

Hi All,

I have noticed a drop in the coolant level in the expansion tank. When investigating I noticed coolant at the bottom of the radiator. Upon further inspection found the leak coming from the screw hole (see attached photo) where the fan cowling is secured to the radiator.

I'm hoping I can seal this hole with arildite or a radiator sealant, redrill and
re-screw.

Is this feasable and will it be affective ?. Or will this necessitate a trip to a radiator specialist ?.

Thanks in advance.

Dave.

[Ean Austral]

Hi Dave,It looks similar to a problem I had on the side of the road at the NT/SA boarder.I broke the plastic tail that goes from the top of the radiator to the coolant tank.Whe I removed the cover to investigate I had coolant leaking from the screw hole(I think this is the same as your leak).I used loctite 515 and have driven about 3000ks and havent had it leak since.Wouldn't want to drive the simpson with it but seems ok around town.Hope this helps,
Cheers Ean.

[DavidB]

Thanks Ean,

Will give it a go.

Dave.

[porgey]

Dave My D2 radiator was leaking in the same place I cleaned out and tapped the hole with a Quarter UNC thread ( only tap I had near that size hole) and then Araldited the correct stud into it and used a nut and washer to secure the cover hasnt leaked in 12 months Cheers George

[fatman]

I screamed the F-word again,for multiple time during the last 10 years of land rover ownership:mad::mad:
I was checking things out under the hood when i saw coolant stains at the top right radiator corner,i thought radiator gone bang,time for a new one but wait a minute,maybe it's the small crap-plastic hose that goes to coolant tank?NO:(
Is it my imagination? NO:(
Maybe i must undo the retaing bolt to get the fan shroud out of the way..
And WHAT THE ****,coolant is pouring from right there,it can't be happening,i whiped it clean,went for a ride,coolant again rising from there,when the bolt is on it gets worse,time to get the 2-compound glue out of the toolbox..
https://www.aulro.com/afvb/images/imported/2011/10/1145.jpg

https://www.aulro.com/afvb/images/imported/2011/10/1146.jpg

Cheers.

[Ean Austral]

Think you may be surprised how many have had the same leak..Had the same with mine..

Covered the screw in thread lock sealant and it held, but its a poor design me thinks.


Cheers Ean

[alien]

Just fitted a new radiator to mine.
Might reduce the length of the screw before I fitt it now.
Thanks for the heads up troups:)

[Barney2803]

Hey Fatman,

I see in your picture that you have flexible hose going from the top of the radiator to the reservoir, but mine has (had) rigid piping. Is the flexible hose your addition because the OME broke? Mine snapped clean off the other day when I was changing the air filter and I have ordered a new one because I was too scared to use a flexible one long term unless i knew it would hold up to pressure or heat. Did you do that flexible yourself? If so, does it contain the pressure/heat ok?

I havent seen coolant stains like yours but I will be looking tonight when I check my coolant level as I'm still making sure its topped right up after losing it all when my top pipe broke..

[alpick]

Hey Fats

What model/MY is your beasty?

[clubagreenie]

Would you believe my old man "did me a favour" and when we were reassembling mine post engine swap ditched the "fancypants" screws and fitted longer ones and poked straight through the rad top. Turns out there is only about 2mm of material under the bottom of the hole. I plugged the whole thing with that kneadable putty stuff and while it was setting cut the original screws in half. Markes the drill for depth allowing for the stuff on top as well and redrilled and carefully screwed them back in. Just in and out a bit at a time. Didn't even have to remove the rad, just make sure it's dry.

[CJT]

Pretty common, mine has had it too.

Something to do with the screws being over tightened and cracking the tank.

[Yorkie]

same here, new rad and then leaks from here, rubbish design but the mechanic fixed by putting some "stuff"in the hole and no leaks since.

[Tombie]

No biggie...

Plenty of engines have "wet studs"

Just put some sealant on it and your done.

[fatman]

Wow,8 answers already :) thanks for the response guys,no one in the land rover community is left alone after all:cool:

Barney2803
The hose and the connection are (still) OME but i'll replace it with a rubber hose ASAP.

alpick
The disco is 2002 MY,vin 2A built late 2001,euro 3(did have cat and water cooled EGR,didn't have CDL internals)
Cheers.

[Bilbo]

I had the same problem and drafted the following letter to Land Rover. I never sent it.

