I was driving along when a funny sound came out from under the bonnet, two minutes later the temperature hit the top of the gauge, I pulled over and switched the engine off, the poor girl then had a wee from somewhere at the back of the engine, boiling coolant everywhere after a while.

When the engine had cooled down a bit, I had a look under the bonnet and found that the plastic pulley attached to the back of the fan had snapped off its mountings and the belt was shredded.

I have tried looking through previous posts, but a lot of pictures aren't loading, making it difficult to know what people are referring to.

Would someone please advise on what the most likely cause would be, what to check first, both for the belt snapping and for the water leak at the back?

To add insult to injury, the RAC left me and my 13yo son at the roadside for 11.5 hours and then took a further 13 hours to get my car back to me!

The damage you see maybe as a result of a seized water pump, or it maybe that the fan failed and took the belt out.

The increase in pressure due to the overheat may have burst a pipe at the back of the engine, or the header tank overflow may have run down the inner wing and then down and out the back.

Basically you need to strip the front of the engine down and see what is what...  Pete
I now have permission from the boss to use Y.O.L.O. Enjoy life
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2014 L405 Autobiography SDV8 4.4 Loire Blue Ebony interior
2011 L322 Vogue SE 4.4 TDV8 Baltic Blue. Sold
2012 L322 Autobiography 5.0 Supercharged Ipanema Sand Sold
2002 L322 Vogue 4.4 V8 Epson Green (Fatty Offroader) Sold
-Click for Project Fatty off roader-

Thanks for the reply , Once I have the fan cowl and fan removed I will have a much better idea, but off first impressions, should the fan spin freely, or should there be resistance felt if the water pump is an issue, mine spins at the lightest of touches?

I'm waiting for fan removal spanners to turn up tomorrow,
would it be prudent to replace pump and fan clutch anyway, are they known problem areas?

The fan isn't fixed solid to the pump, it has a viscous coupling, it should be easy to turn when the engine is cold, it engages and is difficult to turn when it gets hot....

The way to test the viscous coupling is to get the engine warm and stick a rolled up newspaper into the fan, if it doesn't stop and you get confetti then it's working OK....  Pete
I now have permission from the boss to use Y.O.L.O. Enjoy life
__________________________________________________
2014 L405 Autobiography SDV8 4.4 Loire Blue Ebony interior
2011 L322 Vogue SE 4.4 TDV8 Baltic Blue. Sold
2012 L322 Autobiography 5.0 Supercharged Ipanema Sand Sold
2002 L322 Vogue 4.4 V8 Epson Green (Fatty Offroader) Sold
-Click for Project Fatty off roader-

This is a seized pump, the white and red line should be parallel with each other...


 Pete
I now have permission from the boss to use Y.O.L.O. Enjoy life
__________________________________________________
2014 L405 Autobiography SDV8 4.4 Loire Blue Ebony interior
2011 L322 Vogue SE 4.4 TDV8 Baltic Blue. Sold
2012 L322 Autobiography 5.0 Supercharged Ipanema Sand Sold
2002 L322 Vogue 4.4 V8 Epson Green (Fatty Offroader) Sold
-Click for Project Fatty off roader-

I have made the decision to replace both, potentially saves an issue appearing just around the corner, the fan clutch is easy enough to change, would one of you please point me in the direction of good water pump replacement guide?

The workshop manual is downloadable from the Wiki (link top right of page)

While you are in there you may want to change the belt idlers, or change their bearings... Pete
I now have permission from the boss to use Y.O.L.O. Enjoy life
__________________________________________________
2014 L405 Autobiography SDV8 4.4 Loire Blue Ebony interior
2011 L322 Vogue SE 4.4 TDV8 Baltic Blue. Sold
2012 L322 Autobiography 5.0 Supercharged Ipanema Sand Sold
2002 L322 Vogue 4.4 V8 Epson Green (Fatty Offroader) Sold
-Click for Project Fatty off roader-

Just been looking in the engine bay, my header tank filler cap appears to say 250 or 260 on it, the plastic is scratched and hard to read, I have been lead to believe that this is incorrect and should only be 140, can anyone please tell me if this is true?

They have used both over the years, which one yours should have depends on the vin number, ask the dealer which one...

IMHO you should consider a lower rated thermostat, it is the best thing you can do for your fatty...

Loads of info here...

https://www.fullfatrr.com/forum/topic39362.html Pete
I now have permission from the boss to use Y.O.L.O. Enjoy life
__________________________________________________
2014 L405 Autobiography SDV8 4.4 Loire Blue Ebony interior
2011 L322 Vogue SE 4.4 TDV8 Baltic Blue. Sold
2012 L322 Autobiography 5.0 Supercharged Ipanema Sand Sold
2002 L322 Vogue 4.4 V8 Epson Green (Fatty Offroader) Sold
-Click for Project Fatty off roader-

Finally the Royal Mail have decided to deliver my parts instead of driving them around the country just for fun, the new viscous coupling has massively more turning resistance, so it looks like the original was broken, I have just looked at the water pump replacement guide, but the photos arent loading, can anyone reccomend another guide?