Grrr...Murphy's Law - Throttle Heater Plate

[lagunarich]

So I know I had a slow weeping throttle plate cooling leak, ok, I'll get to it.

Today, I am going in to get the annual state inspection, made an appointment, etc. Show up, the guy say he can't fit me in, I should have called. I called the day before and made the appt. Anyway, he was apologetic and I was about to run the "hey look man, its a 2003 Land Rover, nothing is wrong with it, :smilelol: recent brakes, recent tires, can you just throw a sticker on it real quick?"

As I look out the window just then, smoke is billowing out from under the hood. Hop in, drive it down the road a couple blocks and pop the hood, the throttle plate gasket upped the ante and a needle sized stream of coolant was pissing out the drivers side.

Now, local parts shops dont carry the gasket, or kit. Dealer doens't work weekends, RoversNorth doesn't (local) and AB will take a few days to get the parts to me.

I need the vehicle for some light duty commuting, so I hit the throttle plate with some parts cleaner to get off the goo and cleaned it up well, let it dry. Applied some Permatex High Temp Silicone PTV Gasketmaker and worked in it and gobbed it on.

Will this be a decent temporary fix until I can get the right parts? I'm talking a week max. Obviously, I'll get a jug of coolant and ride around with it.

-LR

 

[ratboy]

leave the coolant tank cap loose and stop triple posting and youll be fine.

 

[osiristheclown]

Take it apart and clean it up. Draw file both mating surfaces to make sure they are reasonably flat. You can get gasket paper at any auto parts chain store so just make a new gasket and be done with it.

 

[lagunarich]

leave the coolant tank cap loose and stop triple posting and youll be fine.

LOL, got an "invalid forum" message after the first post, went back, reloaded the page 2x (same error message), here we are...

Thanks for the cap tip!

 

[ratboy]

LOL, got an "invalid forum" message after the first post, went back, reloaded the page 2x (same error message), here we are...

Thanks for the cap tip!

that wont buy you much time. get it fixed ASAP and keep an eagle eye on the coolant level.

 

[lagunarich]

Take it apart and clean it up. Draw file both mating surfaces to make sure they are reasonably flat. You can get gasket paper at any auto parts chain store so just make a new gasket and be done with it.

Yep, thought about that. Since it's leaking around the gasket, make a custom gasket using the old one as a template.

Was also thinking of getting the kit and replacing the parts to "futureproof" it. I've done a little searching and it seems they tend to start leaking around the hose nipples, or body as well.

Perhaps I'll just address the "now", as the budget is a little thin, even though the parts are probably only $30 + shipping.

Thanks!

-LR

 

[lagunarich]

that wont buy you much time. get it fixed ASAP and keep an eagle eye on the coolant level.

understood. had to drive about 10 miles to get straight home (don't know when the leak started on my way there) but the reservoir tank was pretty much gone when I arrived home.

 

[lagunarich]

did some more poking around...found this:

http://www.discoweb.org/forums/showthread.php?t=11290

what does service action mean, and where would I find these numbers?: DISCOVERY SERIES II (LT) XA200412 to XA208015
XA900000 to XA904569

i suspect my out of warranty Disco is not going to be eligible for a free dealer service...

 

[DiscoGirl4x4]

Yep, thought about that. Since it's leaking around the gasket, make a custom gasket using the old one as a template.

Was also thinking of getting the kit and replacing the parts to "futureproof" it. I've done a little searching and it seems they tend to start leaking around the hose nipples, or body as well.

Perhaps I'll just address the "now", as the budget is a little thin, even though the parts are probably only $30 + shipping.

Thanks!

-LR

You are right ,it is cheap and easy to replace $21.99 You can get the real deal part at AB and do it right.

http://www.roverparts.com/Nxt/search.asp?keywords=throttle+plate

It's not the leak that is the issue but what it is leaking ON that is not good.

 

[craig]

Or just bypass it until you get the part.

 

[ptschram]

I have the part and can ship today, but it's $35, not $21.99. You also want the throttle body gasket that isn't included in the kit.

$6 shipping.

PT

 

[MojaveMike45]

Bypass it forever, one less leak!!! Huge side benefit .... your intake temp drops 40/50 at the throttle body (see my recent previous post). You will be good for a new Disco land speed record.

