Headgasket??

[setsuna]

well the wifes freelander is loosing coolant.

its a 2litre Diesel, circa 2000. L series, not the TD4.

its pushing it out of the top of the filler/tank.
seems to only do it coming up our really steep hill (~3kms of steep incline, almost foot to the floor stuff)

I assume this would be caused from leaking headgaset, but is there another possible cause?? I don't want to pull the whole thing down and not have fixed the problem!!

cheers

David

[Scouse]

Overheating under load is usually a cooling system efficiency issue.

Start with the basics:
When was the last time the coolant was replaced & the radiator flushed out?
Are the fans operating OK?
Are you lugging it in gear up the hill?

[setsuna]

Coolant replaced yesterday with 50% antifreeze.
has a brand new radiator, fitted around 12months ago.

fans do operate. tested on idle.
speed limit up the hill is 80km/hr so plenty of airflow, and decent revs too (~2k I guess)

David

[setsuna]

oh yes, and the dash temp gauge dosn't move past the usual halfway.

[woko]

Sounds like a cooling system fault. If it was head gasket it would do it all the time.

[101RRS]

Do you have air in the system - have you bled it recently?

Garry

[Blknight.aus]

check the cap, thermostat and the coolant pump...

if the flow rates a little low the thermostats not giving its A game and the caps gotten a bit weak that'll give you the same symptom set.

[camel_landy]

Yep, I'd go with what the others have said & check all the basics first.

That engine is bomb-proof and come to think of it, I've never actually heard of a head gasket going in one yet!!??!!

M

[setsuna]

Bled the cooling system as per manual.
quite an easy to do, undo the bleed screw, bleed, do it up, check hot air from incabin.

The Radiator tank, and filler cap are basically brand new. (replaced ~6months ago)

will look into thermostat and water pump!
thanks guys!

[setsuna]

oh something I did notice that was weird.
I ran some chemiweld through it *cough*
disconnected the fans, and let it idle.

after some time the coolant (water) suddenly starting 'surging' bubbling up in the tank.
I assumed it was just starting to get to the boiling point -- but again the temp gauge on dash read normal??

[Blknight.aus]

well the chemiweld's just going to get in the way of working out what the problem was. and It'll come back with a vengance probabley within say 20K Km.

repeat the test if you get the bubbles again put the cap back on and squeeze the cooling system hoses. if they are rock hard the head gasket is going.

[woko]

Get the cap checked. V6 freelanders will boil with no cap on them. this is because when you put water under pressure the boiling point is raised.
This may be the case with the L series as the thermostat is fully opened at 96"c and fans start at 106"c also fans go to full speed at 112"c

Fill the Tank right to the top and run it. if you see bubbles constantly coming through the coolant it could be a blown head gasket.

I'm with camellandy Cant say I've seen a blown head gasket on a L series if it was a K1.8 or KV6 yes, even seen a few TD4s.

[101RRS]

In your first post you said the coolant is bubbling out the top of the overflow bottle - is this with the lid on or off. My L series bubbles away quite happily but never out the top but has no issues. Also the L series will actually cool the engine quite well even without it being pressurised - accidentally left the cap off for a couple of weeks - never heated - didn't loose coolant. The other thing is the top of the overflow bottles craz and crack - doesn't seem to affect the system at all - new bottles will craz within a few weeks and as a result I have given up replacing mine.

If yours is bubbling out the filler then it can only be one of three things.

Air entering the system (check all connections etc), the system being pressurised (I agree that it is unlikely that the head gasket has gone - always a first though) (is the thermostat sticking allowing coolant next to the cylinders to get hot - when it opens steam exits the bottle - I do not think so), lastly is there a blockage in the coolant return pipe from the overflow bottle.

I agree with the others that it is unlikely that the headgasket is blown and the issue is most likely an overall cooling system issue - get it cleaned out and maybe a new thermostat.

If there is a leak or blown headgasket the chemiweld is most likely going ot hide that for a little while - I have a leaky heater matrix that I am too lazy to fix and chemiweld works well in fixing it for about a year and it will plug small head gasket issues for a little while.

Is the problem still there after you have used chemiweld?

Oh the obvious just occurred to me - have you replaced the overflow bottle cap - is it simply not holding pressure - doesn't seem to matter on mine though but may on yours.

Garry

[kahuna]

Yeah, the cap is the first thing to check. Check is easy as follows. Squeeze the rubber hose (any hose) and notice no pressure in the system (easy to squeeze).
Start from cold, idle for 5-10 mins, squeeze that rubber hose again and notice the pressure build up (much harder to squeeze). If not the case - replace cap. New cap is not a warranty that it is a good cap.