Hi all,

Got a coolant leak again. It's been a few, happy, dry months but as the weather is getting cooler, the coolant level in the expansion tank has been dropping lower and lower and Puddles the Land Rover is back to his old ways i.e. marking his territory by leaving a little pool of coolant on the ground where ever we go.

I'm over it now. Gaskets are getting replaced. I have coolant dye working its way through the system as I type. Probably should have changed the water pump gasket last time I had it apart just for kicks.

In the interest of collecting information though, is there a sticky about replacing the front cover gasket? If not, anyone want to give me a high level play by play? What sort of mess am I going to get into if it turns out to be a front cover gasket leak? Just looking at the D2 manual diagram, the front cover gasket replacement looks like it is a serious piece of work (serious meaning opening the block and exposing internal workings).

Oh and just to be sure, is the "front cover" the same thing as the "timing cover?" It sure looks like the water pump mounts to the "timing cover" but I just want to be sure before having to explain to my wife why the car isn't going to be working for a couple weeks.

Thanks!

 

Yes front cover = timing cover.

First read the shop manual procedure, twice. That tells you everything you need to know but there are some things to know that will help if your don't have specialized pullers and pulley holders.

The high level how to (off the top of my head so I may skip some important steps):

1) Drain the coolant and oil
2) Take off the fan/serp belt
3) Unbolt the AC and Alt. bolts
4) Remove the pulleys and brackets for AC and Alt.
5) Remove the oil pan
6) Remove the crank shaft pulley bolt (this is a tough one. I used a strap wrench and 2 people, you can also use the starter motor to loosen the bolt).
7) Remove the bolts and pull off the front cover.
8) Take off the water pump.
9) Clean up all gasket and reverse

Replace the front crank seal also. The hardest part is getting the front cover back on over the woodruff key. The easiest way is to put the crankshaft and the oil pump gear to TDC and try to get it on about 50 times without throwing **** in frustration.

 

Thanks, lipad! That is exactly the overview I was looking for. What is TDC?

 

Top dead center, or 12 o'clock. So just turn the crank shaft until the woodruff key is at 12 o'clock and turn the oil pump gear so the notch is at 12 o'clock and try to get the gear over the shaft. It is frustrating to say the least because you cannot see it.

 

So I might not have needed the coolant dye anyway. Looks like there is a leak from the rear of the engine, passenger's side. It is coming down the side of the engine, dripping onto the front axle drive line and getting splashed all over the back of the engine block, transmission, etc. It looked awful.

I have my thoughts. Anyone else want to help diagnose?

Thanks!