 

[ptschram]

Bypass it forever, one less leak!!! Huge side benefit .... your intake temp drops 40/50 at the throttle body (see my recent previous post). You will be good for a new Disco land speed record.

This would be a very big mistake in Vermont where temps average less than minimums in California.

 

[pdogg]

I'm on my third TB gasket leak now... but I think it's limited to the pipe clamps on the hoses going to it... I need to inspect a bit more this weekend.. what a pain in the ass these things are...

 

[lagunarich]

Weeeelll, after being out of town for a bit, and driving to a few job interviews my make-shift fix is leaking again. Not surprising.

So, I got myself some gasket paper and some high temp silicone RTV (red stuff) and plan to tear into it tomorrow. Cut the gasket using the old one as a template and coat both sides with the RTV.

Doesn't look too complex...air intake and throttle cables seem to be in the way.

Has anyone seen a write-up on this work, as Rave doesn't seem to cover it? Or, feel free to ad-lib it here. Fluids, filter changes and brakes are really the only things I've tackled thus far.

Thanks!

 

[MUSKYMAN]

why are you hacking a $15 fix?

 

[lagunarich]

why are you hacking a $15 fix?

dealer, nor anyone else around here carries the gasket. $35 for the assembly from the dealer, assembly isn't the problem anyway. $0.50 for the gasket paper, $6 for the RTV.

mitigating factor, some yahoo in Tennessee got ahold of my debit card digits somehow, made a cloned card and went hog-wild at a Walmart.

it'll be a couple weeks before I get my $ back, I need to drive...

 

[ptschram]

dealer, nor anyone else around here carries the gasket. $35 for the assembly from the dealer, assembly isn't the problem anyway. $0.50 for the gasket paper, $6 for the RTV.

mitigating factor, some yahoo in Tennessee got ahold of my debit card digits somehow, made a cloned card and went hog-wild at a Walmart.

it'll be a couple weeks before I get my $ back, I need to drive...

You're gonna be sorry you did not do this the right way.

The gasket is more complicated than you expect. The retrofit parts I offered are improved to reduce recurrence.

Now for the scary part. I had a client with a leaking plenum deicer. He knew about it, I'd told him how much it cost to fix. He decided to put it off. He called a year later and asked if we could do the swap, telling me he'd been adding coolant when the heater quit working... When AFIRover pulled the intake hose off to remove the throttle body, we found milkshake in the intake horn!

His refusal to spend $100 to fix the leak ended up costing him almost $7000 for a new shortblock. Luckily, he got one of the last of the brandy new 4.6s.

Go ahead, cobble it together, we've tried to lead you to the water, but if you don't want to drink it, that's your prerogative, and it's your truck.

I know I'm not necessarily being particularly kind to you with this and I'm often criticized for my confidence/arrogance and feeling that I know more than someone else, but, "it ain't bragging motherfucker, if you back it up" and in this case, I can back it up.

 

[gmookher]

gasket repair kit is in my toolbox for when this happens to me, I can see where the die cut gasket supplied is the RIGHT way to fix it, and bypass is unsafe up here in Seatte and it will eventually leak..

I'm curious, is there a mileage these all happen at or is it random?

what are those 6mm bolts PT? they look tiny, I have to go make sure i have the right tools for this too in my kit

 

[ptschram]

gasket repair kit is in my toolbox for when this happens to me, I can see where the die cut gasket supplied is the RIGHT way to fix it, and bypass is unsafe up here in Seatte and it will eventually leak..

I'm curious, is there a mileage these all happen at or is it random?

what are those 6mm bolts PT? they look tiny, I have to go make sure i have the right tools for this too in my kit

They are smaller than that. If I remember, I'll dig one of the old ones out of the dirt on the floor and measure it for you.

It's a pretty day, the wife took a vacation day and for the first time since I've been running the shop, I have followed through on my threat to play hooky! (which means I'll only work six hours instead of 10-14!).

Make sure you also have the throttle body gasket in addition to the plenum deicer kit. Not replacing it will almost always lead to vacuum leaks. IIRC, the P/N is ERR6623.