[v8bobber]

Evening all,

I have been offered a RR 4.6 HSE of unknown quality. The vendor is happy for me to examine as closely as I like but unfortunately I am not in a position to be able to drive it so check whether it uses water. I already own a P38 but a diesel one so I am not familiar with the coolant loss problem on these engines although of course I have heard about it.

The question is, how do I check if this particular engine is suffering from this problem. Are there any tell tale signs that will point it out to me whilst stationary?

Dave

 

[lrscott]

Check for coolant in the exhaust, any visible leaks, and pull the plugs to check for a "steam cleaned" cylinder. If you still can't find the leak, I would also do a cylinder pressure test. If it is incinerating the coolant and you notice it on the spark plug or in the cylinder, it is most likely the head gasket. However, you run the risk that it could be a slipped sleeve. If it has a slipped sleeve, the engine will either need to be replaced, or completely rebuilt (i.e. the cylinders re board and new sleeves fitted in.

 

[TheoR]

Are you asking this, as you know for sure that the water level lowers after a drive or something?

Not sure if this will help, but I've gone through a scenario where my car would consume quite a bit of coolant-Perhaps 1/4 of expansion tank in a matter of a few days.

I've been afraid that the leak was internal as I couldn't find any puddle. But, luck would have it that as I came back from a drive and opened up the hood, I happened to see a little bit of spray coming from the connection between the expansion tank and the throttle body heater return hose. As the pressure increased, it would spray a little, but without much pressure, it didn't spray.

So, the moral of the story is that it's not always the engine consuming coolant, but it could be just old fashioned leak from simple things like hose connecting points.

FYI, I've fixed my problem by replacing the expansion tank and the throttle body heater return hose for a tally of around $70.

 

[v8bobber]

Thanks fro the replies,

My situation is pretty unusual to be honest, in that I have heard on the grapvine that the vehicle is for sale and it is available for such a reasonable price, I can't not look at it with a view to buying it. I am fully conversant with the P38 problems after owning mine for a couple of years.

However, although I think that the seller is honest (friend of mate in work), she is perhaps not completely up to speed on any problems with it as she is selling it on behalf of someone else. If it turns out that there is still an MOT left on the vehicle then I will take it for a long drive and give it a good road test. But I am mindful that I might be stuck checking it over on a driveway and might have to make a decision this way.

I'll be giving her a ring tomorrow and will know more then

Regards,

Dave

 

[diff]

There is a sniff test that can be done to determine if there are hydrocarbons in the rad fluid. Done at a rad shop I assume. It has been mentioned on here before. Plug test is good also if you have time to do it. Could also be other reasons for rangie to be cheap, ie some bad body work needed, dealer quote to repair air suspension vs a shupac assisted repair/restoration of the system and a faulty mastercylinder/pump causing brake problems. Either of the last 2 items could easily amount to 80% of the current mkt. value. Of course a toasted engine could be 120% of current mkt. value but a used disco engine could reduce that to 40%. Please keep us posted on outcome since most of us are a curious lot. cheers.