Gutted

[Ian21401]

Originally Posted by concrete

Your post has helped convince me to keep the car and just carry a gallon of coolant water in the boot. It only needs to do three years and it could well do that. It absolutely purrs and is so comfortable.
.

I trust that by “coolant water” you mean a 50/50 antifreeze mix and not just plain water.

Ian.

[100K+]

40+ years ago my brother ran a Hillman Imp, which exhibited similar symptoms you describe. We stripped that car down, new head gasket, back flushed the radiator, etc. It still lost coolant when reassembled. So we rebuilt the engine and as it needed to be "Runin" we discovered it would drive all day if you did not exceed 45mph, but if you pushed on to 50mph...bang all the coolant would once again come out within about 5 miles. If we had not had to run it in we would not have discovered running very gently did not cause any issue.
He decided to sell it on, but just before he did, on the off chance he changed a rubber return pipe tween the engine and possibly the radiator?? it certainly came from the engine but could have run else where before returning to the radiator ( it certainly was somewhere on the engine-radiator return leg) and that solved the problem. The pipe did not appear to be blocked as such, but it was restricting the coolant flow, which pressurised the system and blow the water out the top of the radiator.


Good luck

Cheers
Bob

[XC90Mk1]

If indeed you do have a cracked block then that is a lot of money right there and probably the end.

I cant see how a head gasket is anything like £1500 quid however. Off with the cambelt, inlet and exhaust manifold and lift off the head. I would have thought any devent garage could do for half that money.

Now of course the million dollar question is how do you determine head gasket, head or block failure. I don't know.

[Black dog]

Originally Posted by concrete

Your post has helped convince me to keep the car and just carry a gallon of coolant water in the boot. It only needs to do three years and it could well do that. It absolutely purrs and is so comfortable.

On the steel seal front, I’ve been chatting to a couple of mechanics I know and one of them has used it on a six pot discovery which was losing a bottle of water a week-it lasted two and a half years and the owner only sold it on because the gearbox started playing up. The other has a mate who is about to use some on a Toyota, don’t which model. I’ll be watching with interest, but don’t intend using it myself, especially as I don’t want to possibly make matters worse than they already are.

Thanks again for all the replies, hopefully I’ll still be chugging around in it, this time next year.

Steel seal is just an expensive stop leak, it's ok for a low pressure leak but won't fix a system building pressure, although it sais it does it doesent! Ask me how I know!
The post above about the return pipe is what I was trying to suggest, I've had the same on a few fords. If you have spare time it's worth a look.
As for mine I don't have time and it's not bothering me enough to care!

[concrete]

Originally Posted by Ian21401

I trust that by “coolant water” you mean a 50/50 antifreeze mix and not just plain water.

Ian.

Most definitely.

[concrete]

Just a quick update. I bled the cooling system and the car did over 500 miles before needing a top up. I didn’t bleed it and it lasted only 140 miles. I bled it again and now it’s done 530 miles with minimal coolant loss. I’m not caning it and generally sticking to around 2000 revs, only using the power when needed. If it stays as it is, I can put up with the slight inconvenience of bleeding every 500 or so miles.

[Ian21401]

About 30+ years ago I bought an old Talbot Sunbeam. It was fitted with an Imp engine in the front. It blew out coolant whenever over 30 mph. Amongst other attempts to cure the problem I changed the thermostat but that didn’t cure it. Complete removal of the thermostat cured it. I got rid.

[huron]

Have you tried removing the thermostat and see what happens?

[ThomasG]

I think...

If it looses coolant, then rid of coolant!

No, no.. Please... Let me finish..

I'm not saying run the engine dry.

The fuel supply (unless I'm wrong) goes

Lift pump=>fuel pump=>filter=>injectors=>overflow return to tank..

And it so happens that warm diesel is easier to ignite.

So hiw about running diesel as coolant?

That would give increased fuel capacity for the car as a bonus as well. That's tank+engine block+ optionally, radiator.

At first I was thinking about taping the engine block between fuel pump and filter.
But then it dawned on me that it may be *high pressure" cooking system, but not really built for pressures of fuel lines between pump and injectors.

So maybe better to run overflow trough the engine instead, with hot diesel returned to tank..

Downside would be that no one with open flame or even cigarette would be allowed anywhere closer than some 50 yards from the car, especially after summer run of any length..

Yup.. My imagination strikes again

[jor]

Would it be worth trying Evans coolant?
Boiling point a few hundred degrees so should not pressurize the system, is quite expensive if the leakage continues though..

jor