I have just bought a 2002 freelander 1.8 s five door. (petrol)
Problem one. The coolant was non existant when i bought the car. When i put in the 5.8 litres coolant mix as perscribed it disappears. There is no fluid leaking onto the ground however a vapour mist is coming from the exhuast. The engine oil was also a bit low. i topped it up but the oil has turned a cream colour and the engine will not start howevr it did before i added the oil and the coolant. Yes i put them in the right places. Where is the coolant going and what causes the oil to turn. I will obviously be contacting a mechanic but in the meantime suggestions would be appreciated.

cheers Brooksy

 

perhaps a blown head gasket?

 

I would suggest big time that it is the head gasket failure situation, if the oil became cream coloured after filling with coolant, then the two are cross contaminating, you will most likely find oil int he coolant as well.. Obviously the seller knew this, and also knew no one would test drive the freelander for any long distances, so ran without coolant, to hide the fact. This of course will have made things ten times worse. (they may have also disconnect the temp gauage, or changed it to read incorrectly.

At best, you may be looking at a simple head gasket change, (unlikely) most likely you are looking at new gasket and the head skimmed. Next is new gasket and a new head, as it may have been skimmed before, and worse case is a new engine as sometimes the bottom block can also crack due to the heat.

Just changing the gasket, at a normal backstreet garage, you are looking at about £600, new engine would be in the region of £2000.

 

this isn't the only time i have heard of a head gasket being messed up on a late model freelander. is this only common on the 1.8? if so, good becuase i have the 2.5. i'm not even sure if the 1.8 is offered in the US.

 

milky oil=water in oil=head gasket.