Hi everyone HELP I Have a freelancer mk 1 V6 2.5 . It’s a cooling system fault I have recently replaced the thermostat water pump expansion tank a cap. I have run diagnostics on the engine the coolant temp is running at 105 deg she goes up to 110 deg the fans kick in and drops to 98 deg. The car is not over heating however when I drive the car for thirty miles and stop lift the bonnet the bottom radiator hose is stone cold if I leave the engine running eventually the bottom pipe gets hot and the fans kick in and out as normal. I have Plenty of heat in the heater it is really doing my head in. Has anyone experienced this before thanks in advance a new problem today I am losing minimal coolant and cannot find any leaks. Everything is new ie water pump thermostat inlet gaskets expansion tank and cap. She is not Been overheating at all however she smells hot when the fans kick in coolant is max 110 deg however when hot this afternoon coolant

Pipes Weber soft while the thermostat was open. I realessed the cap and not much pressure however the expansion tank did fill up. If I squeeze the bottom hose tight and Rev the engine it will form a vacuum and hold the pipe together for a short period I can feel like bubbles in the hose but no vibrations. I will te bleed the system tomorrow morning this is driving me crazy done 2000 kilometre no overheating at all but had to top up coolant level weekly ????

Hi
How are you getting your temperature readings ?
My V6 used to leak a small amount from the 'o' ring at the bottom of the thermostat housing. The water sat on the V between the heads.

ianda12 said:

Hi
How are you getting your temperature readings ?
My V6 used to leak a small amount from the 'o' ring at the bottom of the thermostat housing. The water sat on the V between the heads.

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I’m using torque with a WiFi obd2 reader

It's normal for the bottom hose to be cool, even when the engine is hot. Coolant loss can be from thermostat O rings and or cracks around the expansion tank filler neck. Also was the cap a genuine cap? Cheap caps don't often hold the 18 Psi the cooling system can reach in normal running. The engine is designed to run up to 115°C and still show normal on the gauge. So imo you only need to find and fix the slight coolant leak.

Nodge68 said:

It's normal for the bottom hose to be cool, even when the engine is hot. Coolant loss can be from thermostat O rings and or cracks around the expansion tank filler neck. Also was the cap a genuine cap? Cheap caps don't often hold the 18 Psi the cooling system can reach in normal running. The engine is designed to run up to 115°C and still show normal on the gauge. So imo you only need to find and fix the slight coolant leak.

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It’s anew thermostat and new expansion tank and cap all genuine parts from landrover

The temps are about the same as my V6. I find my fans hardly ever kick in either
It does make me nervous!
I am thinking of changing my thermostat housing as there is a bit of dampness below the housing. (but no pooling water)
There is a bleeder behind the rear head which may help get any air out of the system.

Well reflex the system today and ran the engine all good te is are stable everything’s je working as it should however I have noticed tiny cracks around the neck of the three month old expansion tank anyone else had this problem. The first expansion tank the cap did not sit on correctly. And landrover exchanged it three months down the toad the new one is showing crony cracks surely this is not normal ???

Darrenbunn6969 said:

Well reflex the system today and ran the engine all good te is are stable everything’s je working as it should however I have noticed tiny cracks around the neck of the three month old expansion tank anyone else had this problem. The first expansion tank the cap did not sit on correctly. And landrover exchanged it three months down the toad the new one is showing crony cracks surely this is not normal ???

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Very common, which is why I suggested it.
It seems to make no difference who supplied the expansion tank. They all split in no time at all. The only tanks I've found that don't split are the original small capacity tanks on the very early Freelander's. These have long since been discontinued, so it's second hand only for those.

My expansion tank had cracks. There was no obvious leakage unless you looked when it was under pressure then you could see fluid coming from the cracks.
The tank was only a year old but was an aftermarket tank. I replaced it with a factory tank.
Here is a pic to go with my above post showing the location of the coolant bleeder. Sorry but the image hosting site I use was offline last night.