Thread: Coolant bubbling out of expansion tank D1 V8

Originally Posted by LRJim

Well i just got home from work on this 40° afternoon. Drove home about 40ks with A.C on, all freeway driving mostly 80kph. Got to my gate and jumped out to open it, noticed a bit of a smell figured it was just a dirty hot engine smell. Drove down the driveway which is about 500m, pulled up turned and the disco off. Walking to the front door I hear water start ****ing out and sure enough it was gushing out. Opened the hood and it was all bubbling out of the expansion tank which was pretty relieving to see really.
The temp gauge didnt move at all on my way home sat below half as it does when everything is normal , no excessive heat from the engine, no steam no nothing.
Coolant mixture was at least 50-50 it was the yellow stuff and filled up halfway to the join on the tank. When i filled it up i let it idle for a good 20 mins to get the air out of the system.
Viscous fan was recently replaced with another 2nd hand unit from a D2, i know it works ive heard it kick in several times.
Im pretty stumped on this as there is no evidence of overheating.
Any ideas would be appreciated
Cheers Jim

Diesel or petrol V8?
NEVER rely on the Landrover temp gauge because by the time it shows the engine is hot it is usually "Game Over", I have had temps at 115c and the gauge hasn't moved from half way.
When you fill the system with coolant you have to raise the expansion tank and "Bleed" the system, simply Idling the engine wont get all the air out of the system

I wish I knew James.

A few years ago my original black tank split on the way home. Thought I'd got to it in the nick of time but still have suspicions that a head gasket has gone kaput. I need to add Coolant every couple of weeks to the top up pointer & I cannot see any evidence of a leak or where it has gone . My theory at this stage is out of the tailpipe, but it is only a theory & there is no evidence of that.. No steam,droplets or other signs.

I guess one day it will need a pressure test to see whats what, & then apply for a second mortgage so I am holding off on that little exercise for now.

trout. Yep I do that each time on a slight incline, sometimes I see a bubble or two, others not.

Originally Posted by trout1105

Diesel or petrol V8?
NEVER rely on the Landrover temp gauge because by the time it shows the engine is hot it is usually "Game Over", I have had temps at 115c and the gauge hasn't moved from half way.

Petrol D1, yeah i know they are unreliable i just watch it like a hawk for ANY movement. I've had it move from below half once and i stopped and sure enough it was hot. I had no choice but to carry on and let it get up below the red but no further than that. Got to a safe spot on the hill to stop and it had no water left, turned out the fan had died. Dry Compression test showed 1 cyl a little lower than the rest which could have been there before.
It may have gotten warm today but nothing like it was then. Time for a new temp gauge maybe.....

Originally Posted by trout1105

When you fill the system with coolant you have to raise the expansion tank and "Bleed" the system, simply Idling the engine wont get all the air out of the system

And yes ive always had the tank the highest point to bleed the system. Same with other cars with a radiator normal cap, always had them on ramps. I bled an refilled the tank about 5 months ago and i havnt had to put a drop in it....until now 🤣🤣

If yours shows up here I'll let you know & vice versa if you would be so kind, Deal?

Btw, mine is green & yours is yellow which begs the question, are you sure you are not ****ing in the header tank before you get home from work?

Green & Yellow makes Blue so we'll know if it gets mixed up along the way.

Originally Posted by 4bee

If yours shows up here I'll let you know & vice versa if you would be so kind, Deal?

Btw, mine is green & yours is yellow which begs the question, are you sure you are not ****ing in the header tank before you get home from work?

Green & Yellow makes Blue so we'll know if it gets mixed up along the way.

im sure im not.
Funny enough it turns green when you mix it with water though... maybe time to find a blue coolant, red just sounds too hot 🤣🤣

If the engine block is cracked it'll do that. Combustion pressure leaks past the liner top and down the block which has slightly expanded in the heat and cracked through to the water jacket. Met a fair few cracked 3.9's back in the day, I'd guesstimate that 50% of those I met went out that way. One lad borrowed money from his long suffering mum to buy his mangy D1, a new engine wasn't in the budget. I modified the header tank with a brass nipple for the bleed hose into a corner just below the cap. Excess bubbles just vented via the cap instead of displacing coolant. Went well until the lad inevitably rolled it a year later.

Originally Posted by bee utey

If the engine block is cracked it'll do that. Combustion pressure leaks past the liner top and down the block which has slightly expanded in the heat and cracked through to the water jacket. Met a fair few cracked 3.9's back in the day, I'd guesstimate that 50% of those I met went out that way. One lad borrowed money from his long suffering mum to buy his mangy D1, a new engine wasn't in the budget. I modified the header tank with a brass nipple for the bleed hose into a corner just below the cap. Excess bubbles just vented via the cap instead of displacing coolant. Went well until the lad inevitably rolled it a year later.

Hopfully thats not the case, last compression test had 1 cyl a little lower than the rest but not too badly. It travelled fine to and from NSW with the a.c on the way, and that was 13h non stop in hot weather.
I found it weird that it only happened when i stopped and switched the engine off.
Ill fill it back up and see how it go's, gonna be cool again for a few days now. I have an old electric engine oil temp gauge, wonder if i could piggy back off a sensor and get it working for coolant.