Using water

Hi guys more advice please?

On my 4.6 HSE non lpg I am having to put a kettle of water in the header tank each week?
Checks done so far
1. Footwells dry
2. No obvious sign of leaks under the car
3. No smells from header tank
4. Oil clean as a whistle , no gunk in oil filler cap
5. Temperature gauge sits happily in the middle

Where do I start

When I first bought the car I had a canny leak under the car but put this down to air con not working so just switched it off and never noticed a leak since
Cheers
Chris

Chris91122 said:

Hi guys more advice please?

On my 4.6 HSE non lpg I am having to put a kettle of water in the header tank each week?
Checks done so far
1. Footwells dry
2. No obvious sign of leaks under the car
3. No smells from header tank
4. Oil clean as a whistle , no gunk in oil filler cap
5. Temperature gauge sits happily in the middle

Where do I start

When I first bought the car I had a canny leak under the car but put this down to air con not working so just switched it off and never noticed a leak since
Cheers
Chris

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Take it to a garage or find a friend who has a static test rig. Water leaks are often dried as they leak by engine heat. Static test can check for leaks cold and pressure buildup hot. Get it static tested cold and be prepaired to do a detailed search. You will need an inspection mirror and a lamp or torch.

trottle body has two pipes gonig to it to keep it warm look there..

as wammers said. tip if diy checking with the mirror and torch look for coolant residue or stains. clamps on hoses, expansion plugs and seams on radiator are my favourites.

Exact same symptons on my 1996 4.0.

If you find the cause let me know!

I had a weeping radiator that didn't show itself for a long time. No drips on the ground (from the radiator, anyways...) because the leak was at the very top and by the time the coolant made it to the bottom of the tank the heat and dried it or condensed it to gel.

Pulling the fan shroud allowed me to see it.

West Slope Rover said:

I had a weeping radiator that didn't show itself for a long time. No drips on the ground (from the radiator, anyways...) because the leak was at the very top and by the time the coolant made it to the bottom of the tank the heat and dried it or condensed it to gel.

Pulling the fan shroud allowed me to see it.

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How did you make out with your repair at the radiator shop? and what was the bill,and how much was a new one?

only a suggestion but i know this has worked at least three times before for me and others ... it sounds like a air lock , this can take months to clear if you dont know !!!
1st get big piece of cardboard and put under engine compartment on the floor ,2nd take cap off header tank . 3rd start engine and leave on tick over till engine and water heats up ,watch for bubbles in header tank when hot if you see any take 6ml pipe off top of radiator this is the overflow pipe be carefull as they are quite brittle ,, once off this should clear all air pockets .. keep eye on temperature clock must be on dead centre 12 oclock and stay there .. if all ok put everthing back together and take for good 70mph run then keeping eye on gauge all time ,the need for cardboard on floor is that it will show you easily where their is any water leaks .. also good check for oil leaks etc etc ,, hope this works for you cheers mozz ,,,, free to do but worth it if it works ,,,finally keep water in header tank exactly to the mark ...

Fur Trapper said:

How did you make out with your repair at the radiator shop? and what was the bill,and how much was a new one?

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It went well. It's been on for a couple of hundred miles now with no leaks. Rodded, flushed and repaired for $126.00.
A new one is $500+ and the only one I could find on ebay was used with a 60 day warranty for $300.

Exact same symptoms to my 4.6 - just before the water pump went bang. Have a look around the water pump on te left as you view from the front. There is a small hole from which coolant can leak once the bearings are starting to go. The coolant is blown backwards onto the hot engine and dries, leaving no trace of a leak.

Have a nose around with the fan cover off and look for a light grey film around the front face of the engine and the a/c and alternator, also on the underside of the bonnet insulation.

Just an idea

I got a 4.6 range thats just fine BUT just bought a 4.0 Disco (!) would all of the above still apply? The temp sits perfect but water goes down fairly quickly.

all 3.9 4.2 4.0 and 4.6 have 200 thou bored out of basically 3.5 block ,all can crack alimnum bore behind liner giving head gasket symptoms ,but also can be leaky pipe, rad etc

Ahh ok so basically live with it? the chap whom i bought it from said it didnt over heat at all and since ive owned it in the short time frame it hasnt done so just drinks alot! plus i may get a facelift model sooner rather than later but im a tad gutted as it drives so so well...

or fit tophat linered block as seems only answer then enjoy knowing its leaky pipe costs £1000 plus time

errrrr off to the classifieds she goes then!

could still be rad,pipe ,thermostat ,cap etc great engine poor design

Yes I totally agree! I've never had a landie before but it defys its size with its slinkyness down the down lol But whats with the thirst???

AUTOEMOTIONAL said:

Yes I totally agree! I've never had a landie before but it defys its size with its slinkyness down the down lol But whats with the thirst???

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The thirst can be from lots of issues. From simple to fix to not so simple. Gotta crawl around the thing and look for the simple stuff first.

West Slope Rover said:

The thirst can be from lots of issues. From simple to fix to not so simple. Gotta crawl around the thing and look for the simple stuff first.

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I wish you told me that before my divorce. You would have saved me £30,000.....

Had the same symptoms for a year,replaced all the hoses heater matrix,radiator kept on doing it untill signs of a blown h\g appearerd,so i have replaced them skimmed the heads 3 days ago and it is still loosing coolant,my advice is forget about it till the leak gets serious then prepare yourself for h/g replacement and or new block,sooner or later it will happen,hope later though.just keep you eyes on the coolant level and temperature,check the level every day.