rekab69 Posted February 28, 2010 Share Posted February 28, 2010 Hi All, The only fault I find in low level in the header tank, it's never overheated, it just seems to lose the head of water. Can't see any external leaks so should I be thinking head gasket....? cheers Dave.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted February 28, 2010 Share Posted February 28, 2010 Hi All, The only fault I find in low level in the header tank, it's never overheated, it just seems to lose the head of water. Can't see any external leaks so should I be thinking head gasket....? cheers Dave.. Is the oil emulsified? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rekab69 Posted February 28, 2010 Author Share Posted February 28, 2010 Is the oil emulsified? Oil is fine.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yostumpy Posted February 28, 2010 Share Posted February 28, 2010 I take it you're not overfilling the header tank (only half full). Might be the the plastic cap letting the pressure past. does the heater work ok (hot) make sure the heater is in on pos when filling up, to open valve and let air out. if headgasket has gone, in the morning when engine is cold, feel the hoses, if they are firm and hard, then the system is pressured, likely to be gasket, and when you take off the header tank cap it will PSSSST! If hoses are soft and no pssst, then prob not gasket (but not definate). was it a one off or constant loss. Stumpy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted February 28, 2010 Share Posted February 28, 2010 As stumpy says, also worth checking the pipes up to the header tank for a leak as well as the cap, it only takes a small steam leak to empty the header tank, get it warm be VERY carefull, put some welding gloves and safety glasses on and check the pipes by moving them. again be carefull if checking the cap. The welding gloves bit is from experience, I got a very nasty burn from an overheating P38 hospital trip and weeks of burn treatment would not do that again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
landy andy. Posted February 28, 2010 Share Posted February 28, 2010 Check bleed on top hose as these can let by when under presssure, and check by the cylinder head on the near side of the engine as I had a leaking core plug there and it was drying with the heat of the engine. Andy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
landy andy. Posted February 28, 2010 Share Posted February 28, 2010 How much water, in how many miles? Andy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ben_J85JTY Posted February 28, 2010 Share Posted February 28, 2010 As much as you probably don't want to hear this - When the head gasket went on my 2002 Td5, the ONLY symptom I got was water loss. No oil emulsification (sp), no overheating, No Hydrocarbons in the water. Its got worse until it eventually overheated very quickly, leading to me needing the head skimmed. The garage said its common when the locating pins sheer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rekab69 Posted February 28, 2010 Author Share Posted February 28, 2010 Thanks for all your replies guys. I'll check all the hoses, with gloves on. The heater works a treat, I think it took about 2lts last time I had to top it up. Just when you think they are running fine..eh? cheers Dave.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BogMonster Posted March 1, 2010 Share Posted March 1, 2010 Also check the header tank cap - I have had to replace several which were not holding pressure and this produces gradual water loss. If the hoses don't firm up when the engine is hot, its fked. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dantd5 Posted March 1, 2010 Share Posted March 1, 2010 My loss was due to the cap on the expansion tank. I changed the whole tank ( I think it was leaking cause everytime it weeps showing signs of the red liquid). Another interesting thing too was the hose. They were as soft as banana . Having been there I change the thermostat too. Now there is no leakage.. Worth a try though From the pic you can see the weeping tank Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cranberry Posted March 1, 2010 Share Posted March 1, 2010 Had the same last year - water disappearing, and no obvious sign ( except the heater stopped putting out hot air ). Turned out to be a small leak in the radiator . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andrew Chua Posted March 1, 2010 Share Posted March 1, 2010 i had a leak in the heater matrix. every morning i smell a faint smell coolant when i open the door and i wonder where it was coming from. until one day, i turned on the heater at full blast and the smell was very much saying, i'm leaking here. so living on the equator, i bypassed the heater matrix. