coolant loss

[ladybug]

it sounds as if you need to change your rad cap first as they can go weak over time and could be letting water through under hard driving

hi cobraman ive a 2.8 shogun lwb 1996 the other day i traveled 500 mile around trip with a caravan that wieghd 2 tonnes. on getting home i had to put at least 4 pints of water back in the system! what could be wrong?
paul

[offroadingboyo]

ladybug

I have just been through this with my 2.8

My advice, and this is basically scammed from these brilliant people onthe forum, is this.

Get the cooling system pressure tested at a local garage. It's a 5 min job, they remove the rad cap and pressurise the cooling system in a controlled manner. This will show if there is a leak (drop in pressure - or unable to maintain a pressure). This is the worst news, as you could have a leak - which you might be able to see straight away, or it could then be head/head gasket related.

However  - if it does not leak, the it could be something as simple as a radiator cap - about £10.

I bought a new rad/rad cap and a water pump - total cost £140.

Fitted it all myself and touch wood, it's all working as it should.

I am fitting a towbar tomorrow night for the caravan. Fingers crossed !


Boyo

[map-man]

My problem as described at the start of the thread was the result of having the wrong rad cap fitted. With the correct 1.1bar cap fitted - as opposed to the 0.9bar one - I'm not filling the expansion bottle or losing any coolant now.  However this doesn't account for why it didn't do it from the day I picked it up......