| Author |
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Jason Vance (Jason)
| | Posted on Friday, June 07, 2002 - 10:15 pm: | 
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Well, all's going well...until the wife decides to idle the Disco in a parking lot with the AC blowing in 105 degree heat for 10 minutes.
When I arrived, coolant was leaking from the engine bay. I told her to shut it down (which she did AFTER she turned down the stereo, turned off the AC, and attempted to find the ignition amidst my yelling!) and I popped the hood. Here's what I've found:
the coolant was leaking from the side of the expansion tank. Apparantly the pressure built up in the cooling system managed to break the seam in the middle of the expansion tank. None of the cooling hoses appear to be leaking in any way, shape, or form, but I am planning on replacing them soon. My main concern is that no pressure was being released by the cap. I'm under the impression that the cap of the expansion tank should start blowing off pressure above 15 PSI...is this correct? If the cap failed, could this be the cause of the pressure building up enough to break the seam in the expansion tank?
BTW, after she shut down the engine and I went back to check the temp, the needle rose about half-way up the guage...not in the red, but definitely hotter than normal running temperature around town or on the freeway. I don't think it overheated, I think the expansion tank cap failed to release the pressure building up...but we'll see if there is coolant in the oil and oil in the coolant.
So my repair bill includes a new hose kit (with thermostat) from Rovers North, a new expansion tank, and a new cap; about $200. Anybody have any thoughts and advice? Thanks! |
Jason Vance (Jason)
| | Posted on Saturday, June 08, 2002 - 08:34 pm: |
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Just checked the archives, found this problem is quite popular among Disco owners in hot climates. Thanks for looking; hopefully my RN replacement expansion tank is the less-problematic beige tank. |
jp
| | Posted on Sunday, June 09, 2002 - 04:54 am: |
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Yes, quite common. LR changed the plastic at some stage over the last few years to try to reduce this seam failure.
jp |
Neil Cawley
| | Posted on Monday, June 10, 2002 - 03:06 pm: |
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Jason,
My tank failed also. Thermostat stuck while I was driving it. (Can't blame the wife for that one!) I also had a failure of the little plastic plug on top of the radiator on the same side as the tank. The top just came off. I have a new one in it now and a replacement in the glove box for next time!
Hope that helps,
neil |
carlt
| | Posted on Monday, June 10, 2002 - 03:19 pm: |
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Hi Jason
I've seen several cars blow coolant because of a failed cap. Where is blow depends on the weakest point. I've become anal about it on my cars, and change the cap at every major service interval. Small price to pay compared to a radiator or heater core failure....
Carl |
Joe Still
| | Posted on Thursday, June 13, 2002 - 01:53 pm: |
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Carl: Is there any cap other than the plastic cap on the plastic tank on a 95 Disco? I'm loosing coolant occassionally along the firewall somewhere and haven't figured it out yet. Wonder if I might find the cap is overpressurizing? |
Jason Vance (Jason)
| | Posted on Thursday, June 13, 2002 - 02:31 pm: |
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Thanks guys...basically I panicked when I saw the coolant gushing everywhere and saw big $$$ popping up in my head. After poking around for a bit and inspecting the hoses, realizing the failure was confined to the expansion tank's seam (and not a death threat to the engine), I calmed down...
...hopefully the new hoses, tank and cap from RN arrives soon; summers in Vegas are not that forgiving! |
weespeed
| | Posted on Thursday, June 13, 2002 - 03:24 pm: |
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You make a very good point though. The cap should have released the excess pressure. Maybe Land Rover should look in to it, I think it may be a design flaw or defect. 15lbs pressure is not that much. Maybe the expansion tanks are breaking at the seams because of bad glue or something to do with the manufacturing process, when they are put together.
Does the new style tanks, come with a new style cap as well or do you use the original one? |
Daniel
| | Posted on Thursday, June 20, 2002 - 12:34 pm: |
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Joe,
I just had a similar leak. Mine was pretty bad, though. Turned out to be the valley gasket (or that's what the mechanic called it anyway) This is the curved aluminum looking piece under the plenum. This thing, along with the brackets that hold it in were updated to a different material that resembles a sheet of plastic. It's supposed to be some fiberglass reinforced stuff. Anyway, it's about an $800.00 repair if it's the same thing I had. (Gotta love extended warranties)
Kyle advised me to tighten the bolts on the lower plenum, but I could never get to the ones on the driver's side. Maybe this would work for you... |
Andy
| | Posted on Thursday, June 20, 2002 - 12:57 pm: |
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I had the tank on my 95 split about a month ago. I was told that it was a common problem with the black tank on older discos. I replaced the tank and cap and had no problems since. As I understood it, its the tanks fault for falling apart at the seems with age, not the cap being unable to release the pressure.
Andy 95 d1 |
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