Dear 4x4 Wannabees

I have just become the proud owner of a 2002 Land Rover Discovery and have found a small leak from the radiator; where fan shroud is attached to the radiator by having a screw through the shroud and into the radiator end tank. No, you have not misread my first statement and no, that arrangement is not an amateur repair job – it is the way some moron at Land Rover designed it.

When I discovered that the self tapping screw in the end of my radiator is a factory fitment, I could not believe it. I was astounded, I was gobsmacked, I said to myself; “they’ve got to be ****ting me”.

In case you have not grasped the idea that driving a rustable metal screw into a plastic part, containing high pressure hot water, is just asking for a leak; let me put it this way: you don’t attach the fuel tank by banging nails through it and into the bottom of the car, do you?

How in the name of all that is holy, do you expect to retain any credibility as the manufacturer of the best 4 x 4 by far, if you resort to such penny pinching stupidity?

I am writing this letter equally to vent my incredulous frustration and to help you design a better motor car. This is my third Land Rover and I still love it; I just wish I was not deeply embarrassed whenever its reliability and engineering are compared to its Japanese competitors.

May I suggest that you line up your design and quality assurance engineers, hang them up by their thumbs and shoot them. Then you should hire an 80 year old farmer and a 12 year old school boy to test your next machine; they will have a better blend of new ideas and common sense than the half-baked nincompoops who designed my last 3 Land Rovers.

Unless you want to write and apologise and offer me a replacement real, proper, metal, radiator, don’t bother. I do not want to hear how many of your satisfied customers have not complained. The evidence of poor design and shoddy parts, is in your competitors soaring sales.

Yours really sincerely

[Pinelli]

So, Bilbo, to sum up, their designs are so poor you've bought three of them?
:p

They may not be so worried about losing customers if they're all like you
:angel:

[wardy1]

I would have sent it, less the details about it being your third Landy

[Kandy]

Thanks for the post, something to keep in mind- I replaced that OME return hose as it had lost all flexibilty with another OME as it was less than $30 (its quite soft and flexilble) and kept the old one as a spare.
Steve

[RoamWild]

Bilbo, I certainly wished you had sent that letter to Solihull. Those were my exact sentiments after discovering two threaded metal screws penetrating my plastic radiator tanks....courtesy of an LR engineer. The left one started leaking this am and I think I may have resolved the problem by forcing "JB Weld" into the screw hole.
Very, very poor design work indeed...not the least bit thought out. Upon discovering the childish work, I first laughed...then I started swearing......

[lewy]

havn't been game to put the screws into my new rad,looking for some suitable size plastic scrivet clips all the ones i can find are 6mm needs something a little smaller 5mm ish to fit the hole.

[davrac]

havn't been game to put the screws into my new rad,looking for some suitable size plastic scrivet clips all the ones i can find are 6mm needs something a little smaller 5mm ish to fit the hole.


Any panel shop or panel shop paint supplies dealer will have a large assortment of plastic type trim clips. You will find what you want there.:)

[luke68]

Any D2 owners wishing you could fit a D1 radiator instead. All metal and shroud attached by clips.:D

[clubagreenie]

Just have an all alloy radiator made with suitable fixings welded to it.

[It'sNotWorthComplaining!]

I screamed the F-word again,for multiple time during the last 10 years of land rover ownership:mad::mad:
I was checking things out under the hood when i saw coolant stains at the top right radiator corner,i thought radiator gone bang,time for a new one but wait a minute,maybe it's the small crap-plastic hose that goes to coolant tank?NO:(
Is it my imagination? NO:(
Maybe i must undo the retaing bolt to get the fan shroud out of the way..
And WHAT THE ****,coolant is pouring from right there,it can't be happening,i whiped it clean,went for a ride,coolant again rising from there,when the bolt is on it gets worse,time to get the 2-compound glue out of the toolbox..
https://www.aulro.com/afvb/images/imported/2011/10/1145.jpg

https://www.aulro.com/afvb/images/imported/2011/10/1146.jpg

Cheers.

Another flimsy piece of garbage is the thin section in pic below.
The screw into the top of the radiator tank can be completely eliminated by filling it with 2 part kneadable filler. The only purpose it serves is to retain the bracket that supports the header tank hose and the top hose fan shroud retain clips.
This could be sikaflexed on after the hole is filled if yours has broken the flimsy plastic
http://img585.imageshack.us/img585/8834/imuu5c.jpg

[Marmoset]

I've just had to deal with this on my D2a today, after checking that the screw may/may not be the source of a leak, I put it back on (convinced that it wasn't the leak) only to see the car park awash with coolant when I returned to my disco later today :mad: A bit of metal filler/putty seems to have done the trick but I'm still not convinced that it was the only leak in the rad........the OAT stains are around the bottom corner but this may be the spillage from the top screw. here else do the radiators normally fail?

