Slowly loosing coolant - 99 DII

[whitepr]

I have been slowly losing coolant for about 6 months. Recently I replaced the water pump and the valley pan gasket when the leak became a flood. That completely fixed it for a month. Now I am faintly catching the smell of coolant when I get out of the car and the reservoir is slowly losing antifreeze. Any thoughts? I have 80K on the DII. I can't see the leak anywhere.

 

[discomike]

Pat,
Have you checked your head gaskets? I know that is the dreaded word but you had better check.
Have you tried pressure testing the system?
The leak could be very minor if you're lucky.
Take care,
Mike J.

 

[whitepr]

I did pressure test it and I found a small leak in the radiator hose so I replaced it. Retested and can't find anything, though the smell is still there after I drive it.

Any unsuspecting place to look and see if it is the head gasket?

 

[Moose]

Smell might be from residual coolant burning off the exhaust manifold or other hot part...

 

[Muddyone]

I’m not sure if this is what Mike is talking about but LR had a service campaign TSB Number H230 back in Dec/00 for the Throttle Body Heater Gasket. If you’re still under warranty they will cover this repair, worth checking out if your still smelling coolant.

 

[JJMyerz]

Check the hard lines, I bet one of the fittings is loosing a teeny amount of coolant and is blowing back onto your motor/exhaust and causing it to burn and inturn giving a slight odor.

Justin

 

[Roverguy99]

Hey I have a 99 disco2 and I had the same prob replaced the intake gaskets and it fixed it for about a month and is is leaking again I dont kow that to do but tear it down and replace it when i did it the firts time the bolts were all loose and I really tightened them when i put it back together but does anyone know the specs on the intake bolts

 

[robertofollia]

Mine did leak from the rad. It was scrap at 36K. Symptoms. Coolant smell when stationary and 250cc coolant every 600 miles. Now it's leak -free.

Drive it and at the end of the day, leave a really big sheet of paper (A2 or A1) or clean cardboard under the front end. Leave it overnight. If some drips appear on it, take a look under the rad. Drips usually hit the steering bar before falling to the floor.
If that is the case, time for a new rad.
It appears to suffer from a design fault (design what????) and the O-ring that joins the left and front tanks to the core simply does not want to play anymore and blows.

Good luck and regards
Robert
'92 LR Santana 88
'95 RR Classic 300Tdi
'99 D2 V8 manual a bit sick-waiting for new MAF
'04 D2 Td5 manual