Hello everyone,

My 01' Disco started leaking coolant at a high rate earlier this week. The leak is so bad that as I put in coolant I could see it leaking out from the back of the engine near the drivers side.

Once I put the coolant in, it would run fine for awhile, then the heater would stop working (blew out cold air) and the temp would start going up, so I stopped driving it.

I got it to the dealership and got some bad news. They said they could not find the leak, and the leak was so bad that a pressure test was pointless since the coolant system had no pressure.

They said most likely I would need a whole new engine ($10k+), and the only way they could find the problem is to take the engine apart, which is a $2,500 job. They also said I should not drive the car, and I need to get it towed from the dealership.

The best explanation they could give me is that it may be a cylinder sleeve (But they can't be certain until they take apart the engine).

Could this be causing the huge coolant leak? And if it is, how much is this fix?

Is my car done for? It broke down about 6 hours from home, and the only way I can get it back to my mechanic back home is to tow it ($$).

Here are some pictures and videos of the leak. Thank you for any help/advice you all can give me.



(The orange dots are the leaking coolant)

View My Video

 

First, they are waaayyyy over pricing that. A rebuild engine from Atlantic British is a "mere" $7000. At the price they are quoting you should buy another Rover off Craigslist and sell your current one.

Secondly, while the coolant is dripping from the area indicated, it's certainly not leaking out of the seem between the engine and transmission.

If it's a sleeve, you should find coolant in your oil. Your oil will be very milky looking. You would be burning coolant too, so maybe checking the exhaust smell would be good too.

I think it could be a head gasket. If I'm right, they tend to go in the rear of the engine, between those cylinders and the dashboard of the car. This is probably why they can't find it. Because it's really tight back there.

Anybody else have a (more educated) opinion?

 

Thank you for the response! No coolant in the oil, checked the oil reservoir before I sent it to the dealership, and there was no "milk shake."

Very strong coolant smell when it was running.

 

It could also be as simple as the Valley pan gasket. The rubber ends that seal the valley pan to the block seem to fail. Mine did. Make sure it isn't the TB heater plate leaking, when they do leak the coolant could run down the rocker cover to the back of the engine. Mine did.

 

if you are not mixing oil and coolant,you need to find the source. that coolant burning smell could be as simple as your leak hitting the exhaust.


my advise is put some of that uv dye junk in the coolant, fill it up and let it leak a tad. you can then use a fluorescent bulb to follow it to source.
could be the above mentioned things, best to find the source.

 

I'm guessing a blown head gasket, I've had a similar issue with coolant coming out the back of the head, leaking down.

 

2x on the UV dye.

being that far from home....do you or a good friend have a truck/suv that can tow it? I'm assuming someone has to come pick you up. You can rent those u-haul flatbeds for like $60.

 

No conclusion. No help