[TOG565]

Hi everyone. New to this site. Obviously a problem brought me here. First, the wife noticed a coolant burning smell. When we took it for an oil change, the mechanic said he saw coolant in the oil drip pan. He cleaned it up and advised us he thought it was a head gasket. There was/is no temperature issue, no white smoke, oil is clear, coolant smells fine, engine seems to drive as it should. What there is:
Burning smell
Fluid loss
No heat (heat was off and on but off now completely. A-F level is good)

Unfortunately, the wifes father "I can repair anything" put a "fiber" stop leak in it without asking. Apperently it was from Auto Zone and wont harm it.

This hasnt stopped the smell and we still have no heat....any ideas?

If it is a gasket, how many man hours is the repair?

We only have 88,000 on it and love it but fear we are nearing the end. Would love to get 3 more years out of it but, would rather get our daughter to school safe, sound, and WARM. Thank you all in advance for your input!!!

 

[SafariDave]

First time I hear of a head gasket issue on an LR3. You should have the cooling system tested. Maybe it's a air bubbles in system. I would never just put a stop leak in a LR without knowing if it will clog up the system. Go to an Indy LR mechanic and have it checked pronto.

 

[SafariDave]

Also the expansion tanks are known to leak and crack when old. I just had mine changed.

 

[cmb6s]

Coolant smell under the hood would have nothing to do with a blown head gasket, so I wouldn't group those two things together.

If you're smelling coolant under the hood, there are three main places to look. Expansion tank as stated earlier. Thermostat housing, which is known to form hairline cracks and "bubble" coolant out... should see a nice pink crust forming around the thermostat if that's the case. And the third problem area is the plastic bleed valve which (if I remember right) is directly underneath the plastic engine cover. This bleed valve/T-junction is known to crack and fail rather catastrophically (as it did for me) after many years of being subjected to high heat. Check those three areas and if you still don't see anything, just look for pink crust forming around any of the coolant hose junctions. Good luck.

 

[lr3newbie]

LR3 Leak problem

My LR3 had a hose leak under the engine cover. First if you are a bit mechanical go to your local Harbor Freight store and buy the radiator pressurization kit. there is a cap that fits the Land Rover expansion tank. Pressurize the system to 15 psi and check for leaks. The cost of the kit is 84 dollars. If its the plastic connector on the 3/8th hose replace it with a metal one, I got one at NAPA auto parts for about 3 dollars. The total repair for this was about 100 bucks. LR Dealer wanted 930 dollars to fix the leak without troubleshooting the problem.
You will have to add coolant to the system, be patience. It can take a little while because you will have to run the car and add coolant/water mix until it stays between the lines on the expansion tank. Oh be sure to use distilled or purified water. I don't think that they make an orange 50/50 mix yet. Good Luck.

Hi everyone. New to this site. Obviously a problem brought me here. First, the wife noticed a coolant burning smell. When we took it for an oil change, the mechanic said he saw coolant in the oil drip pan. He cleaned it up and advised us he thought it was a head gasket. There was/is no temperature issue, no white smoke, oil is clear, coolant smells fine, engine seems to drive as it should. What there is:
Burning smell
Fluid loss
No heat (heat was off and on but off now completely. A-F level is good)

Unfortunately, the wifes father "I can repair anything" put a "fiber" stop leak in it without asking. Apperently it was from Auto Zone and wont harm it.

This hasnt stopped the smell and we still have no heat....any ideas?

If it is a gasket, how many man hours is the repair?

We only have 88,000 on it and love it but fear we are nearing the end. Would love to get 3 more years out of it but, would rather get our daughter to school safe, sound, and WARM. Thank you all in advance for your input!!!