Hi guy, I've had a quick brows and cant seem to answer my problem, however i literally just joined this site and the topics seem quite endless.

iv.e been loosing coolant for a while now, about 3 liters every month or so. took her to my local garage and they did find a hose behind the engine that wasn't connected properly but i'm still loosing coolant somewhere, this time i have been told they cant find the leak and i should take my car to a specialist.

i usually do all the work myself but i'm away at work at the moment so was hoping to fix this issue when i get back (with your suggestions and help)

the low coolant level warning on the dash has been up for a few months, and (i'm sorry) I've been putting normal (not land rover) coolant in, so even when the actual coolant level is OK the level warning is still on, i assume some form of coolant mix sensor knows i'm putting cheap coolant in.

i resorted to cheap coolant as i'm loosing so much it seems a waste to put lr stuff in.

are there any things i could have missed here?? the car has had a standard pressure test from the garage and they say no coolant is leaking, they also said the radiator was damp but no signs of water??
there is no water in my oil and no emulsification (in oil or on oil cap) and i,m sure i don't get steam out of the exhaust. so if i'm right and its not a block or head gasket issue... have i missed something?

it's the 4.4 petrol v8 and it's converted to lpg if that helps
thanks in advance.
Danny

Hi Danny,

I have a 4.4 V8 with LPG conversion, and when we first had it it was loosing coolant - turned out to be the water supply pipes to the LPG evaporator units needed their clips tightened up - once done, have not lost any more coolant - don't know if this helps but may be worth a look?

Best of luck buddy, but I would certainly want to find your leaks pronto, and then get the correct coolant in your engine ASAP. 2006 (56 Reg) 4.4 V8 Vogue In Bonatti Grey (Gorgeous!!)

thanks Ray, i'm open to any and all suggestions and i'll check the evap when i get home, however i would have assumed if it was a leak from the hose it would have showed up on the pressure test... that said it's always worth a check as the garage may have missed something!!

and yes re proper coolant, that's why i need this issue resolving, i really do need to get the proper coolant in quick!!

Wasn't there a thread somewhere about the wrong expansion cap used on some cars?

Has the radiator been renewed in the last couple of years, if not I would look there. Due to the high temp and pressure even the tiniest leak will not evidence itself as the coolant just evaporates leaving no trace. Possibly something horrible going on on the side you can't see! .
Experience is the only genuine knowledge, but as time passes, I have forgotten more than I can remember
Volvo V70 P2 2006 2.4 Petrol 170bhp Estate SE
MG Midget Mk1 1962

Previous: L322 Range Rover TDV8 3.6 2008; L322 Range Rover TD6 3.0 2002; P38A Range Rover V8 1999

If I remember the expansion tank and sensor checks to see if the right mix of coolant is in the engine and if not then will show the low coolant level.
It could also be a crack in the expansion tank that only shows under extreme pressure, or the cap itself is faulty.

the tanks are not that expensive from the dealers. Regards
Mark

2012 Westminster
GONE - 2007 Java Black FF Vogue, with Ivory interior

thanks, guys

so the expansion tank is the "weak link"?? makes sense as its plastic and mine is 13 years old (i have no paperwork from the previous owners to say it's been replaced)

and i have a damp patch on radiator so it's likely i could have a leak here that's evaporating before it develops to a drip.

belt and braces would be to replace the rad and the expansion tank i guess. or to possibly save money i could just replace the exp tank. or i could put it in the local approved lady garage and have done with it to be sure

Your car is exactly the same as mine - I had a similar problem which was a combination of ....

Radiator
If you take the fan off and fan cowling I bet you will see dried coolant marks where the (Behr) radiator weeps on RHS (LHS when looking from front) when under full pressure. A new rad is only about £110 - got mine from Advanced Radiators, Newcastle Upon Tyne, via Ebay coolpartsuk. 2 yr warranty and it includes the drain tap at bottom which is quite useful for coolant change. Seems to be quite well made.

Expansion Tank
Prev owner had this changed not long before I bought the car due to coolant loss.

Car done 90000 miles. Howard
____________________________________________________
2002 4.4 V8 LPG Tartarini
Have RSW AllComms in Cheshire J17 M6 - happy to help.
*Gone: Classic Vogue SE Auto V8 3.9

On my 2004 4.4 I had the radiator replaced as it was leaking at the bottom corner, I think when it was 5 or so years old. I was told this was a common problem.
Later, about 9 years old, it started blowing coolant out of the back of the engine. One could see the residues from underneath, but not drips on to the ground. I was told that a head repair might or might not work, and the alternatives were a new engine (uneconomic) or a new car, which is what I chose.
I hope yours is just the radiator. Only Range Rovers since 1988

Hi Danny

I have a 4.4 V8 on lpg too - 54 plate, done 100,000.