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rekab69 Posted May 5, 2013 Author Share Posted May 5, 2013 On doing a search for head gasket I found my own posting, Feb 2010... So I have nursed it along for quite a while...! I did change the rad which had a slight leak, rad cap too, blew a heater hose a month or so ago, then top hose valve started leaking, hoses go solid as well. It has just started to billow loads of white smoke on start up, heater goes cold, uses 1/2 a gallon of water on a 20x mile trip... So I guess it's time to strip it down.. It's a 1998 Td5 10p engine, can I fit a 15p head, from a disco... or 15p head from a defender... or am I stuck with a 10p defender head...? As I want as little off the road time as possible I would rather have all the parts ready to go without sending heads away for pressure testing / skimming etc.. Here a quick check list of parts required. Cylinder head. Top end head set. Head bolts. Oil. Filters. Coolant. Anything else spring to mind...? Cheers, db. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frax Posted May 5, 2013 Share Posted May 5, 2013 Was having the same problem with my 300tdi, it turned out to be a crack in the plastic plug on the radiator. It was a pain to find this leak as it only happened on long journeys to start with after plenty heat had built up. The plug top eventually parted. The 300tdi has two of these plugs so its worth a look as it is an easy fix (3/8" PSB). I was also told some time ago that the black expansion tanks are prone to cracking, usually from the brackets that hold the tank on. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
STEFF 110 Posted August 27, 2013 Share Posted August 27, 2013 hi guys. i drive a 2000 td5 defender and: i have the same problem. been using about 300ml of water in about 500km. checked the oil cooler, pipes, radiator, had the head off and all good there. water pump pumps great. dont know where else to look. any help or advice would be great. many thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
landy andy. Posted August 27, 2013 Share Posted August 27, 2013 Have you checked the core plug in the side of the cylinder head, exhaust manifold side. When it leaks here it then evaporates due to the heat. Andy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
STEFF 110 Posted August 28, 2013 Share Posted August 28, 2013 hi there. thanks for the reply andy. I will check it as soon as the rain stops and i can get stuck in engine and try find problem. will be posting finds. steff Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tanuki Posted August 28, 2013 Share Posted August 28, 2013 I've had 2 "slow water loss" issues on my TD5. #1 was the hose that runs from the bottom of the radiator up to the expansion-bottle on the bulkhead: it had come loose from its clip and worn through against the offside engine-mount. Horrified at the price of an official replacement I cut out the damaged section and spliced in a six-inch length of 15mm stainless-steel tube. #2 was the water-pump. Not the water-pump bearing as I first thought, but one of the O-rings that seal the water-pump into the aluminium housing on the nearside of the engine. Water was seeping out of the 'weep-hole' which is why I initially suspected the bearing/seal was dying but once I got it all apart there was ample evidence that the leak was past the O-ring and a new O-ring from the local agricultural-equipment place solved the problem for a hundredth of the price of a genuine water-pump. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
STEFF 110 Posted September 5, 2013 Share Posted September 5, 2013 hi guys. im busy testing my landy. will post finds as soon as i have made some results. so many things to check. just real busy at work. many thanks for all the help and advice in advance. steff Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
STEFF 110 Posted September 7, 2013 Share Posted September 7, 2013 hi guys. would i see a leak if its the water pump that leaking? ( weep hole ) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rangy35 Posted September 8, 2013 Share Posted September 8, 2013 Yes if you have coolant in the water to leave a stain, or if it has been leaking for a very long time. Just a question to all of you trying to find the coolant leaks, do you guys have Exhaust Gas Recirculation that is water cooled, found the coolers leaking before. If not it may be time for head removal. Yes you can fit the new head on your old engine, done this very long ago and can not recall any concerns. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
STEFF 110 Posted September 8, 2013 Share Posted September 8, 2013 no EGR. its been blanked off. head has been removed and still no luck with water leak. driving me mad!!!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anderzander Posted September 8, 2013 Share Posted September 8, 2013 Have we stated the basic .... Bottom of the expansion tank ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rangy35 Posted September 9, 2013 Share Posted September 9, 2013 Cracked head? Seen that too, and some times the head passes the pressure test, but when torqued down the pressure of being tightened down then it starts to leak. You did check everything else? heater matrix, the small rubber hose behind the exhaust down pipe? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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