#80 Cruiser - Radiator water level
Submitted: Tuesday, Nov 02, 2004 at 12:58
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Member - DickyBeach
My '94 #80 LandCruiser (Petrol, Automatic) with 210,000 on the clock, has given me no trouble since I’ve had it. Until now, that is.
This time last year, sitting on 3500rpm @ 120kph and towing a
Kimberley Kamper down the bitumen on the way into
Monkey Mia, the temperature started to creep up and I found the radiator
water level was down. Topped it up and slowed down and had no further problems.
Last week, towing the same KK at the same speed up the Strzelcki I had the same problem. Same thing: top it up and slow down and no more problems.
In both cases the lost
water was not in the “overflow” bottle, and I now note apparent signs of a possible
water leak at the back of the cylinder head and on the firewall. Conclusion: the radiator (and probably the
water pump) are ok and the problem may be either a head gasket on the way out or a cracked head or ???
I don’t normally lose
water when driving generally or towing the KK at more modest speeds, and lost zero
water when I towed it up the Canning last year at very slow speeds (see post 7590).
Have any other LC80 owners had similar experiences?
In any event I’d appreciate constructive suggestions from any EOZ member. DickyBeach
Reply By: cruiser - Tuesday, Nov 02, 2004 at 13:28
Tuesday, Nov 02, 2004 at 13:28
Had the same problem with my 93 petrol/LPG cruiser (243K)
Radiator place next to where I worked did a pressure check and told me what the problem was and when my mechanic had a look, he said they were right.
Turned out to be
water leaking
water into #6 cylinder.
Had head machined, 2 new valves in #6 and the rest ground and reseated, new headgasket kit - $1600 all up and no more problem until about 8 months later when I wrote the vehicle off (had an arguement with a 5 ton council tipper, and lost)
Hope this helps.
AnswerID:
82722
Reply By: Kimberly Kruiser - Tuesday, Nov 02, 2004 at 14:24
Tuesday, Nov 02, 2004 at 14:24
DickyBeach
Had simular prob with Tojo donk few years ago. Had cooling system thoroughly checked out and all came up ok. Further investigation came up with the worst scenario, crack in cylinder head and dumping
water through the exhaust. Probably time to start the elimination process with a radiator centre yourself.
Above mentioned vehicle still in family and going strong four years after having head repaired.
Cheers
Wal
AnswerID:
82728
Reply By: Member - Jeff M (WA) - Tuesday, Nov 02, 2004 at 14:48
Tuesday, Nov 02, 2004 at 14:48
Could also be pin hole leaks inthe top
tank, when the system works really hard and starts to heat up you could be losing steam out the top of the radiator. My surf was doing just that.
AnswerID:
82731
Reply By: Peter Guy - Tuesday, Nov 02, 2004 at 15:25
Tuesday, Nov 02, 2004 at 15:25
the leak could be at the front of the engine but the air from the fan is blowing the
water back onto your firewall.
I believe the coollant pressure inside the engine remains constant at any speed so there is no reason for it to leak at high speed compared to lower speed conditions.
The pressure should be in the hoses/radiator therefore I'd be looking more closely at the coolling system.I had a tricky leak on the Patrol where I thought the Head gasket was leaking but luckily for me it was the thermostat holder pipe which had corroded from the out side in under the bottom radiatior hose clamp. The air from the fan was pushing the leaking
water along the side of the head!
I hope your leak turns out to be a minor inconvenience.
AnswerID:
82733
Follow Up By: AndrewX - Tuesday, Nov 02, 2004 at 22:37
Tuesday, Nov 02, 2004 at 22:37
Partly corect Peter. It's the maximum pressure that remains constant as it's controlled by the pressure exerted by the radiator cap. When the engine is cold and not running the pressure is zero and as it warms it increases to the maximum allowed by the cap. It's not possible for the pressure in the hoses/radiator to be higher than in the engine, however. They all contain the same body of
water and the pressure in the system will always be distributed evenly - provided of course that the thermostat is operating correctly. If the thermostat is jamming closed a build up of pressure could occur in the engine block I think.
FollowupID:
341851
Follow Up By: Stew53 - Wednesday, Nov 03, 2004 at 07:42
Wednesday, Nov 03, 2004 at 07:42
There are two forms of presure in an engine cooling system, there is circulation pressure and the static presure that everybody is aware of ie the 10-15 psi generated by the radiator cap, the circulation presure is generated by the
water pump and is found in the block up to the thermostat, this presure is around the 30-40 psi depending on the engine and the revs the engine is going.
Stew
FollowupID:
341872
Reply By: Coops (Pilbara) - Tuesday, Nov 02, 2004 at 16:54
Tuesday, Nov 02, 2004 at 16:54
as a preliminary - try replacing the radiator cap.
I had a similar problem not lonmg ago and this is all I did to rectify.
Not saying it will fix your issue but for $10 I now replace my cap every year
AnswerID:
82740
Reply By: Member - DickyBeach - Tuesday, Nov 02, 2004 at 17:49
Tuesday, Nov 02, 2004 at 17:49
Thanks everybody for the speedy and sensible suggestions.
I'll submit a post in due course and let you know what I discover.
DickyBeach
AnswerID:
82747
Reply By: MichaelR - Tuesday, Nov 02, 2004 at 21:21
Tuesday, Nov 02, 2004 at 21:21
Had a similar problem on my 80 series at 250000km and turned out to be a small hole in one of the radiator tubes. The 80 series radiators, and probably others, tend to crack the side, rather than the centrally positioned tubes, because of flexing and wear. The hole is often small and difficult to spot. It certainly leaked more at higher speeds and I don't know why. I repaired the leak but a new one developed so if this is your problem I would suggest a new radiator. It doesn't seem financially worthwhile replacing the core of the old one and it is a good opportunity to rid yourself of the plastic top and bottom tanks and get a metal one. About $350 if you do it yourself. A bit of a bugger of a job though.
AnswerID:
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Reply By: Member - DOZER- Tuesday, Nov 02, 2004 at 22:08
Tuesday, Nov 02, 2004 at 22:08
Well documented problems with the heater hose that comes off the back of the passenger side of the head, hard to get to, look for white residue or bulging hose...take to a mechnic you dont like...lol
Best seen from inside passenger front wheel
well.
Andrew
AnswerID:
82796
Reply By: Brian B (QLD) - Wednesday, Nov 03, 2004 at 00:13
Wednesday, Nov 03, 2004 at 00:13
Howdy,
My son has an 80 series and he had the same problem as Dozer talks about in his reply. It was a dud section of heater hose which is situated at the rear of the engine close to the firewall. It was diffcult to access but once he got it the problem was sorted.
Cheers
AnswerID:
82835
Reply By: Schevchenko - Wednesday, Nov 03, 2004 at 11:14
Wednesday, Nov 03, 2004 at 11:14
which dicky beach are you anyway? sunshine coast?
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Reply By: Member - Karl - Wednesday, Nov 03, 2004 at 12:49
Wednesday, Nov 03, 2004 at 12:49
Hey Dicky, isn't the speed limit along that road 110 Kph and if towing (in WA) it is 100 kph - not 120 kph - lucky you didn't get caught, saw a few who did when we were there recently.
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82880