I just got an oil change and battery, butnoticed a burning smell after my drive home (about 20 miles). Not too strong, but definitely noticeable. I brought the truck back to my mechanic and had him take a look. He checked it out and said that there were no oil leaks. He did say that he had to add a half gallon of antifreeze and suspects there to be a coolant leak. Now, I top off the overflow every two months or so for good measure, but now it seems that I'm losing more coolant than usual.

As for any other symptoms, I am not running hot, there is no foam or coolant in my oil and I'm not blowing any smoke. About 6 months ago, I did overheat due to a faulty overflow cap. I replaced the cap and everything was fine.

Also, heater core, water pump, o-rings were replaced about 2 years and 25K miles ago. No coolant on passenger side floor.

If this was any other car, I would have the mechanic pressure test the system, but I didn't know if that was possible with the RR's cooling system. Any thoughts would be appreciated. Thanks!

 

Sure it is possibel. Sounds like he is not much of a Rover mechanic. Find another shop or go to a radiator shop and have the pressure test the system.

 

Well, I went to a different shop on Friday to have the cooling system pressure tested. They had my truck for an hour. I was told that my system was holding pressure at 19lbs. They also said that there are no "obvious leaks." When I explained that I was more concerned with the leaks that were not obvious, I was told to monitor it and see if it gets worse.

That being said, I am certain something isn't right. I'm losing coolant and there is an odor which seems strongest on the left side of the engine compartment. Any thoughts?

 

Call me, we need to talk.
303-862-7680
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Hi:

Very new to this forum...quite a source of information! Many thanks to all who post on here with helpful insights. We (my wife drives it mostly)...have a 03 Disco which just turned 85k miles...It has been serviced as required. We run all synthetic in diffs and oil if that matters at all. I have limited mechanical ability in that I can change fluids, plugs..but not much more.

We have noticed of late that it seems to be losing coolant. I have checked for leaks etc. and find none. The oil is not milky at all...and the temp gauge is dead on the middle after warming up....no abnormal white smoke either. I put about a half gallon of Dex-Cool pre-mix in about a week ago....just put the rest of the jug in today....that seems like a lot to me?

What else could be going on? I looked around the TB area to see if perhaps it was leaking there (valley pan?)...didn't see any obvious signs? HELP PLEASE?

 

Well, it must be going somewhere. Look under it to see if there are any leaks. Is it blowing any white smoke? Any antifreeze smell?

 

No to all 3 questions...thanks for the reply. As you can likely tell by my post...I tried to read up a bit first before posting to see if I could rule out certain things.

I will keep a close eye on both coolant level and oil dipstick/cap over the next week or so.

I know these things have a reputation for burning some oil...but coolant? Any ideas on that? Do they burn coolant at all? Where I had just topped it off ...and then the need to refill with the other half of the gallon so soon....got me nervous...maybe it was just that low? Although I did have it flushed and refilled at a shop about a year ago....maybe they didn't refill all the way?

I hear no gurgling and it heats correctly so I ruled out the need to rebleed...it also heats well which argues against a bad thermostat...not to mention...where did that coolant go? YIKES!

 

Headgasket??

 

Head gaskets are always a first place to look. You could be losing some from the throttle body heater and it evaporates quickly so you do not ever see it. I have had leaks that come from very small places and fortunately I have a very keen nose for the smell of coolant.

 

If it is the HG...tough call on down the road (as I have neither the tools nor time for that undertaking)...I was hoping against common sense it was something else...but looks like it is confirmed:<