hi,

I have a freelander from 2004 and it is loosing coolant, only when driving i think. It went back to the garage where we bought it, with warranty, they set pressure on the cooling system on a cold engine and warm engine but there was no drop of pressure, and no leakage of coolant fluid anywhere to find. We got the car back but 2 weeks later and 300km drive the level of the coolant again was lower, more at the minimum than max.
We brought it back to the garage again and they brought it to the land rover dealer for a complete check. They also set pressure on the coolant system but they also did not find any leak. They removed the spark plugs and set again pressure on the system because it could be possible that coolant fluid was leaking above the piston. but they did not find anything.

We picked up the car for the 2nd time.

now 2 weeks later we still having the same issue: the level of the coolant fluid is lower and we drove around 400km with the car. The level dropt from just a little above the max to under the middle of min and max

we made an appointment with the garage for the 3rd time.

anyone having any ideas where to look?

regards

Frank

Hollland

 

It is possible that you are losing coolant through the intake manifold gasket. It is peculiar to the KV6 during cold weather, but can be corrected with a new gasket. The actual point of loss is on the intake manifold coolant vent, front and rear. The cylinder adjacent to each vent location will draw in coolant during warm up, after which it once again seals.

Spark plugs for either or both cylinders 5 and 6 will be clean and white on the insulator if this is happening. The other possibility is head gaskets, which may be leaking if the engine has overheated. The actual damage is not to the gaskets, but instead to the piston liners which could sink into the engine block as a result of the excess heat. this does not appear to be the source of loss on your vehicle, as the coolant typically flows into the cylinder as the engine cools down, and is vaporized during start up, evidenced by a plume of white vapor from the exhaust having a sickly-sweet smell caused by the glycol.

There is a Land Rover bulletin on the intake manifold leak that the dealer will be aware of if reminded...

 

Our freelander did not leak coolant until it came up to operating temp.When driving
It did not leak just standing there parked.