ming said:

Not as bad as yor rav 4 Willo . . .

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Hi Ming,

Did you see what the new RAV4 does throw in your lap as engines ??
2.2l D-4D diesel with either 136 or 177 bhp or a petrol 2.0l with 156 bhp, not bad at all in my opinion.... (Plus all the rest of the goodies such as automatic airco (working one ) and a newly developed and highly sophisticated drivetrain). But still taking the cover off the cooling reservoir each time I come home, in the hope the remaining gasparticles in the cooling will in the end evaporate that way because when I open it, it smells awful but after an hour or so the reservoir smells neutral, this morning I took off the cover and left the engine run, I saw the waterflow through the waterpump coming into the reservoir and I could smell a rather penetrating smell of gas I think, I hope it will totally go away in the end, without of course causing any further damage. )

And you know why I do all this (the red part) ? Because I still hate the idea I would have to get rid of the Hippo, no matter what the competition presents or whatever make I would take (in it's category) it will always be a step down compared to the Hippo.

Hi Wllo . . . but do they do the rav in a diesel auto yet, its is a nice motor to drive though ,i have tested it ,and seems to have very few problems, but its a soft roader , but then as the tractor boys say not many do real off roading, so with that in mind not a bad motor,[ whats up with your cooling then didn't understand ]. . .

i think he's on some kinda new experimental mind altering hallucinogenic wacky weed

Eh/ / /

ming said:

Hi Wllo . . . but do they do the rav in a diesel auto yet, its is a nice motor to drive though ,i have tested it ,and seems to have very few problems, but its a soft roader , but then as the tractor boys say not many do real off roading, so with that in mind not a bad motor,[ whats up with your cooling then didn't understand ]. . .

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Hi Ming,

No, no auto gearbox possible (so far?), only in the 2.0l petrol it is possible, but the same goes for Honda CR-V and for the new Suzuki Grand Vitara. Don't know why the Japs seem to be reluctant to put a diesel in combination with an autogearbox where this combination is tops.
As for my cooling, well, in a nutshell, while we did our 475 kms trip the week before Christmas (I was doing the area of the "Battle of the Bulge" in Luxemburg and the Belgian Ardennes, was on a backroad in the middle of nowhere so I felt lucky I saw a gasstation) some twit down the road added something into the cooling reservoir (at my request as the coolant level was a little under the minimum) which turned out to be gas (petrol) which ate the gasket of my thermostathouse, it was replaced after they rinced 3-4 times the whole cooling system with water and once with a special product and still after all that the water which came out was like a redish foamy stuff, so the headmechanic in the garage was not very optimistic about and also the repair was done without warranty (but at a coast of 618,35Euro ), when I came home I opened the lid of the cooling reservoir and could smell the gas, I therefore do now open up the lid each time I drove the car in the hope that the remaining gasparticles will evaporate before they attack the rest of the gaskets and/or rubber tubes of the cooling system, also left, for a couple of occasions, the engine running with the lid off the reservoir in the hope to have as much 'passage' of infected water via the open coolant reservoir and accelerate (hopefully) the evaporating process. Hope it will turn out for the best (for me ), so when I saw all that cooling water down in the garage and the water was leaking as fast as I could throw it in, my first idea was a blown head gasket and as that could be the # x of repairs my wife agreed to dump the POS (piece of **** ) and check out a RAV4, we both agreed already on the colour, so that's the story. As I said in a nutshell, never mentioned the size of it, did I ????

ming said:

Hi Wllo . . . but do they do the rav in a diesel auto yet, its is a nice motor to drive though ,i have tested it ,and seems to have very few problems, but its a soft roader , but then as the tractor boys say not many do real off roading, so with that in mind not a bad motor,[ whats up with your cooling then didn't understand ]. . .

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Hi Ming,

No, autogear only possible in the 2.0l petrol, but the same goes for the Honda CR-V and the new Suzuki Grand Vitara, they also only available in petrol if you want an autogear, I wonder why the Japs are so reluctant to make that combination. However in all the specialised automagazines the combination of the Td4 and the Steptronic is heaven (and it is indeed).

As for the cooling thing you don't understand, in a nutshell what happened, the week before Christmas, when we did our 475 kms trip (was doing the area in Luxemburg and the Ardennes where the "Battle of the Bulge" took place in December '44) we ended up in the middle of nowhere and was happy to find a gasstation, as we were there I asked to check also the coolant level as it was on the minimum when I left home in the morning, as it was below the minimum I asked to add some coolant stuff which the guy did, so far so good until the morning of the 3rd of january when I came in the garage and I saw the floor full of coolant stuff, it smelled odd and when I added water I saw it come out as fast as I could put it in, it came apparently from just below the head so my first idea was the head gasket blown, as this seemed to be the # xxx of repairs to the POS (piece of sh.t ) my wife said the throw it out and to buy a RAV4, we sat down and agreed on the colour already , when they flatbedded it to the garage and after it was fixed (a week later) the headmechanics was not optimistic at all as he told me it was petrol they found in it, after rincing it a couple of times with water and with a special product the thing which came out was still a kind of redish foamy thing. It also still smells rather 'petrol'ish, so I thought as petrol evaporates to open the lid (unscrew) of the coolant reservoir each time I drove the car, also for a couple of occasions I left the engine running with the lid open to accelerate the passage of the water via the open coolant reservoir in the hope to speed up the evaporation before it attacks the rest of the gaskets and/or the rubber tubes of the cooling system.
The repair was done without warranty and it cost me 618,35 Euros . As said "in a nutshell", never mentioned the size of the shell eh ??

Sorry for the double post but when I wanted to enter the first edition I got no response from the server, page not found it said, checked out and my input was not saved, so I had to type it all in again a 2nd time, now things worked normal but when I saw my input I also noticed at the same time my first one was saved as well. Sorry for the double reading.

OK Willo. . . I understand now,that guy must have put a different coolant mix in or a contamination of some sorts, well ill keep my fingers crossed that you have no long term damage, and yes the rav 4 is a very good drive, shame about the auto box though, but the v6 auto freelander is the top dog, but at about 20 mpg, so its all down to individual choice in the end, cheers Willo , . . .Ming

Hi Ming,

Thanks for your concern, and fyi. the only engine one still can buy for the Freelander here in Belgium is the Td4, either 3 or 5 door model, manual or optional with the Steptronic. No more 1.8 or 2.5 petrol on the list. Guess they want to ditch as many as possible before the end of the year when the new model will be presented. (Guess LR realised the bad reputation of the 1.8 and with the price of gas the number of sold 2.5 must be minimal overhere, besides I think these 2.5 engines will be reserved for the States as there they can't have diesels).

Hey, Labman. Just noticed, you're in Bournemouth too. If you need a tow................? Nah, though if you were staying in the fold, I'd suggest a beer, but a P.......P........Nope, can't bring myself to say it!

Marcus. . . just stop it. . .Ming

so you like to be pushed rather than towed

Hi Slob . . . Old chum thought you wasn't ah talking to me, ah mate, buddy,knew ya liked me really. . .[an olive branch to be swiped away by an insult] fire away, Ming