p38. coolant in r/h footwell

hi i have a 97 4.0 se,and the coolant is leaking from under the dash close to the right hand side of the center console,anyone any ideas? thanks paul

Do a search on heater "o" rings.

You will find plenty

Yes heater o rings, Not a nice job but important. Good luck.

Hi, Just a thought, are you sure its coolant and not condensation from the AC Drain. Just before you go stripping out your heater to change the O'rings might be worth un-blocking the AC Drain tubes, these always get blocked and can cause water in the footwells.

Got exactly the same problem on my 98. The local indie has recommended repalcing the matrix and while they are there with teh dash out, the blender motors - as these are also a common problem apparently. Whole lot will cost around £1k including the vat, and will take about 2 days! I feel sick just typing this
I know it's coolant because it has a greasy/oil like feel to it, and I had to tiop it up with over a litre! Nice.

Pm me for a much cheaper alternative

P38 Owner said:

Hi, Just a thought, are you sure its coolant and not condensation from the AC Drain. Just before you go stripping out your heater to change the O'rings might be worth un-blocking the AC Drain tubes, these always get blocked and can cause water in the footwells.

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Hi and this is my first post, just browsed the threads on here to see if anything covered what I needed to know and this one seemed to be closest.

I just pulled up from a trip down town and my 1996 RR 4.6HSE is dripping what looks, smells and even tastes like water from under the passenger seat area just to the side of the gearbox oil sump, I thought at first it might be the heater matrix or hose related to it but it is not coolant it is water, anyone have any ideas what it could be?

Where is the AC Drain and how do I go about checking it?

Thanks in advance for any suggestions or help offered.

IRC1968 said:

Hi and this is my first post, just browsed the threads on here to see if anything covered what I needed to know and this one seemed to be closest.

I just pulled up from a trip down town and my 1996 RR 4.6HSE is dripping what looks, smells and even tastes like water from under the passenger seat area just to the side of the gearbox oil sump, I thought at first it might be the heater matrix or hose related to it but it is not coolant it is water, anyone have any ideas what it could be?

Where is the AC Drain and how do I go about checking it?

Thanks in advance for any suggestions or help offered.

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dripping outside the car? and its pure water, then thats condensation from the AC. if its dripping out side then thats normal, its godda go somewhere. make sure your footwell inside isnt damp.

oh, i also assume you've had your AC on?

Universally_Challenged said:

dripping outside the car? and its pure water, then thats condensation from the AC. if its dripping out side then thats normal, its godda go somewhere. make sure your footwell inside isnt damp.

oh, i also assume you've had your AC on?

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Not sure if the AC was on or not but over a two hour period it has dripped out about an egg cup full and seems to have stopped and the water is as clear as tap water, not noticed any water in the footwells but will keep an eye on that over the next week or so.

Thanks for your reply and I had hoped it was just that but you hear such horror stories with these cars, this is my first P38 but prior to that i have had two classics and neither of them have been cheap but they are a great car for their money

Thanks again and just to say this seems like a great forum, glad I found it

well, if your sure its not coolent then dont worry. probably just ice melting off the cooling matrix. lots of cars "leak" when they've had the AC on. im sure somebody else will speak up if im incorrect

I have been getting a VERY wet passenger foot well. Mine is definitely A/C condensation. It's colourless and odorless and since I have had my A/C turned off for a week it's dried out completely. I just need to unblock my drain tubes (hopefully)

I'd have thought yours would have dripped more than an eggcup full for that period. I suppose it depends on the humidity.

Sirus said:

Pm me for a much cheaper alternative

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HI SIRUS, ANYTHING HAS GOT TO BE EASIER THAN THIS JOB,WHATS THE ALTERNATIVE.THANKS PAUL

This problem was fixed on my car by LR main dealer just before I got it at a cost of over a thousand quid. I now use an independent ex main dealer garage who claims that the job can be done in a qtr of the time and cost and that LR are overcharging for it. I will check with him.

Well, had the O-rings and blend motors replaced at the weekend. And the damn thing is still leaking! Looks like it could the matrix afterall. Looks like I'm in for the big spend then

For the people who have leaking O-Rings I suggest you have a look at

Heater Core O-Ring Replacement

AND

RangeRovers.net :: View topic - Heater o-ring replacement full procedure & new shortcuts

Being a regular on the forums over there I have seen it happen to quite a few people and some have come up with new and improved ways of replacing the o-rings saving time and not completely taking the dash to pieces. When I did mine I went the way of cutting to holes in the side of the dash as shown in the first link. Was easy enough and its all covered up by the side panel that covers the centre console afterwards.

Chris, where is the leak coming from for you??

-Wills

as Wills said Range rover .net is a good call I did mine after reading their info and completed the job in about an hour
good luck

The fluid seems to only show between the rubber heel rest (drivers side carpet) and the front of the drivers seat - no other part of the carpet is wet. I'm going to check the aircon drain valve thing under the car at the weekend, in case it's that. I'll probably pull the drviers side carpet up as well to try and locate the source of the leak, as I'm confused as to why no other part of the carpet is wet. I can't feel any liquid dripping down from inside the vents/dash either, but that may mean nothing.

I'm (hoping) wondering if this is also blocked and causing the water to mix with the coolant still left in the carpet? I checked the coolant level last night, and it doesn't seem to have gone down.

I've had water in the left hand footwellon my P38 it was wet all the way to the passengers seat, it turned out to be the a/c drain hose located just to the right side of the glovebox behind the centre console and not easy to get into, but basicallythe hose was not attached to the spigot just re-attached and secured with a small cable tie, no leaks since then, hope this helps

Check this link out!

Range Rover P38/4.0/4.6 Common Problems and Fixes

100% correct U-C totally normal no need to worry this will always happen when parking up after using a/c......NEXT........

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