[Tombie]

I've just had to deal with this on my D2a today, after checking that the screw may/may not be the source of a leak, I put it back on (convinced that it wasn't the leak) only to see the car park awash with coolant when I returned to my disco later today :mad: A bit of metal filler/putty seems to have done the trick but I'm still not convinced that it was the only leak in the rad........the OAT stains are around the bottom corner but this may be the spillage from the top screw. here else do the radiators normally fail?

Older units also tend to crack / corrode down the lower corners...

If the unit is 7+ years old then its highly likely!

[Marmoset]

Thanks Tombie, just checked it again and it seems to be coming out of the lower corners, and getting worse by the second! (how do leaks accelerate so quickly once established?)

I've got a fuel cooler repair kit on it's way, a new rad needs to go in ASAP. What are the chances of the kit turning up the day after I've put the rad in :rolleyes:

[Tombie]

Thanks Tombie, just checked it again and it seems to be coming out of the lower corners, and getting worse by the second! (how do leaks accelerate so quickly once established?)

I've got a fuel cooler repair kit on it's way, a new rad needs to go in ASAP. What are the chances of the kit turning up the day after I've put the rad in :rolleyes:

You ordered a fuel cooler repair kit? :eek:

Go to Welshpool - Transeals... And buy 2x BS221 Viton O'rings...
Thats your fuel cooler repair kit :)

[scarry]

Also what's the best sealent to use on the screws that go into the top tank?
Mine aren't leaking ATM,but they will one day!Sikaflex of some type?

[clubagreenie]

I drained it down so it could dry (and allowed it to do so), used some hot glued stuffed down into the hole with a stick (measured to length so it didn't go too far) and then filled with molten plastic, akin to welding it. Just melted it with a small blow torch and also a hot piece of heavy wire to keep it hot as I poked it into the hole. This was after trying that kneadable filler in plastic, steel etc.

[justinc]

You ordered a fuel cooler repair kit? :eek:

Go to Welshpool - Transeals... And buy 2x BS221 Viton O'rings...
Thats your fuel cooler repair kit :)

BS225 are the ones. just ordered 20 of them, for stock....:angel:

We do just a few of these. :(.

JC

[damo_s]

Good old Land Rovers. Even my jack is leaking oil!!

[Fluids]

LOL ... it wouldn't be a Land Rover jack if it didn't leak oil !

:wasntme:

[rockstar]

The jack in the D2a looks alot nicer than the jack in the D2...

And it has 99 improvements over the previous one...

But of course all the major flaws that cause complete and utter catastrophe are still there...

:p:p:p

[simonmelb]

Older units also tend to crack / corrode down the lower corners...

If the unit is 7+ years old then its highly likely!

My rad is original 2003 and now leaking in the lower LH corner - will replace it in a few days when we get to Perth.

Question: RAVE says you need to remove the Intercooler to replace the radiator - is this true or can it be done without removing the Intercooler??

Cheers

Simon

[Marmoset]

Simon, I just picked up new rad yesterday for $360 from Rovacraft, the cheapest I found over here. From all my reading it does look as though the intercooler and oil cooler have to come out. I'll be tackling the swap over the weekend, so I'll leg you know if there's a short cut.
Richard

[Marmoset]

Intercooler does need to come out, pretty easy but it enables the oil cooler to stay connected to its lines doing it that way - took about 2.5 hours including changing fuel cooler o rings, which was the most awkward part.

[lewy]

make sure if you pull out the auto oil cooler that the hose fittings are re fitted correctly or your shed floor will suffer,ask me how i know:eek:

[firthy]

Hi All, I have a Disco 2 V8 and it's leaking green blood. The top 2 screws on the radiator which hold the fan cover in place, the screw on the right, just above the pipe to the expansion tank was leaking fluid. I removed the screw and could see fluid coming out. Don't have a picture, but will post one tomorrow. I put the screw back in, but under the plastic cover so the screw head was directly onto the radiator so the hole was sealed, but this doesn't sound right to me. Its a hole for a screw and I don't think it should be possible for fluid to escape this way. the left side screw hole is fine. No fluid when i remove the screw.

