Newbie needs advice on expasion tank

Hi guys,

Got my 99 Freelander at the start of the year and its been brilliant. Use it twice a week to tow my daughters horse to pony club, and it does it brilliant!

Its running the 2.0 L series diesel engine, but i noticed last week that the water level in the expansion tank when cold had dropped from dead on max (where it had been since i bought it) to minimum.. Coincidently, the night before i noticed what i thought was clutch smoke (which must have been steam) from under where the expansion tank is.. I topped up and towed again today, and when i got home i could hear some "sketting" under the bonnet after id switched the engine off (like the noise a saucepan makes when it spills on to the top of your cooker)..

Any how, i opened the bonnet and saw water/steam hissing out of around the tank cap.

Now, ive read a few poss on here and see that the tanks are prone to failiure.. But, so are the caps.. Should i replace the whole thing? Or just buy a replacement cap? Or do one of you lovely peeps have an alternativ answer (i saw on 1 thread a guy saying the rubber had perished, but there is NO rubber on mine?)

My precious landy didnt overheat, the temp needle didnt move at all from normal.. so no overheating issues, and when im not towing, i can gun the hell out of her and NOTHING escapes from the cap...

Advice is welcome

would be changing both the header tank and the cap, there are slightly different caps for each of the different engines so be careful.

maybe order the cap first and see what happens, then order the tank if need be.

the tanks are prone to fracturing. if you look closely around the neck where the screw thread joins the main tank, you may see lots of little shiny cracks. under heat and pressure, these open up and vent the steam out when the engine is hot.

good luck.

Oldirishwulf/Optimus prime,

Thanks for the advice guys.. I took the cap off when the engine was cold, and cant see any of the shiny cracks.. So ive plumper for just buying the cap and rubber washer first.. It states its designed to fit the L series expansion tank, if that fails im watching the whole expansion tank kit on ebay for £29, so ill give it a go if the tank doesnt work..

Ill keep you posted guys... & thanks for a friendly, quick, helpful reply!!