Losing antifreeze/coolant

[Airelander]

Hi,

I have an '02 FL and lately I've had to add antifreeze to the reservoir once or twice a week. It's not leaking out and it's not coming out of the exhaust. Sometimes there is a coolant smell in the car when I run the heater or defroster. Could anyone point out what this could be and what the solution would be? My mechanic is baffled and I don't want to take it to Land Rover for service...

I did do a thread search here but not sure it applies to my FL problem since I don't have any overheating or temperature problems.

Thanks for any advice and help,
Kat in KY

[Rovin4life]

look under the dash on the driver side at the fan motor sticker. if it is pink its the heater core, if not and you dont see any coolant underneather the engine cover in the valley then the coolant bottle is probably cracked and needs a new one.

[2xlbob]

Check the oil, if its overfilled then you just found the coolant. This just happened to me and the Rover mechanic told me its probably a piston sleeve that cracked loose which allows the coolant to mix with oil. I can only hope that you didn't piss away $7000 like I did.

[burgessg3]

I had the same problem with my 2004 Freelander SE. First time I took it in they replaced the head gasket. Two weeks later it was still loosing coolant. Took it in again and they replaced the engine. The cylinder liner sleeves had dropped out of position.

[1955diesel]

The usual cause of coolant loss on the V6 engine is a split thermostat housing. It is under the inlet manifold in the V.

[03SilverFL]

at 135000 miles, I had the heater core replaced. Later had engine coolant loss which led to engine replacement at 155,000 miles. Currently at 188,000 running well. "knocking on wood"

[tlafferty]

I also have an 02 Freelander. I had the theromostat replaced and every three weeks it is totally empty of coolant. There are no leaks and I am baffled as is the mechanic. Likewise I am trying to avoid taking it to the dealership. That is always a fortune. Anybody who can offer ideas would be greatly appreciated. Thanks, T

[1955diesel]

The inlet manifold gasket also seals some water ways. On the 4 cylinder engines, this is a regular cause of internal leaks into the inlet port that can only be traced by replacing the gasket. I'm not sure if the V6 can also suffer from this problem.

On the 4 cylinder engines, you can sometimes tell that you have this problem because the engine runs roughly at startup. There may also be tell tale signs on one of the spark plugs.