Freelander 1 Cooling leak problem - not sure where pipes lead

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Sikirce

Sikirce

Member
Posts
16
Location
Serbia
I'm not mechanic , i'm ( electric ) energy engineer and i know a thing or two about cars (much simpler than my current Freelander 1).
I was driving around a lot , due my schooling and job , and i got quite a lot more of kilometers to make - its all planed . And all of a sudden my car drips ! Cooling liquid is drained completely in a min . I was lucky to be near my mechanic , so he could patch me up just so i can get home safely.
Anyway ill post pics , and mark everything.
As he explained pipes marked on pictures are rotted away on bottom and that is why it leaked all away. He wasn't sure about it as well , and cant do detailed look until Friday. If i understood anything those pipes go around front differential into something ? He had no time today to look more up and on ground level he cant see nothing (problem is on bottom side and its halfway covered with front axle ).
I'm both nervous and curious. Can anyone tell me more what could cause a leak on/under that part , what are those pipes called and is it worth fixing at all ? (reconnected hoses are marked with 1 and 2 , they used to be connected on pipes 3 and 4 )
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They are pipes to the IRD (as you say front diff) cooler.

You can buy replacement coolers, but to replace it you must remove the whole IRD fron the car - it is quite a big job.

I know that this is known as a cooler and I am NOT an expert so please take further advice on my next statements!!!! I believe the cooler is used more to warm the IRD up at the same rate as the engine rather than to keep it cool. This being the case you may be safe just to join the 2 hoses and bypass the IRD cooler from the coolant system. The rear diff has no cooling system, but is less complex - so please take other advice before doing this.
 
GrumpyGel said:
They are pipes to the IRD (as you say front diff) cooler.

You can buy replacement coolers, but to replace it you must remove the whole IRD fron the car - it is quite a big job.

I know that this is known as a cooler and I am NOT an expert so please take further advice on my next statements!!!! I believe the cooler is used more to warm the IRD up at the same rate as the engine rather than to keep it cool. This being the case you may be safe just to join the 2 hoses and bypass the IRD cooler from the coolant system. The rear diff has no cooling system, but is less complex - so please take other advice before doing this.
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always with fast answers :D FAST & HELPFUL
At least now i know part name so i can look up more . Right now they are bypassed but even if its safe , i prefer factory made parts and their proper usage. Big job , but safe drive . Again i'm grateful for a piece of information and will look up more online.
 
Madmustang said:
You should be able to get the pipes off the cooler and join them together or replace them as others have done
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Judging by what i saw online , replace is simple but taking part off car is bit complicated ( i read somewhere "think of it like a lid on a paint can" )... only problem i got now is that i cant order / buy replacement , its either overpriced or no one delivers to my place/country . Will post more about problem and solution tomorrow , so far its all shoot in the dark , i know where problem is but it can be so many little things along with it. Will give an update (with pics if possible) . So far my only option is to bypass it all and leave it like that :(:mad:,
 
GrumpyGel said:
I got a cooler as part of an IRD rebuild kit with bearings & seals sent over from the UK to New Zealand, there's details and a link to where I got it from here...

https://www.landyzone.co.uk/land-rover/ird-box-search.246806/#post-2907692

Alternatively you can probably use one of the main stream LR parts suppliers. I use these people and they ship with DHL at "reasonable" cost and stuff gets here within a week...

https://www.lrdirect.com/TAR100010-Kit-Trans-Cooling/
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well those prices are more reasonable , especially when i account delivery speed :D so thank you
looks like i will have to buy it , but it will have to wait a week or two :( since i got way too many expenses at once right now...
 
So as promised an update (sadly no pics , i'm sorry ) a nut on bottom of left tube (no.4 on pics abobe) got loose somehow , and busted a plate on IRD cooling thingy (still not sure how they named that part - found it online as Head Exchanger :confused:) ...Teeny tiny hole but enough to drain coolant... :rolleyes: Not sure how it all happened or how the nut got there but its factory made so i cant break brain too much about it. At least now i know what and how happened and got solution on my way. Again thank you guys for info provided and in help in general :)
 
Woo woo woo wooo WOOOOOw slow down. In order to replace that cooler on the IRD you will need to take the IRD out of the car. Now...... do you know what is involved in doing that?
 
Madmustang said:
Woo woo woo wooo WOOOOOw slow down. In order to replace that cooler on the IRD you will need to take the IRD out of the car. Now...... do you know what is involved in doing that?
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hahaha im not rushing anywhere , i may have confused you with words - if thats the case im sorry , English is not my native language. I do know that IRD must be taken out of car , and i know process of replacing cooler on it. Besides that i do know what else is involved (not sure if i can translate and explain whole process in English but i know what must be done) , even more importantly my mechanic knows it (much better than me , and i trust him 100% , he proved himself countless times while working on my family cars and has done repairs on IRD before ) . Anyway , again thank you for taking care :)
 
Sikirce said:
hahaha im not rushing anywhere , i may have confused you with words - if thats the case im sorry , English is not my native language. I do know that IRD must be taken out of car , and i know process of replacing cooler on it. Besides that i do know what else is involved (not sure if i can translate and explain whole process in English but i know what must be done) , even more importantly my mechanic knows it (much better than me , and i trust him 100% , he proved himself countless times while working on my family cars and has done repairs on IRD before ) . Anyway , again thank you for taking care :)
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Okely Dokely.....qué sigue?
 
