Water in Dash Sound?

[jrhende2]

Anybody know what may cause this? When I drive and make turns/go up-down hills/there's a watery sound that appears to be coming from in the dash.

LR Disco 2 '01

Thanks!

[salty]

most likely the drain nipples for the AC condenser are blocked, this is pretty a pretty common problem. You'll have to look under neath by the center differential there are 1 or 2 rubber nipples there that allow the water to drain, if I recall they are slightly forward of the center diff. Just poking a small wire in there will usually free it up. Watch out you are likely to get a face full of water if you're right under it.

[slangel]

Originally Posted by salty

most likely the drain nipples for the AC condenser are blocked, this is pretty a pretty common problem. You'll have to look under neath by the center differential there are 1 or 2 rubber nipples there that allow the water to drain, if I recall they are slightly forward of the center diff. Just poking a small wire in there will usually free it up. Watch out you are likely to get a face full of water if you're right under it.

That or you could just see if you are low on coolant. Mine does this on occasion if I don't pay attention to my coolant level.

[Jsaenz]

I am having this problem as well. Could you let me know if cleaning the drains worked, and if so where did you find them, I can't locate them to save my life.

I also found this solution, but haven't had a chance to try doing it yet.


I've heard of this before. It has something to do with the heater hoses located in that area. Its quite possible that you have air in the lines. Have you had work done in that area?

Some owners have complained that swapping the hoses can cause this problem.

Most likely, air was allowed in and that's why you're hearing the coolant slosh around.

Make sure your coolant level is topped up. With the engine cold, fill the reservoir to the top. Start the engine with the reservoir cap off and let the engine warm up. At the same time, turn your heater to the highest heat level and max fan.

Run the engine with an idle speed of about 1500 to 2000 RPMS JUST for a minute or so. Doing this will cause the engine to draw in the needed coolant from the reservoir.

This should fix your water noise problem.

Best of luck,

JohnMc

[p76rangie]

Good luck in trying to find it.

Yes it can be caused from low coolant levels, etc.

A friend had the same problem, did everything to bleed system, etc, and it is still there. Tried the blocked drain plugs, etc, etc, etc.

Ended up asking my Landrover mechanic. He comes across the same issue in about 20% of Discos. Has never been able to find a solution. It is just something that is there in some vehicles. It just appears that air gets trapped in the heater core somehow and nothing appears to get it out.

[auwesman]

This issue has come up countless times on froums and 99.999% of times it's air, you just need to bleed your coolant system. VERY easy to fix. However if you don't fix it you can run the risk of overheating your engine and then you've got problems.
The question is, how did you get air in the system? You could have a leak that you need to get fixed.
Do a search for "Water Behind Dash" and you'll find some info.
Here is one
Sound of water/fluid circulating behind dashboard

[p76rangie]

Originally Posted by auwesman

This issue has come up countless times on froums and 99.999% of times it's air, you just need to bleed your coolant system. VERY easy to fix.

In an attempt to solve the problem with my friends car, I read just about every post on the internet about the noise. Yes, there were some obvious causes in some cases, for example, the coolant being low. But I have read just about every reason you could think of, including cracked heads, blown head gaskets, faulty water pumps, etc, etc.
I can guarantee you that with the friends car, the cooling system had been bleed properly. He even fitted extra blead points. The noise will not disappear.
In regard to my mechanic, he is one of the top landrover mechanics in Australia. When he claims that he has not been able to find a fix for many of the cases, it is not "VERY easy to fix" in these less obvious cases.

Outside bleeding the system properly, about the only solution I found interesting on the internet was to try reversing the flow through the heater. That is swap the hoses over where they affix to the pipes on the firewall.

A bit of air trapped in your heater core is not going to overheat or do any damage to your motor.

[auwesman]

P76 - Sorry, I wasn't commenting on your post, or questioning your solution (or mechanic). I was simply offering the simplest, most common solution first.
I figured he should bleed the system first, since that would be the easiest and most common thing. If that does not work then he can report back and move along from there.

As far as overheating, generally suddenly having trapped air is a good indication of a leak somewhere. So allowing that leak to grow or continue or go into a headgasket, etc....Just trying to emphasize a little urgency to get it checked out. Not trying to start a 'tiff with anyone.

[sirchadd]

Air lift kit.

I use an air lift to put the cooling system in a vacuum, run it for fifteen minutes then swap it to suction and fill the cooling system. The noise heard is air in the heater core. To verify I bet it sloshes when you rev the engine, and sloahes around corners.

Air lift kit will resolve.

Sir Chadd
Rover Tech.

[p76rangie]

Originally Posted by sirchadd

Air lift kit.

I use an air lift to put the cooling system in a vacuum, run it for fifteen minutes then swap it to suction and fill the cooling system. The noise heard is air in the heater core. To verify I bet it sloshes when you rev the engine, and sloahes around corners.

Air lift kit will resolve.

Sir Chadd
Rover Tech.

Can you explain a bit further. Isn't a vacuum caused from suction. What is an air lift?

[Jsaenz]

Sorry I took so long to update. I did the steps in my last post and it actually worked. The question is will it come back. Which it probably should because as other have mentioned how did air get in there to begin with??? Hopefully it is nothing, but probably a leak somewhere letting in air?

[tempestv8]

Originally Posted by sirchadd

Air lift kit.

I use an air lift to put the cooling system in a vacuum, run it for fifteen minutes then swap it to suction and fill the cooling system. The noise heard is air in the heater core. To verify I bet it sloshes when you rev the engine, and sloahes around corners.

Air lift kit will resolve.

Sir Chadd
Rover Tech.

I'm the person that p76rangie mentioned with a gurgling noise coming from my heater matrix every time I take off from standstill (e.g. traffic lights) and yes, it's definitely more apparent when turning right from a standstill start.

I've fitted extra bleed valves to the hoses which feed into the heater matrix through the firewall and bled the system several times, to no avail. The bleed screw on the top radiator hose also does not reveal any trapped air.

I looked at a diagram of the heater matrix and can now understand why air could possibly be trapped in the heater matrix and not ever get out.

This is how it looks like

-----------------
|.....................|
|.....................|
|.....................=== <- this is the inlet
|.....................|
|.....................|
|.....................|
|.....................=== <- this is the outlet
-----------------

Who designed this?


Since air rises, it will always remain trapped in the top part of the heater
matrix. No amount of flushing will get it out.

I'm now very interested in this vacuum device.

Do you have a brand name or product name for this device that perhaps I can
try to locate in Australia?

Cheers,

Lawrance Lee
'99 DII V8 burbling motor and gurgling heater