Just bought my first V8. Its a 1998 v8i disco.
Other day it overheated while i was out. after a cooling period i found the expand bottle was empty and had to put some 7 litres of water in to fill it up.
Drove home ( 10 miles ) when i got bak the expantion bottle was empty again. Next moring after refilling with water i found the water pump was leaking badly. New water pump fitted and i thought my problems were sorted.

The car is now still using water ( about 1 ltre in 25 miles) no over heating problems, runs fine , no oil in water or water in oil, no mayo in oil filer cap, no sign of external water leak. no water in the car.

could it be the expantion tank cap or is one of my head gaskets on the way out??
there is some gurgling and the sound of running water from the heater when first started. So is the water still finding is level and filling air gaps??
Ive done about 100 mile since the pump change and toped up with a litre about 4 times
Apart from this its running spot on.
Any help.

Andy

Live with it for now is perhaps the best option?

Little trick I've used in the past:

Dont do up your cap too tight on the expansion bottle, leave it a little slack, that way the system can't pressurise fully and force coolant out - got me home many a time.

Have you checked your radiator for signs that it is leaking?

When you first lost 7 litres of water, did you cook the engine?

Hi
Rad doesn't leak no external water leaking. Engine did get hot when coolant lost but stop as soon as i noiticed..
What do you reckon??

av1adm said:

Hi
Rad doesn't leak no external water leaking. Engine did get hot when coolant lost but stop as soon as i noiticed..
What do you reckon??

Click to expand...

Carry on as you are, keep a close eye on it, if problem gets worse seek specialist advice.

That trick with the cap really works, also stop the weakest hose bursting too. Mine was the same and I'm sorry to say it was the dreaded head gasket going . Some may suggest that it may be bore liners but it shouldn't be I was told that they are top hat bore liners. I don't know how much it is at a garage, I did my own. Its not too bad, the V8 quite easy to work on. Where about are you maybe someone can pop round have a nose at it for a second opinion, or take down to a garage to do a sniff test (they don't always show up though cause they need to under load). Chin up it's not the end of world it just the fun of owning a LR.

Smurphy mine was smelling hot as you know, it was down to a hard to detect water leak at the rear of the engine, parts have been obtained and she is getting done tomorrow.

Andy.:amen:

Thas a point av1adm, have you checked that the heater hoses haven't perished?
I forgot that I once had one get a tiny pinprick of a hole which only leaked when the coolant system was pressurised, the same happened to the expansion bottle as well.
Might be worth a look.

See its not always bad news, glad to hear. This one's coolant system is filling with air, which does suggest the head gasket. That why I suggested a second opinion, a good garage will have a look for a beer token.

been keeping my eye on the level and over the last 2 days we have used none!!
I'll keep you posted...
Andy