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New Purchase Coolant Loss Help

3K views 10 replies 5 participants last post by  USPSABM 
#1 ·
I just picked up a 03 Disco 2 from dealer lot and have had some issues with coolant loss recently. I had it for a few weeks so far and wasn't able to get any services records on it at purchase. I has about 154k miles on it.

So initially there was a leaking hose which I fixed and then found out the bleeder was bad. So I replaced the 3 top hoses and bleeder. Then I noticed the cap was broke by the bottom o-ring and the bottom o-ring had actually fallen into the expansion tank which I fished out. I replaced the cap and everything seemed good and dry afterwards. But now I'm getting fluid loss out of the overflow and the cap. Those seem to be the only places from what I can tell. I have my doubts about the cap, it's new but it was cheaper then most. It's a 140 cap but is all black and looks a bit generic. It's weird because fluid in the expansion tank will be half empty but will still drip out of the overflow tube.

The temperature gauge stays dead center and the a/c runs solid. It doesn't go into the red. I did replace the thermostat to be safe and it looked pretty old. I also replaced the expansion tank because it looked like it was kind of rough and melted inside by the o-rings. I pressure tested the system cold and it held 16 psi for an hour with no movement so it looks like head gaskets should be good. I felt the radiator when it was hot with my hand. It was hot all over. By the top hose I could barely hold my hand and down by the bottom hose I could hold my hand their for a few seconds. The middle I could touch and hold unless I got close to the top hose. So not sure how hot that should be.

Before I get into any big part purchases or deeper into the engine I wanted to see if anyone had an thoughts or ideas on what it could be. Like I said it only seems to be leaking from the overflow and/or cap. I've never actually seen it come out of the cap, but I see coolant on top of the expansion tank after I stop and fluid drip out of the overflow.



Thanks for any help.
 
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#2 ·
Do not trust the water temp gauge. It is not progressive; it does not click up slowly as the water temp increases. Instead it stays on normal until it gets too hot (in my view) and then it clicks up to hot. Which is probably too late. According to my paper manual (1999 DII) the book says the hot light (high engine coolant temperature warning lamp) will come on when the temp reaches 121C which is an astounding 250F; it goes back off when it goes down to 118C(244F). The thermostat is fully closed at 82C(179F) where it then begins slowly to open. It is fully open at 96C(204F).

That sounds way too high at 250F to drive without damaging the engine waiting for it to drop to 244F - at least to me.

So get something else to monitor your temp.
 
#3 ·
A radiator pressure test most likely will not reveal a leak between a cylinder and a water jacket unless the leak is quite severe. Combustion pressure is over 1000PSI.

Your vehicle is pushing coolant out either by the expansion due to coolant boiling or by combustion pressure entering the cooling system. You can confirm the latter with an inexpensive test kit that detects hydrocarbons in the coolant.

154K with neglected cooling system components= likely head gasket.
 
#4 ·
So I did the coolant combustion test. How yellow should yellow be?

The color definitely changed kind of from green to a clearer yellow the longer I did it. I'm assuming the color shouldn't change at all. I made sure fluid didn't enter the test, but it tried it's hardest. Had the expansion tank pretty much empty and had to do just enough vacuum pressure to get a stream of bubbles and even then fluid would raise. I just tapped into a vacuum line on the vehicle because the kit didn't come with the hand sized squeezer.
 
#7 ·
Looks like bad Head Gasket.


I can do the work myself. I've did a few head jobs before on previous 01 disco I owned so it shouldn't be a problem and I got a local shop that can test the heads and rebuild anything if needed. While I have everything apart I plan to change water pump, lifters, the rest of the coolant hoses, wires, and grab the timing chain kit. Hopefully rocker shafts are good. The vehicle runs really good in fact I passed emissions test with it the other day so I'm thinking it should be mostly good.


Thanks for the info and help.
 
#6 ·
Color change :(

Sorry to hear.

Now you gotta decide what to do. I'm going to guess that you're not equipped/experienced enough to do the job yourself. The challenge then becomes finding someone who can do it right. I just did head gaskets on an '04 with 100k on it. They had just been done by an independent euro specialist shop less than 2 years ago. Apparently they missed something.

And at your mileage, you are looking at a whole bunch of ancillary items that will need to be addressed. I was fortunate that the previous owner was a maintenance fanatic and kept great records. I didn't need to spring for a radiator, water pump, timing cover/oil pump. But I still had to replace all the rest of the cooling system. And I had to replace the rockers and shafts. I also ended up having to replace all the steering lines. While I was working on it, I did the trans/TC/diff services, brake fluid flush, 3 Amigos fix and found that the muffler seam was about to pop.

3 days after completion, the A/C evaporator sprung a leak, necessitating the removal of the entire dash and console.

Paying a shop $100/hr would have sucked. Paying list for parts would have added insult to injury.
 
#8 ·
If you read through this thread, you should be well-prepared for the job-

http://www.landroversonly.com/forums/f40/head-head-gasket-refit-prep-125962/

I would plan on rockers and shafts. These engines don't have the most robust oiling systems to begin with and worn shafts will allow oil to just dump back to the pan rather than going to where it's needed. As I mentioned, mine never went over 5k without an oil change since new and the shafts were well-worn. IIRC, the parts were about $200

Prep and procedures are the key to doing this job. As I mentioned, mine was done just previously by a reputable shop. On disassembly, I found one head bolt broken and the other snapped with less than 20lbs force. These were on the rear left. My guess is improper prep or installation. I opted to ditch the TTY's go with studs on re-assembly.
 
#9 ·
Sorry to hear of your problem.
When you get it all apart have a really close look at the gaskets or have them looked over by a reputable machine shop. Excessively clean cylinder bores are a sure sign of internal leak. Centre 4 cylinders are most common.
If you can't prove a gasket failure keep looking! Definitely have the heads checked and pressure tested.
I just bumped up my story on coolant loos and cylinder 4missfire.
Hope it helps
 
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