Thread: First long trip in the Freelander 1

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.