Vehicle & Technical > Discovery

TD5 Coolant loss

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mac:
After my reply and question about coolant loss I spoke to Simon at Swindon 4 x 4 he suggested that if head gasket had gone ( not unknown) the header tank will smell of exhaust gas, touch wood that was ok, also said try bleeding at the top hose plastic bleed pont with pressure cap off and engine running did that and am keeping fingers crossed but loss seems to have stopped - seems an airlock can develop and force coolant out but what might cause that?

RichardRRC:
I had both a radiator leak and a water pump leak on mine (at different times), the early radiators are prone to failure at the bottom corners where the end tanks are crimped on, and the the O ring seals that are used in the water pump housing are very thin. Both times it was not obvious at first where the water was escaping.
Don't be surprised if you can't keep the coolant level up to the cold level line, it seems the normal level is below the cold level be it a TD5 or a V8. If you keep topping it up it mysteriously disappears :shock:  :) Best to let it settle to its lower level then keep an eye on it from there.
I think, from memory, the correct mix is 50/50, water and OAT type coolant.
Richard.

thermidorthelobster:
Richard's right, some TD5s vent a bit of coolant if you top them up but then settle down and keep the rest.  Have a look at some TD5 header tanks at the next show you go to - I bet more than half look as if they're low on coolant, but the level won't drop any further.

My head gasket is almost certainly shot, but the fluid in the header tank is pristine and there is no emulsified oil.  If you get a lot of white smoke (steam) on startup occasionally then it could be that the water's making its way into the combustion chambers.  I'm 99% sure that's what's happening on mine.  The TD5 doesn't do head gasket failures in the same way that most other engines do.

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