You thread the pump adapter to your overflow tank fill spout, pump it up to 15 or so pounds, then start looking all over your engine for a water leak (while the engine is off). With a pressure tester, your replicating what coolant system pressures you have on all the components when the engine is running at normal operation. So you should find your leak

 

Ill run to Harbor freight today. I have a coupon. I'll post what I find.

 

Yes and no. A few months ago the plastic T in my hoses disintegrated when I was out of town. A country mechanic tried to find a replacement to get me going again and ended up using a metal pipe T and three threaded nipples to fix it. It was pure genius and will never break, but I have no bleed hole. To bleed I have to elevate the expansion tank. Not quite as good, but I did do that.

 

First, our rad caps are unusual in the US, and Advance Auto had the only pressure tester that fit. Top off the system, pump up to 15 psi, and use a flashlight to check every hose. Also crawl underneath and check the water pump and front and back of each head.

Second, check out jfall's bleeding technique. As I revall, the gist is you elevate the expansion tank, remove the cap, and run the engine at 2000ish rpm. He did it for an hour and it apparently worked better than the RAVE system. I did it once, and it worked pretty well. I watched the temp like a hawk, though.

 

https://landroverforums.com/forum/di...chnique-48558/

 

Thank you. . I have an advance auto four blocks from my house and will give that a shot.

So, and I am really asking here, the problem could be that I did not get a complete bleed, I have a leak somewhere, and steam could have created sufficient pressure to blow a weak spot (definitely back of head gasket because I saw a needle thin jet of steam coming out of it)...Then, when I fill it up, it doesn't not build as much pressure because there is no steam and the steam is not shooting out? . I would still have whatever leak (probably at water pump because I can access and see all of the hoses already).

Does that all sound correct? I'm trying to get this straight in my mind. I did not really think about the fact that low coolant would increase pressure (because of steam), but I thought that the expansion tank cap and overflow tube were designed to relieve that pressure.

So, I would still need to find the leak to be sure that it doesn't go too low and create that condition again, and replace the passenger head gasket (and probably driver too).

Does that all sound correct?

I'm sorry to be so dumb. I have replaced many things including the engine and head gaskets, but I do not understand some principles.

 

I read jfall's procedure a moment ago; I hadn't seen that before. That's exactly what I did minus the Allen wrench (I used a gap tool to fine tune the rpm) and I only did it for about 15 minutes... I'm beginning to think I had alot of air still in the system and created this entire problem.

So, I will introduce pressure to the system. Look for a leak and expect to find it somewhere near the water pump. Order the new head gaskets.

After the pressure test I'll start the truck and hope that I don't get a misfire, because if I do I will be stumped whether I have a simple head gasket issue or a crack somewhere.

 

Okay found the leak, basically. I have an ARB bumper so it is hard to get a good look at the timing cover area but I have the fan off and see a slow drip from the water pump/front cover area. I assume the fan (which is now off) was blowing coolant up and about. If I can find a car wash that isn't shut down for the cold I'll wash everything off just to confirm. I assume I didn't get all of the old gasket material off before replacing the pump. I have extra gaskets and I even have a spare, new water pump.

Just following what I am inferring here, my coolant probably got low from driving to Dallas with a slow drip from the water pump area, steam built up creating too much pressure, and the gasket around the water jacket allowed steam and remaining coolant to escape to the outside world. That's why, when I stopped, coolant and steam kept spraying out and there was a giant puddle of antifreeze after a few minutes in the auto parts store with the truck off. That gives me some hope that I did not crack the heads, though it doesn't exclude the possibility and it is still possible that some small amount of coolant is getting into the rear cylinder. I supposed I can pull that spark plug and see if it looks really clean.

When I returned from the store and filled up with coolant, the steam was gone and so there wasn't enough pressure to push through the gasket. However, the pump continued to leak, so after a few hours driving home, it got low again and I had to fill it up. Since I was watching the gauge and heater like a hawk, it didn't have enough time to build up steam when the coolant got low, and hence I did not see a jet of steam of anything else obviously wrong, except coolant on the front of the engine.

If all of that is true, I can replace the water pump and its gasket today, fill er up, and wait for my new head gasket kit to arrive. In the interim, if I don't have misfires or another blowout, I'm probably okay with my cylinder heads.

Sound good?

I remember getting the reinz kit and new Beck Arney head bolts. I guess I'll get that setup again.

 

I spoke too soon.

Advance Auto has a nice pressure testing kit for anyone who needs to know. 200 dollar deposit.

First I got all air out of the system and made sure it was full. Then I hooked up the pressure tester and put it at 15 pounds of pressure. That made the hoses very stiff. I found two loose hose clamps. With those tightened I pumped it back to 15 pounds. And there it sits. It went down half a pound in thirty minutes so I must either have a very small leak or one that only blossoms when the engine is on. I'm looking for drips and see none. The water pump may have just had old stuff on it, I'm not sure.

 

Good news Charlie_V, 1/2 psi in 30 minutes is quite reasonable as the hoses continue to stretch and even small amounts of air in the system compress. Hopefully your woes are at an end and the system remains in tact when up to working temperature. Still keep a close eye on the gauges even so as heat can cause the system to leak also.