Coolant reservoir leak
 

Here I am again asking for help

Little by little my Land Rover Discovery is becoming road worthy.....

Here's my problem:

After driving my Discovery and pulling into the driveway, after about 10-15 minutes I see a pool of fluid right around the front passenger side tire

I pop open the hood and notice the fluid is dripping from the coolant reservoir and running down the rubber hoses and at the lowest point of the hose, it drips onto the driveway

The reservoir is hot with liquid and very hard to troubleshoot whilst it's hot. The leaking stops when everything cools down.

While hot, I use a mirror to peak at where the leak is coming from and with a high certainty I think it's coming from under the reservoir.

What do you guys think is wrong? My suspicions are since the reservoir is plastic, could be broken. Or could be one of the hoses coming in to the reservoir is bad.

What would happen if I try to troubleshoot this while it's cold? I'm afraid if I disconnect all the hoses from the reservoir to try to remove the coolant reservoir to look at the underside of it, all the engine coolant fluid will start coming out and will now have a bigger issue to contend with.

Is this a DIY job or am I better off going to the mechanic?

Thanks a million!

Al G
2003 D2 SE7 86K miles

Pretty common for the little nipple on the bottom to crack or break off.

Jafir, so does this warrant a replacement or can be repaired? Also DIY or take to mechanic?

Thanks

Can also be a loose hose clamp on the underside. Pretty simple DIY replacement. As for repair with something like JB Weld, save that for the emergency gotta get home on Sunday night when parts stores closed. Here's a plumbing plan that shows where the lines run.

Buzz, fantastic! Thank you very much! I saved the PDF for my reference.

I found the problem.... the nipple under the reservoir is cracked. One last question - would you try to repair the reservoir with JB Weld or is this something I should not chance and install a new one?

Thank you

Al
03 D2 SE7

Replace it. It's $39 at rockauto. Just search for a 99-02.

Jafir

Thanks! I'm new to Rovers and never heard of Rockauto.com

But you're right - the coolant expansion tank is only $38!!!! At Atlantic British they wanted $120 for it. At the dealership they wanted $199!

I learned at lot from this post

Thank you

Al
2003 DII SE7

JB Weld would work for a period of time, but heat/cool cycles would get the better of it at some point, another crack could form. A coolant dump while away from parts sources is no fun.

Ordering the coolant tank online, but im sure it wont be in for a day or two with the weekend coming up. Like Aguison's post, my nipple is cracked (don't say "thats what she said").
Would Crazy glue or Gorilla glue work for the next day or two while I wait for the part to arrive? I need this car as its all I have right now. I'm thinking I pull the reservoir, clean it out thoroughly, and give it a shot.
Any other recommendations appreciated.

Buy JB Weld from the hardware store. Costs about $4. There are two types - one for metal and the other for wood, plastic, etc. Get the non-metal type. This worked for me, I still have it and am observing how long it will hold.

Good luck!