Member Since: 14 Jun 2017
Location: France
Posts: 72
Coolant leak
This morning when I was about to jump in the car I noticed a small puddle of moist below the radiator, I thought nothing of it as I thought it was the FBH condensation, sometimes it does that, I started the car and after a minute of driving it showed Coolant low. I did a visual check, indeed, coolant is below minimum. I went and bought a G30 pink coolant to do a top off, as I had to bring the kids to school, car was running for about 30 minutes and the temperature was in the center of gauge, it didn't overheat or anything like that. Well, it was -2C this morning, so no problem for overheating.
I came back home, puddle is still there on the ground, so it could really be the coolant. Normally the moisture from FBH clears up quickly.
I am waiting on the car to cool down to top up coolant, how much shall i add? To the MIN? Or in between MIN and MAX? I saw there was some condensation of coolant frozen at the top, very small quantity.
I am using FBH twice a day, does this affect the coolant in any way? I wouldn't think so.
I have 5k km left until my next service. Could the water pump be going away? Although it's strange that the puddle of coolant was made during FBH operation, does the water pump work during FBH ?
Should I worry or it can wait until the next service with regular check ups on the coolant level?
Thank in advance.
Last edited by disco4sui on 23rd Jan 2020 10:16 am. Edited 1 time in total
23rd Jan 2020 9:26 am
Browny90
Member Since: 19 Jul 2016
Location: Ashbourne
Posts: 686
There isn't much point in keeping topping the coolant up if it's coming out that quickly, you need to run the engine and look for leaks,
It depends what spec you have on how the coolant is affected by the FBH, but again you just need to look for leaks. It could be anything from a pipe worn through/ water pump, radiator, coolant tank cracked head gasket, the list is as extensive as the list of coolant parts on the disco.
if the leak is that bad, it's a good thing, It should be easily visible, especially with the pink coolant, I would top it up to max, go for a short run to get it warm (keeping an eye on the temperature) find a dry spot near your house and have a good look underneath and under the bonnet, you'll probably have a strong smell of coolant and hopefully be able to see where it's coming from.
A word of warning, make sure you check extensively, coolant can trick you, i.e. it maby dripping from the bottom of the water pump for example, but the actual leak is from a hose above the pump, the air from the fan can blow it around and the heat from the engine can evaporate evidence of the leak, check and double check before you're happy where it's coming from.Disco4 MY16 SDV6 Landmark Black
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23rd Jan 2020 9:42 am
disco4sui
Member Since: 14 Jun 2017
Location: France
Posts: 72
Thank you, I did a test today and there were no more leaks, the level stayed the same even after an hour or two of driving.
I purchased the correct cooland at LR and I did a top up of around 500 grams, I will check tomorrow if there are more leaks and keep an eye on the level for few days.
23rd Jan 2020 8:34 pm
Browny90
Member Since: 19 Jul 2016
Location: Ashbourne
Posts: 686
Great News that it's not leaking during driving, have you run the FBH?Disco4 MY16 SDV6 Landmark Black
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24th Jan 2020 8:29 am
M3bobby
Member Since: 21 May 2018
Location: Sleaford, LINCS.
Posts: 857
If you say the coolant was frozen at the top of the header tank, I think you should do a full flush and replace. The coolant should not be freezing at such a high temp such as -2. It may have lost its effectiveness or have been diluted down. What you don’t want is the water in the block or radiator to freeze at say -5 and you end up with a huge repair bill.012MY RRS 5.0 Supercharged Autobiography (Current)
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24th Jan 2020 8:40 am
disco4sui
Member Since: 14 Jun 2017
Location: France
Posts: 72
Browny90 wrote:
Great News that it's not leaking during driving, have you run the FBH?
I haven't tried yet as I was driving today the car and checked the level again, it is exactly the same as before. I will run the FBH tonight or tomorrow morning and see if it leaks than. But during driving or engine running, no leak.
I saw the traces of the leakage, it is still on my driveway and some are below the radiator. More and more I think it was the FBH who somehow spit out some 500 grams of coolant.
24th Jan 2020 11:05 am
disco4sui
Member Since: 14 Jun 2017
Location: France
Posts: 72
M3bobby wrote:
If you say the coolant was frozen at the top of the header tank, I think you should do a full flush and replace. The coolant should not be freezing at such a high temp such as -2. It may have lost its effectiveness or have been diluted down. What you don’t want is the water in the block or radiator to freeze at say -5 and you end up with a huge repair bill.
I was worried as well, but than I saw most of the photos of D4 the top tank looks like that, there is a sludge or piece of red coolant sticking there. It isn't frozen, it is just condensed. It looks exactly like this:
But than I realized it is the entry chamber for the engine block, so it is perfectly normal. I will make a photo.
I think the performance of the coolant should be OK as it has been serviced as per the book. I will make a photo today. Thank you
24th Jan 2020 11:09 am
disco4sui
Member Since: 14 Jun 2017
Location: France
Posts: 72
To bring an update for the problm, after 1.5 months of daily use I got the coolant low message again. I had to top up around 1l of coolant again.
I finally discovered when the coolant is leaking - when the parking heater is activated. In the morning when I turn the webasto on, it's leaking from the left side near the passenger side. Once the webasto is off, there is no more leaking.
Any suggestions?
7th Mar 2020 11:53 am
Fifth Horseman
Member Since: 23 Oct 2012
Location: Lanarkshire
Posts: 217
Electric pump on the side of the heater?
Item 8B518 Part no.JEX000030
or valve (if fitted)
7th Mar 2020 2:22 pm
disco4sui
Member Since: 14 Jun 2017
Location: France
Posts: 72
To give an update, most of the coolant leaked even after adding over 4 liters of coolant over time. Dealer diagnosed leaking radiator. How and why, I don't know. There is no physical damage. Perhaps a bad construction. Or expected after 10 years of use?
Dealer can not get any stock of parts before 4 weeks so I ordered Dissens from LRdirect. Tried to get the OEM but they as well can not get any stock.
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