Thread: Where is this coolant leaking from?

Originally Posted by bronson

Mate just purchased a 2000 td5, had no coolant at all in it, and I noticed this, not sure if it was to hide a leak, but we put the OATS in and straight away noticed the head gasket and radiator.
Any coincidence do you think??

Cheers
Bronson

err, no.

jc

Thanks for all the replies guys. I live in central Queensland and it never gets below 15 here so I will probably just bypass it. I suppose the easiest way would be to join the two hoses with a piece of pipe.

I will stick with the OAT since that is what the manual says. And since it is made for alloy engines right? Does anyone know if I can reconnect these hoses without having to empty the coolant? I just filled her up and don't feel like spending more money on coolant that I already have.

I found a youtube video where this guy talks about how the throttle body heater is leaking coolant is a common fault:
[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vsVFmOwswXI]Land Rover Discovery II Cooling System - YouTube[/ame]

So I could just purchase a kit and replace it (about $30): De-Icer Unit - Throttle Body - Genuine Land Rover at www.rimmerbros.co.uk

Don't buy the kit, it will just leak again in 12 months or so.

And FWIW I DO NOT agree with LR that you should be using OAT coolant.


JC

So what is wrong with OAT and what is good with the green stuff?

And would I be able to swap these hoses over without emptying the coolant?

Originally Posted by Trippy

So what is wrong with OAT and what is good with the green stuff?

And would I be able to swap these hoses over without emptying the coolant?

OAT Is just the anti corrosion package of a glycol coolant.

Advantages are very long life before the additives are depleted, low surface tension, no silicate drop out and better heat transfer than 'normal' glycol coolant, somewhere about halfway between straight water and normal glycol.

Disadvantages are that it capillaries far more easily than a silicate based glycol coolant, meaning that it'll find leaks like nobodies business, and if things are anything less than perfect inside the cooling system it won't protect properly.

HOAT's are a more recent development and have the long life advantages and no dropout of an OAT with the more tolerant protection of the older style coolants.

Listen to JC, he has more hands on experience than the rest of us combined.

I am just about to do this bypass now by just removing the shorter hose and connecting the longer hose from the expansion tank directly to the engine. One question before I unbolt the a/c compressor though: Do I have to remove the auxiliary drive belt?

You don't have to remove the belt. From memory, I think I had to to loosen a bracket or something, but that was all.
One of the handiest tool I bought for this car, was a pair of extra long pointy nosed pliers. They can get in all sorts of tight spots to undo hose clamps etc.