I had the same symptons as you - losing coolant and constantly having to top up.

I foolishly didn't have time to investigate it as I wasn't using the car much, but one morning the heater didn't work and the temperature guage didn't get to normal. Then the car just stopped. Coolant all over the road.

Turned out to be bottom hose had split - you can't see it either.

Garage replaced both top and bottom hoses for me and, although there was no damage to the engine, the bill was quite high.

Of course, your problem may not be the bottom hose, but it may be worth checking.

Good luck.

Expansion bottle, inboard seam underside of it.
Cheapest thing to do first I believe.
Replacing all coolant hoses is a good thing to do if they are looking suspect, ie dont wait for them to fail.
You need to get the coolant mix right as well.......your engine is running at 100-108c.
Dont over fill the expansion bottle, leave the little tell tail at half way.

Thanks again, this is my first thread and i'm blown away by how helpful you are all being.
i'll have plenty checks to do when i get home

On the BMW engine, there is a plastic pipe adaptor on the back of the cylinder head that goes pop (mine had a fairly recent one when i bough the car), the rad on mine was leaking, with the fan then dispersing the mist and hiding the leak, the temperature sender on the water pump was also weeping. The coolant tanks burst (the BMW cars do this too) and the rad caps had a revised design with a lower pressure opening. and the water pumps have a habit of failing on them.

I'm not sure it's worth using expensive "Land Rover" coolant anyway. So long as you just use decent quality stuff and the correct grade, it's nothing special. LR will just buy it in from someone else, Most likely Havoline or Bluecol (Bluecol is all still UK made) http://bluecol.co.uk/index.php/about/

What he said ^^^^

Don't waste money on LR coolant, any decent stuff will do...

My rad had an unfindable leak as well so it's pretty common... just did the lot on mine, rad, hoses etc and it's fine now..

If your going to keep it maybe worth fitting one of these...

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/80-C-Thermostat-...2a59352aa0

They made the engine run hotter than it was designed for to reduce part throttle emissions, trouble is it cooks everything under the bonnet especially all the plastic bits, fitted one to mine with the 80deg stat and it runs so much nicer, the engine feels more relaxed (I know that sounds daft but it's the best way to describe it) You need a tool something like a dremmel to fully remove the innards of the old stat but it's not hard...  Pete

__________________________________________________
2014 L405 Autobiography SDV8 4.4 Loire Blue Ebony interior
2011 L322 Vogue SE 4.4 TDV8 Baltic Blue. Parchment over Navy Interior. Sold
2012 L322 Autobiography 5.0 Supercharged Ipanema Sand, Jet Interior. Sold
2002 L322 Vogue 4.4 V8 Epson Green, Ivory over Aspen Interior (Fatty Offroader) Sold
-Click for Project Fatty off roader-

as said above, ther are easy places to look and check for dampness etc. ie bottle and rad, however, there is another suspect area you can very easily rule out, with a couple of cotton buds, maybe stuck on a stick to check for dampness,
It's the valley pan gasket. its a fairly big looking job, to reseal it, but straightforward to a mechanic. the full repair is here, in glorious american accent. if you skip to 6min 20 secs, you can see the leak, as it looks on a typical valley pan leak. you can then poke a couple of cotton buds down there, with a torch, with all the stuff still on the engine, but with the top cover off. (four allen bolts etc) this rules out this area, or confirms that its leaking. it sort of overflows, into the gearbox/engine coupling, and stains and drips under there. -not where you are expecting a water leak to be. you should re-seal the valley pan, and change the inlet manifold gaskets, and rocker cover gaskets at same time. (and spark plugs whilst all apart) -dont panic yet, just try the cotton bud test there, -not to find oily stuff, just coolant. any leak visible, will have 'evapourated' to neat coolant.... there wont be much, -confirm by absorbing all in that area, (tissue) and rechecking after a drive.
these engines, are very well built, but the rubber seals that hold the water in, harden over the life of the engine, -you will see on the video, the front to rear water pipes, these have an o ring at each end, these can leak too. -only pence, but still need the same strip down in vid, so change those as well.