Hello all,

Once a year my 2000 Disco II needs some service and now is that time. It always seems to have a problem in winter.

This year the happy news is that I am losing oil from the front main seal; I know how to fix that. However, in investigating that, I am also seeing bright green antifreeze coming from somewhere behind the main pulley. I would say there is one drop per second when the engine is running. I replaced the front main seal and the water pump approximately two years ago and the water pump was reconditioned. Since I want to be sure that I have everything on hand that I need when I work on it, has anyone had a leak from the water pump area and, if so, was it anything more serious than a gasket? I confess that I only vaguely remember putting the water pump on, but it seems that it was a single unit and bolted into place without the necessity of removing the front cover. Of course, I will have to remove the front cover anyway to replace the main seal.

The only thing notable that happened prior to the leak is that about a month ago the plastic T on my radiator hose disintegrated while I was driving on the highway. I stopped pretty quickly (less than a minute after the steam shot everywhere). I doubt that the water pump ran dry, but it is possible because I did not watch the mechanic replace the antifreeze, and the amount he used, after he fixed the T. By the way, I was in the middle of nowhere and none of the local shops had a fitting that would work, so he went to plumbing shop and got a metal T with threaded nipples in three directions for about 28 bucks, then used regular hose clamps. INDESTRUCTIBLE.

Best,

Charlie V

 

The water pump itself has two seals
And inner seal and outer seal. In between those two seals is a weep hole. When the inner seal starts leaking it is supposed to drip out the weep hole to give you warning. My guess, that is what is happening. It's held on by a few bolts attached to the outside of that cover with a paper gasket in between it. I always use RTV As sandwich material along with that

 

Dusty should I be able to see that weep hole with the fan removed? Is it on the front/bottom of the pump?

 

The weep hole is on the passenger side of the water pump. Follow the "pipe" part of the water pump that the hose connects to back toward the pump body. Right where the top edge of that pipe part meets the main body you should be able to see it. When it starts to weep, the coolant usually flows down the top edge of that pipe piece.

 

pressure test it to be sure i would hate to see you replace the water pump and find out it is a timing cover leak

 

yes weep hole is easy to see.
to pin point, you could put some uv dye in the system. that will give the advantage of seeing if it is glowing in that weep hole

 

Sadly I'm going to have to reolace all of the gaskets on the front to replace the main seal anyway. I really have zero confidence in the paper gaskets that come from land Rover. If anyone has a better suggestion there please let me know.

 

I had to be out of town this weekend but I will be in this Monday night. Dusty as I understand it, if I see antifreeze coming from the weep hole it means the inner gasket is the problem. Right?

Maybe beside the point I watched my fan from below and there is zero wobble.

 

yes inner seal. doesn't necessarily mean the bearing is out, so wobble doesn't have to accompany the leak. if it is the weep hole, it is actually working as it should. a warning that your pump is nearing the end. by design...inner seal dies before the outer and bearings. you can stick a q-tip in there and look for moisture just after you shut off engine. and you can see it, back there.

 

You won't observe wobble with the belt tension on there. You'd want to remove the belt and check, and even then it may be hard to perceive. I could not detect wobble in mine at all until I had it off and on the bench. But it was leaking out the weep hole. The seal can be damaged by overheating, and not just because the bearing is bad. In my case, the bearing was only just starting to wobble a couple of thou, but it wasn't going to get better. I also had to replace the fan clutch. That was the issue that was causing overheating. I could have possibly overlooked the weeping and tiny wobble for quite some more time, but not the failed fan clutch. But it very well could have been the wobble that broke the fan clutch. Then the subsequent overheating may have done in the seal, if the wobble hadn't.

To install, I use The Right Stuff by itself, with no paper gasket. I will use this in lieu of almost any paper or elastomeric gasket other than an o-ring or something I disassemble regularly. I do not like the other RTV gasket makers. They take too long to cure. If you have the time and apply them correctly, they should work fine. I like the pressurized Right Stuff cans because they make consistent, even beads easy to form. The Right stuff is perfect for differentials, water pumps, thermostats, oil pans, valve covers etc. I also used it in lieu of the paper gaskets in the axles. I wouldn't use it on the drive flanges though if you inspect those often. I have aftermarket flanges with o-rings. When I had stock flanges, I used the paper gaskets coated with wax or chap-stick. That works good for carburetor gaskets too. Neither Right Stuff or regular RTV silicones will work around gasoline.