Discovery TD5 overheating issues

iandl · 05 June 2008, 09:32

got a strange problem with my 2000 reg TD5 ......It seems to be losing water with absolutely no tell signs ...ie puddles under it ...water in oil ....oil in water ....nothing .......it will run all day at a steady 60 .....if i get stuck in traffic ...it rises to the point i'll pullover ....just at a loss to where the water goes ....i thourouly bleed it and it can taken a gallon a day ....wierd
I had the RAC look at it and he reckoned the pressure is good around the system and reckoned it wasnt the head gasket

any thoughts?

Ian

Jono · 05 June 2008, 09:53

How did your RAC man test for head gasket? Did he do a "sniff test”? My money is on head gasket.. but there are a lot of other reasons for losing water and you'll have to methodically and thoroughly check them all out......

codprawn · 05 June 2008, 12:35

I would bet on the head gasket as well. Often a pressure test won't show it up and neither will looking for water in the oil etc.

There are a variety of sealers etc you can add to the water to try to fix it but they usually don't do much.

Another thing to try is to check the tightness of the head bolts - I have found that occasionally just a quick nip up of the bolts can save a massive amount of work but if the gasket has any damage it will be head off time.

The main give away is steam from the exhaust but the weather's not really cold enough at the moment.

It could be a leaking heater I suppose - turn the heater up to full and see if there is steam or a smell of antifreeze in the cab.

iandl · 05 June 2008, 14:06

cheers Gents...hope its not the head gasket ....i'll try a rad seal first .....dont smell any sealent loss or wet carpet inside the vehicle .......might check the rad again but vehicle is bone dry underneath

I

Jono · 05 June 2008, 14:48

Get a sniff test done first....

codprawn · 05 June 2008, 22:24

Remember to nip up the head bolts as well - sometimes you can be lucky!!!

Roy Smith · 05 June 2008, 23:04

We have had 3 TD5 all of them had head gaskets go at around 60k
two of them had gaskett splits by the exhaust out let, have a pressure test
i think its just a thing with them, after they where fixed they where ok to about
120k they do have a problem with the oil pump, the chain brakes and Bang
new engine

iandl · 06 June 2008, 07:31

cheers gents ....when i get off the rig i'll take it for a pressure test ....

Roy what does an average head gasket replacement cost?

cheers

Ian

Mark Halliday · 09 June 2008, 14:15

Have you got Air Con?

It might be worth checking if the void between the rad and A/C condender is bunged up with dead flies and other debris.
This has caused 3 of my V8s to boil up unexpectedly.

Hugh Jardon · 09 June 2008, 17:32

you mentioned you were going to try a rad seal, dont do it, it can cause other problems, get the pressure tested first then go from there

iandl · 09 June 2008, 19:08

cheers gents ...

Mark it does have air con /climate control ....i'll have a good look for blockages/ flies etc when i get home

Chris ....radweld will be a last resort to put it in ......the car is 150miles away from home before i can do a pressure test ....I put a 2 gallon water bottle in the boot before i left just in case

might need to charge my mobile and give it its yearly switchon as well

cheers

I

Mollers · 09 June 2008, 19:59

As said, it'll probably be a blow on the gasket between a waterway and one of the pots which'll send the water out of the exhaust hence no signs. As long as you don't need a head skim, it's not major.

iandl · 09 June 2008, 20:11

looking around the web on various forums it does look likely to be a blown gasket .....i can only but see .......

as a matter of interest what amount of gap would nessesitate a skim?

I try to take my plane soles to less than a thou and i've made planes upto 24 1/2" long but it can take ages to set up and grip properly

I

codprawn · 09 June 2008, 21:37

If it's a simple case of taking the rocker cover off to get at the head bolts and there isn't too much in the way then just see if any of the bolts are loose. It seems to be more common on longer engines.

I tried it on my mates BMW and another straight 6 and it worked - saved taking the head off - if the gasket is damaged though it won't work!!!

reading this article

http://www.discoveryownersclub.org/tech/td5engine/

It says don't skim the head as it's heat treated. Quite often people skim heads when they don't really need to - a bit of carefull tightening does wonders........

iandl · 15 September 2008, 08:33

Finally got the disco going again........the headgasket was done at a garage and they made a balls up of it .....so then re-did it at home ...fitted a new headgasket ...head bolts......dowels ...water pump ...thermostat and radiator ....eventually traced the fault to the pas pump ...this in turn drives the water pump but the little shaft was goosed so no matter what i did it would still boil up .......actually a big releif to find a fault

done around 200miles in it now with no overheating issues so hopefully now its cured ...till the next fault.

cheers

Ian

codprawn · 15 September 2008, 15:03

You will prob curse me but now you mention it I do seem to remember that fault has happened to other people.

iandl · 15 September 2008, 16:20

Quote:

Originally Posted by codprawn

You will prob curse me but now you mention it I do seem to remember that fault has happened to other people.

nah ...i wouldnt curse you codders ....landrovers yes ...it was driving me nuts ....just so glad its sorted ....i spoke with famous four landrover supplies they suggested i look there ...so glad i phoned them

cheers

Ian