your water going down on a 1800 petrol sometimes means head gasket but could be the dreaded header tank has it got cracks in it around the cap area if so change my wife petrol 1800 does not seem to use any oil nor my td4
 
your water going down on a 1800 petrol sometimes means head gasket but could be the dreaded header tank has it got cracks in it around the cap area if so change my wife petrol 1800 does not seem to use any oil nor my td4
Too late, changed it 2 months ago due to that fault lol
 
Still you are only saying 3/4 of a litre over 2k hard miles. That is not majorly bad consumption. What is the mileage of your freelander? Water loss is common in the k and is usually a cause of hgf not a symptom.
 
Still you are only saying 3/4 of a litre over 2k hard miles. That is not majorly bad consumption. What is the mileage of your freelander? Water loss is common in the k and is usually a cause of hgf not a symptom.

131 thousand miles on a 53 plate 1.8 petrol. If I was just oil I wouldn't be worried but as I'm loosing water that causes concern.
 
Is there a crankcase depression valve on a 1.8 k series petrol freelander, were is it located on a 02 plate landy.

I've looked in the green haynes freelander manual page 4c.2 and it as crankcase emmision control paragraph that says it as a charcoal canister located under the vehicle, just ahead of the right hand side rear roadwheel, see illustration 2.10. is this the same thing.
 
Do I have one of them then?

Errrr, no not on a k series.

You could have a hardening of the valve stem seals causing a bit of a leak into the engine so it could be burning a bit that way.

As I said there are many reasons why the water level drops on a k and it is not often HGV that is causing it.

Is the oil Mayo? Does the water level drop more on short journeys than on long ones? Ie can you do a 500 mile trip and use no water but over the course of a week to and from work use a header tank full?
 
Errrr, no not on a k series.

You could have a hardening of the valve stem seals causing a bit of a leak into the engine so it could be burning a bit that way.

As I said there are many reasons why the water level drops on a k and it is not often HGV that is causing it.

Is the oil Mayo? Does the water level drop more on short journeys than on long ones? Ie can you do a 500 mile trip and use no water but over the course of a week to and from work use a header tank full?
That's very good questions I'd say more on motorway and towing.

Had a light misting of Mayo which I've cleaned off to see if it comes back. Nothing on dipstick.
 
Light mayo is usually down to condensation, heavy is hgf.

More water use on short journeys indicates a cold leak like the inlet manifold. (What mine is suffering with - I might get round to fixing it soon!)

More on long journeys is a hot leak or a permant leak. Are all of your hoses in top order? You said you have had the expansion tank replaced, is that with the later updated design and new cap? Or is the cap the original one?

What is your normal commute? Does the engine get fully to temp? Do you give it the big one from cold? Do you use the dual carriage way/motorway within 1 minute of starting the car?

It is too easy to say HGF with these engine when it isn't.
 
Is the expansion tank over pressureising when the engine is running? Does the water smell of exhaust fumes?
 
Light mayo is usually down to condensation, heavy is hgf.

More water use on short journeys indicates a cold leak like the inlet manifold. (What mine is suffering with - I might get round to fixing it soon!)

More on long journeys is a hot leak or a permant leak. Are all of your hoses in top order? You said you have had the expansion tank replaced, is that with the later updated design and new cap? Or is the cap the original one?

What is your normal commute? Does the engine get fully to temp? Do you give it the big one from cold? Do you use the dual carriage way/motorway within 1 minute of starting the car?

It is too easy to say HGF with these engine when it isn't.

Drive to work is 11 miles, never driven hard till oil is warmed up, nothing over 3.5k Rev. New cap with tank so I believe that's all in order. As for pipes I can't see any staining.
 
I really don't think it is HGF....

From what you are saying I think it is probably the stem seals allowing a bit of oil to pass, and I would be having a very careful look at all of the hoses and the radiator for pin prick holes..

But as always it is very difficult to diagnose stuff over the Internet. At least you have been able to give answers to all my questions.

Keep an eye on things as well and if anything gets worse or changes go from there...
 
Oh and another place to check for leaks is the heater matix - is it wet inside? Do your windows steam up a lot?
 
I really don't think it is HGF....

From what you are saying I think it is probably the stem seals allowing a bit of oil to pass, and I would be having a very careful look at all of the hoses and the radiator for pin prick holes..

But as always it is very difficult to diagnose stuff over the Internet. At least you have been able to give answers to all my questions.

Keep an eye on things as well and if anything gets worse or changes go from there...

I really appreciate all your help. The only thing that bothered me with the valve stem theory is no smoke on start up.

I had a nose at rad couldn't see any signs of moisture. But i'm no mechanic so to be on safe side booked it in on Monday. I only got the car a few months ago on the cheap with no history so don,t know if hg been done or not.
 
Most garages are not freelander friendly...... They are not clued up about them in any way. Also a lot of garages see the K series and immediately think HGF.

It is also a cash cow - the myth is everyone knows the k series is a "weak" engine and always has gasket failure. So a garage can blindly say oh yeah HGF, while they are doing the head gasket they will no doubt replace the stem seals and the inlet manifold gasket etc....

Hence why the replacement of a head gasket cures the problems. Also many garages automatically skim the heads this can prove problematic if it doesn't need it due to the surface hardening treatment that the heads are subjected to during manufacture.

.
 
Most garages are not freelander friendly...... They are not clued up about them in any way. Also a lot of garages see the K series and immediately think HGF.

It is also a cash cow - the myth is everyone knows the k series is a "weak" engine and always has gasket failure. So a garage can blindly say oh yeah HGF, while they are doing the head gasket they will no doubt replace the stem seals and the inlet manifold gasket etc....

Hence why the replacement of a head gasket cures the problems. Also many garages automatically skim the heads this can prove problematic if it doesn't need it due to the surface hardening treatment that the heads are subjected to during manufacture.

.
Can the stem seals be checked/replaced without taking head off? My local garage isn't convinced it's head gasket either he also said some Freelander 's use oil n water n some don't. But I'll be towing 100 round trip next weekend and don't want the risk of breaking down for a sake for a gasket or two. So I'm kinda stuck between a rock n hard place lol
 
No stem seals are a head off job on the K series. But as said many manufacturers quote a litre per 1k is fine. You are currently getting 3/8 of a litre per 1k.........

I wouldn't be worried about the oil use. Just track down that water leak and make sure you keep an eye on it.
 
No stem seals are a head off job on the K series. But as said many manufacturers quote a litre per 1k is fine. You are currently getting 3/8 of a litre per 1k.........

I wouldn't be worried about the oil use. Just track down that water leak and make sure you keep an eye on it.

Other than a sniff test is there any other things to check the hg?

What are the typical signs of early hgf?

Thanks for all this really appreciated.
 

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