Sikirce said:
as for this tread i suppose its time to close it :D
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Поздрави другови, навоји увек остају отворени за расправу и опозив, ИРД ће бити потпуно празан на неодређено вријеме, не бих савјетовао тако у топлим климатским условима или моторима КВ6 и то је већи излаз

Pozdravi drugovi, navoji uvek ostaju otvoreni za raspravu i opoziv, IRD će biti potpuno prazan na neodređeno vrijeme, ne bih savjetovao tako u toplim klimatskim uslovima ili motorima KV6 i to je veći izlaz
 
Northern Irelander said:
Поздрави другови, навоји увек остају отворени за расправу и опозив, ИРД ће бити потпуно празан на неодређено вријеме, не бих савјетовао тако у топлим климатским условима или моторима КВ6 и то је већи излаз

Pozdravi drugovi, navoji uvek ostaju otvoreni za raspravu i opoziv, IRD će biti potpuno prazan na neodređeno vrijeme, ne bih savjetovao tako u toplim klimatskim uslovima ili motorima KV6 i to je veći izlaz
Click to expand...

People here always surprise me with amount of care they take... Its all about small details , like this translating to Serbian (or however google translate named language) :D I appreciate advice , weather here is getting colder , (and a gem for GoT fans ) WINTER IS COMING !
Anyway , ill get part in couple of days and will replace it, in the meantime Im using my Freelander minimally just in case , better safe than sorry.
 
Sikirce said:
People here always surprise me with amount of care they take... Its all about small details , like this translating to Serbian (or however google translate named language) :D I appreciate advice , weather here is getting colder , (and a gem for GoT fans ) WINTER IS COMING !
Anyway , ill get part in couple of days and will replace it, in the meantime Im using my Freelander minimally just in case , better safe than sorry.
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We always do our best on LZ,

I am sure you will source a part, I have a spare one (still in the IRD) if by chance you are stuck? They are difficult to remove without damaging and the thin aluminium and it tends to be the o-ring that leaks first

My IRD has been running without the coolant pipes attached since 2008, but I do have an air scoop in the engine undertray
 
Northern Irelander said:
We always do our best on LZ,

I am sure you will source a part, I have a spare one (still in the IRD) if by chance you are stuck? They are difficult to remove without damaging and the thin aluminium and it tends to be the o-ring that leaks first

My IRD has been running without the coolant pipes attached since 2008, but I do have an air scoop in the engine undertray
Click to expand...

I already found place where i can order , its not problem... i'm just waiting my payday and then delivery, in meantime i drive my other car (tbh its my mothers but it serves purpose (opel corsa C)) .
Hard to remove - o well its not fun if its all easy. As for cooler that is attached now i don't care - its already busted. So its back to basics - remove bolts, take part off, replace broken and put it all back in its place...
Cant think or say much more about it... Guess I'm lucky to have a good mechanic and car that i like with still produced parts... Ofc another big THANK YOU for everyone on this forum - cant be grateful enough
 
I struggled to remove the cooler from the IRD - and I wasn't worried about damaging it. In the end I gave up and let the workshop who were installing all the other bits (bearings/seal) do it!

Do not under estimate the amount of work to remove an IRD and refit it. You have to unbolt the RH hub from the strut to give clearance to remove the drive shaft from the IRD, undo a huge number of bolts to strip the propshaft, lower tie bar, brackets to the engine and IRD from geabox/adaptor plate that are not all very accessible and locked on very tight, then you have to shift a very heavy item out under the car safely. Depending on which engine you have, you may also have to strip out the exhaust.

That's before you replace the broken bit and put it all back together again.

It is not a 2 hour job - especially for a home mechanic who has not done it before. You need a good socket set with lots of extension bars to turn inaccessible bolts on the gearbox from the RH drivers side wheel arch, plus extension bars on the handle to get enough leverage to crack them - but not to long so that they still have room to turn. You need a lot of space under the car to do the job safely.

It can be done obviously - I managed to do it on my Freelander - and got it back together again - and ....most amazingly... its worked well for the 5 years since I did it. It isn't though a job you'd want to take on if you don't have to. It is a good job to take on if you like a challenge.
 
GrumpyGel said:
I struggled to remove the cooler from the IRD - and I wasn't worried about damaging it. In the end I gave up and let the workshop who were installing all the other bits (bearings/seal) do it!

Do not under estimate the amount of work to remove an IRD and refit it. You have to unbolt the RH hub from the strut to give clearance to remove the drive shaft from the IRD, undo a huge number of bolts to strip the propshaft, lower tie bar, brackets to the engine and IRD from geabox/adaptor plate that are not all very accessible and locked on very tight, then you have to shift a very heavy item out under the car safely. Depending on which engine you have, you may also have to strip out the exhaust.

That's before you replace the broken bit and put it all back together again.

It is not a 2 hour job - especially for a home mechanic who has not done it before. You need a good socket set with lots of extension bars to turn inaccessible bolts on the gearbox from the RH drivers side wheel arch, plus extension bars on the handle to get enough leverage to crack them - but not to long so that they still have room to turn. You need a lot of space under the car to do the job safely.

It can be done obviously - I managed to do it on my Freelander - and got it back together again - and ....most amazingly... its worked well for the 5 years since I did it. It isn't though a job you'd want to take on if you don't have to. It is a good job to take on if you like a challenge.
Click to expand...

And that is why my mechanic will do it all... :D I may like challenge but i would be a food to try and fix this myself. Even if i had all tools and enough space to access under car , i still wouldn't try to fix this.
I may sound carefree , but i certainly do not underestimate work , I simply trust my mechanic - seriously , he is good :cool: As for long work hours for IRD and hard to reach places , well i cant help him much with that thats how its made...
 
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