Defender 110 CSW TD5 failed sniff test

Afternoon all,

I'm the new owner of a Defender 110 CSW TD5. Unfortunately - albeit typically - I'm experiencing some problems and I'd thoroughly appreciate some help.

After receiving the car I soon noticed the overflow tank bubbling after any extended drive. This came to a head after a short stint on the A road, when it boiled over and started steaming out.

I pulled over and most of the coolant had been dumped. I topped it up and crawled home, fortunately with no issues. This happened once more.

So as a cheap first step I replaced the thermostat and overflow cap. I've took it easy since and no steam so far, however, the coolant is heating up very quickly and bubbling after a short drive.

Fearing the worst I did a sniff test (Reld) and it failed almost instantly.

So, I'm prepared to change the gasket and inspect the head myself. However, I'd like to rule out any other possibility whilst I'm there.

Any help would be much appreciated.

Cheers.

I am not a Td5 owner but do know head gasket fail is common enough. Also check oil for milky deposits [ coolant ] and steamy exhaust another symptom that can happen. What year is yours?

I'll check the oil cheers. No issues with exhaust as of yet.

Worth mentioning - I also checked the coolant for oil and I couldn't see any.

It's a 2000.

Google td5 plastic cylinder head dowels.

lynall said:

Google td5 plastic cylinder head dowels.

Click to expand...

I came across this issue in my searches. Though I appreciate the input regardless. Thank you.

I was planning on replacing the plastic dowels with the steel dowels when changing the gasket.

I'm just trying to cancel out it being anything other than the head/head gasket before getting started. To be frank, my knowledge of cars - particularly engines - is limited.

OK, but help will be at hand here, get a paper or down load manual.