Anyone else seen this?

if you look at the radiator you have the black ends of the radiator which run vertically from bottom to top. Can these ends be replaced if needed or maybe a whole new radiator is in order?

Thanks

[Tombie]

Known issue.

Put it back with some thread seal on it.


"Where the Desert meets the Sea"
'Did I mention some great 4WDriving is just 5 minutes from home?'

[DavidB]

Hi firthy,

Had the same problem on my Disco in 2009.

Check out post 4 of this thread. Problem fixed.

http://www.aulro.com/afvb/technical-chatter/73468-leaky-radiator.html#post918680

Dave

[Robgw]

I'd just get the car to a garage and have the system pressure checked to be sure. You dont want to loose coolant and let these V8's overheat. Rover put tin head gaskets on them and they are not forgiving.

Strange you have Green as most coolants on the market for Alloy V8's are red.

Don't leave it to chance, else you could end up with bigger bills. The Disco handbook recommends checking coolant weekly on these engines.

I had the issues from the throttle body and they also found one more minor leak on the pressure test, a hose that i would have missed! Only cost $150 at a specialist.

rob

[Alex 110]

The jack in the D2a looks alot nicer than the jack in the D2...

And it has 99 improvements over the previous one...

But of course all the major flaws that cause complete and utter catastrophe are still there...

:p:p:p

Douglas Adams once said "the sense of satisfaction you get from getting it to do anything at all blind you to its essential uselessness, or to put it another way, the superficial design flaws hide the fundamental design flaws." He was not talking about Landrovers and I am in no way knocking them. Just laughing at all the QA issues over the years. I'm on my 4th LR & I've loved them all.

[fourteen8]

Known issue.

Put it back with some thread seal on it.


"Where the Desert meets the Sea"
'Did I mention some great 4WDriving is just 5 minutes from home?'

I think I have the same problem when I noticed coolant drop in expansion tank.

Is thread seal the same as thread locker? Do i need to put a lot of it on the screw?

Whats causing this leak? Old radiator?

Thanks

[p38arover]

I'd just get the car to a garage and have the system pressure checked to be sure. You dont want to loose coolant and let these V8's overheat. Rover put tin head gaskets on them and they are not forgiving.

Strange you have Green as most coolants on the market for Alloy V8's are red.

I thought factory use of the "tin" gaskets ended years ago and Rover used the composite gaskets from the early 90s onward. Mine does.

Re coolant, many people dump the red OAT coolant and change to green ethyl glycol coolant.

[robbotd5]

The question I have is, " Does any one know of a manufacturer that makes an ALL ALLOY performance radiator that just bolts into the Disco TD5 with little or no mods?" Seems the best option even though it would be more expensive.
Regards
Robbo

[fourteen8]

I was thinking the same. Allisports have one for 300tdi. I just sent them a message whether they have one for d2 td5. I will let you know when the reply to me.

[fourteen8]

Yes they do have one for D2 Td5 for 495 pound plus delivery.

I am thinking to get it and the intercooler as well depending how much it will cost me in total.

[landyprincess]

Did you ever get this one sorted Firthy? Don't know if you managed to get the link up from Dave, it didn't work for me...

Cheers,
Lp




Hi All, I have a Disco 2 V8 and it's leaking green blood. The top 2 screws on the radiator which hold the fan cover in place, the screw on the right, just above the pipe to the expansion tank was leaking fluid. I removed the screw and could see fluid coming out. Don't have a picture, but will post one tomorrow. I put the screw back in, but under the plastic cover so the screw head was directly onto the radiator so the hole was sealed, but this doesn't sound right to me. Its a hole for a screw and I don't think it should be possible for fluid to escape this way. the left side screw hole is fine. No fluid when i remove the screw.

Anyone else seen this?

if you look at the radiator you have the black ends of the radiator which run vertically from bottom to top. Can these ends be replaced if needed or maybe a whole new radiator is in order?

Thanks

[berkaz]

I had the same issue. Over zealous tightening of the screw splits the plastic tank. Short term fix, silicone or thread tape. Long term, new radiator!

[biggin]

I just filled the hole with arldite, then carefully drilled and tapped to fit a slightly smaller screw. No problems so far.:)

[Gaudough]

I recently replaced my radiator and measured the screw length Vs the hole depth. The screw must be very close to or actually bottoming out in the hole so I added a couple of thick washers under the screws when refitting.

Regards Gordo