Ohhhh. I thought I had read 15 psi max for the tank. Guess I should redo.

 

I could be wrong on my math? I going by memory

 

check by the throttlebody heater, alot of people seem to overlook that spot when looking for leaks.

 

and here's the RAVE page for the 20 pound confirmation. If you are only testing to say 8 PSI, might miss some things, as water pump can make 10 PSI just at 1000 rpm...

 

Well, I drained her oil today and bled the coolant system. The oil was very milky, looks like coolant in the oil.

I'm not going to make it to auto zone today (I live in the middle of nowhere) to get the pressure tester - hopefully tomorrow. That will probably be the most important step in this diagnosis. I do wonder, if I apply pressure to the coolant system, could I make a leak dramatically worse (i.e. undriveable) by ramping up the pressure with the tester? I'm going to do it nonetheless, I just wonder if I should be prepared to blow something out and render the LR undriveable once I force pressure through there.

I ordered the ultragauge online but it looks like it's backordered. Man, what a cool device that looks like. It's like a full time OBD, all the time. Where was that thing when my Crown Vic kept breaking down 4 years ago!

Anyway, the coolant diagram is incredibly helpful (just like everything else in this forum). Once I rent the pressure tool I plan to take photos of the testing process and post a tutorial for n00bs like me.

Thanks guys, I'll let you know what the pressure test reveals as soon as I make it to town.

 

when you have the preasure test bring it up to 10 psi check and tighten any leaks, then 15psi check and tighten then try 20 psi.
But you need to be checking, tightening and wiggling all your hoses and clamps.
I can not count the amount of people that have told me they preasure tested the vehicle and found the leak.there can easly be more than one that show up at different preasures,the higher the preasure the more leaks you are likely to find.
If you cant get above 15psi of so you probablly have an internal leak, so pumping it like a madman to reach 20psi, is probably just going to cause you more problems sooner.
your going to need a flashlight, inspection mirror, newpaper and about 20-30 minutes to test it properly. I say newpaper because i find new print show water very easily.

 

Sounds like I have some checking to do. Thankyou for the explanation and ideas.

 

Sorry about the 15 psi. Thats just what my cap says on the expansion tank for max. After 15 psi it should (perfect world) start venting.

 

ps. ultraguage is good but thier website and pricing is BS. $200 for original unit? When they came out, it was $49.99 then a mail in rebate. Then they got popular... they market the things in a shady way. 67% off special limited time offer? Yea... its them hoping no one remembers what they cost originally and how much "less off" you get as they raise (lower) the asking price as time goes by. :-/ i saw a year or two from now scanguage v3 retail $399 now 50% off limited time only!!

 

Well honestly, I'm not sure you need to do a pressure test anymore. If you changed the oil and found coolant in there, unfortunately I think your answer would be head gaskets. That is a pretty trademark sign of the HG being shot.