First long trip in the Freelander 1

[pgeorge]

Well there seems to be a considerable of expertise in this forum, so here goes... V6 Freelander 1, auto. Took her for first country run and have noticed a few issues that arent around in normal city driving.
1. Coolant tank was just above the full mark when left for the journey and after 630 kms it ws empty. No sign of leakages, no yoghurt in the oil filler cap, no overheating. Had the A/C on the whole way and it worked a treat. There was a mix of country driving as well as stop/start in the usual holiday congestion.
2. Car has a horrible vibration that is only prevelant between 85 and 95. Lower or higher than that its quiet. Checked tyre pressures (32), tyres have adequate tread.
I welcome your suggestions. Many Thanks.
:confused:

[SuperMono]

Regarding the loss of coolant, some will jump straight to the 'it's buggered, water into the cylinders.... blah blah', my experience is there are lesser causes more likely (assuming it otherwise runs well and has been serviced appropriately).

I had three different causes of coolant loss with my V6.
1: The expansion tank developed small cracks and vapour (but not liquid) escaped.
Easy fix, replace the expansion tank.
2: One of the small rigid plastic coolant lines failed, steam everywhere.
Easy fix, replace the broken bits.
3: Water pump intermittently leaked from the shaft seal.
This one was a bugger to confirm as it would go for weeks without loosing any fluid, then drop 2-3 litres in a few hundred kms. The fluid would leak into the valley of the engine and either evaporate or drip slowly via several components and under several covers to the ground.
I loaded up the system with the most vibrantly colored coolant, cleaned the engine until it glowed, then poked around with torches and dentists mirrors until I was convinced of the source.
Took it in to 'the man' who thought it was very unlikely to be the water pump, but agreed he would pull it apart as it was my money (I was having the timing belts done at the time).
Fix: replace the leaking water pump, no more fluid loss.

[camel_landy]

Laser LED pointers are supposed to be very good at helping track down small leaks... ;)

M