200 TDI drinks a lot of water

Hi,

We picked up our first Landy yesterday, she is a L reg 200TDI County Defender, we picked her up from Bolton and drove her back to the peak district and noticed she was overheating quite heavily as the journey progressed. it was getting hot in the cabin and the temp gauge was off the scale. When we checked the water she had drank a lot.

I'm no mechanic but can work out there is probably a water leak somewhere. Any tips on how to go about locating the leak?

Thanks!

Annie_b

You picked up a noo motor, yu noticed, not only, that it was overheating, but that the temp gauge was "off the scale" and yet you continued to drive it?
Wots more, you didnt bother to check the water level until you got to your destination?

be prepared for a very big bill

did you buy it privately or from a trader? if it was a trader I would be getting them to sort the leak.

Did you get any other symptoms ie white smoke, rough running?

You could be losing water many different ways but the first thing to do is top the levels back up and have a look around at all hoses & connections in the engine bay and through the bulkhead into the cabin including the heater matrix. Check around the engine block for any signs of water leaks (water pump, core plugs).

The engine may not leak when cold so you may have to take it for a short run to warm the engine and check again.

Failing that it could be more serious but let us know how you get on and try to post as much info as possible

:welcome2: BTW

Hi bobbler,

We bought it privately. We have not noticed any other symptoms, no rough running as far as i can tell and no white smoke either. I will investiagte as you have directed and get back to you, thanks for your help.

We did top the water level up en route as soon as we noticed how high the guage was, the water tank was not empty but it had drank some or more than i would have expected. We also let her cool down before setting off again.

Thanks,

Annie_b

Usually the 200TDi is overcooled.
Usual suspects, Radiator, water pump, radiator hoses.
possible consequences - HGF
try and get a temp scan carried out on the rad - check for cold spots, caused by blockages. Might be worth reverse flushing through the cooling system.