Hi.

First of all, sorry if this is not the appropiate forum or I make any grammatical mistake trying to explain what's happening with mi RR, but I´m not an english native.

Anyway, my RR is suffering from leaks in the coolant system, so i have to fill it with water/coolant every 600 Kms. It´s a 2006 L322 model with TD6 BMW engine.

As the radiator seemed to have a leakage, it was changed two months ago. But the RR panel still indicated that i had to check the coolant level. I took her to a mechanical workshop, and after 2 days checking Rangie, they think it has micropores in the cylindre head. That's really disappointing and, obviously, very expensive.

My question is, Do i have any chance of escaping from having the cylindre head substituted, like using any kind of antileaking aditive? If it is so, which one would you recommend?

Thanks everyone.
Pepa80

Sounds very unlikely to me, take it to a second garage and ask for another opinion...

Get someone to do a pressure test on the system this will show a leak...  Pete

__________________________________________________
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Hi.

Thanks so much Hylands for your answer.

By the way, a pressure test has been made already, and it shows there's a leak somewhere, but the loss of pressure is very subtle.

It has been checked all the exterior components, and no leak found.
The garage guy told me he has spoken with Land Rover and they have confirmed that if you do not use the recomended blue BMW coolant liquid, as time goes on, you may experience micropores in the cylindre head.
Have you hear something similiar?

As changing that part is very expensive and i'm not completely sure about this diagnostic, i was thinking of asking the garage to clean the coolant system and fill it with the recomended one and add, as well, a kind of antileaking aditive before going to a new garage. Any suggestion, please?

Thanks

I agree with Haylands. Find the leak. Can you smell coolant? It doesn't need to be BMW coolant but it does need to be OAT (dex-cool) coolant. As for head gasket repair there are products that work well. The exception is when the head gasket leak is between cylinders.

Alloy heads can become porous. Any fracture in the head will seal up in use and open up once cooled. Pressure test should be on a cold engine.
Does the exhaust show steam on start up?
Is it harder to start than when you first had it?
If the answer is no to both then not likely to be the head.

Hi.

Rangie does not experience any trouble in the starting up and no steam is appreciated either.
I do not smell coolant, as well.

Thanks so much to all of you, guys.
I will tell you how it finishes.

OK so you have loss of coolant that does not smell, does not produce any smoke. How is the oil? Any coolant in the oil?

Small coolant leaks can be hard to identify if they are coming to atmosphere.
On a dark night get engine temp to running temp.
Look around under the bonnet with a laser pointer (best) or a torch with a narrow beam.
Look around the radiator as well.
As already stated usually you can smell coolant loss.

Have you replaced your expansion tank cap?

Definitely get a second opinion on the last diagnosis.

Hi everyone.

The garage guy has checked if there is any kind of hydrocarbons in the coolant, but the test has been negative. Also, the oil cap has no traces of coolant, no "mayonnaise" at all.

Rangie is still in the garage but, definitively, i will not have the head substituted without asking for a second opinión and checking by myself what RR P38 has said.

All this stuff is puzzeling me because the pressure test has showed a subtle loss of coolant and Rangie is drinking more than she should. But no smell of coolant, no smoke, engine is going well ...

Other clue i can give you is the fact that she consumes much more in summer (i have spent few weeks in Seville, which is very hot during this time of the year) than in Winter (I live in Madrid, which is much colder). Besides, as i have been on holydays, I've been adding distilled wáter instead of coolant . But the garage guy insists that it has nothing to do with the viscosity or concentration of coolant.

Thanks
Pepa

Have you checked the filler cap? I would be inclined to try a new filler cap to eliminate that as a possibility before looking at potentially much more expensive solutions. There won't necessarily be any traces at the cap for a small loss.

PS. I see RR P38 has already suggested that. John
2008 Stornoway Grey 3.6 Tdv8 Vogue
2005 TD6 Java Black Vogue - Written off!!
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2003 Discovery TD5 Auto, Nanocom Evolution - gone to a new home!
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Last edited by Weegie on 25th Aug 2016 9:50am. Edited 1 time in total

Hi.

I'm thinking of changing not only the filler cap but the expansion tank. It might have a small loss, maybe. And it's quite cheaper.

Thanks
Pepa

How much coolant is needed to fill after 600km? The fill cap has an "O" ring type gasket. The gasket gets old and leaks. Usually you can see coolant from this leak on the tank. Usually you can smell it.

Hi,

More or less 1/2litre or so. However, recently it consumed 1 litre.
On the other hand i haven`t observed leaks on the tank.
Cheers
Pepa

That is quite a lot for those little miles. Plus you don't smell any. It only has 3 places it can go. 1. Out the cooling system which you should see or smell. 2. Into the oil which you should see. 3. Into the cylinders. Being a diesel, which I know very little about, maybe it is harder to see or smell at the tail pipe. Assuming it is a head gasket leak into the cylinder this sealant should fix it.
I have used a product called Thermagasket here in the US with excellent results.
https://www.rxauto.com/

Might I suggest, for a few days, remove the engine under tray, and with a clean floor, park up, and see if you get a drip or two to identify the area to look further at. Maybe go for a gentle drive, and park up. And idle for 10 mins. If it's collecting on the under tray, it might be dried by the next journey draft winds, and the next gathering drips, await the next drying journey. With a large sheet of flat cardboard, slid under, you don't even need hard concrete, if you have gravel drive etc.
I'm betting on an old fashioned radiator leak. Between the ac condenser, and water rad.
Remember to disregard any AC exit condensate drips, so don't run your AC whilst looking etc.