I noticed a few days after I bought my '01 Disco II that the antifreeze was a little low and there was a jug of it in the back. So, apparently this was an issue the previous owner knew about but didn't disclose. By the way it was not low when I checked it before the purchase. Gotta love people! Anyway, it looses about 1-2 cups of antifreeze every 400 or so miles and I have no idea where it's coming out. At various times I can smell antifreeze while it is running. I checked the back of the engine yesterday to see if it was leaking and I honestly cant tell if what I'm seeing is oil or what. It does leak oil also, but the oil looks nice and clean (no milky color like you would expect if you had a blown head gasket or cracked head). Water does drip pretty constantly from the tale pipe for what that's worth. Anyone with a similar experience? Any idea where this leak is coming from or if possibly I do have a cracked head or head gasket issue?Where should I go from here?

 

111k miles by the way

 

Water coming out of the tail pipe is 100% normal, the catylitic converters convert the exhaust into harmless water vapor and CO2.
The reason the exhaust smells sweet is because you are burning coolant because of a bad head gasket.
It is small right now, it will get bigger, it may or may not give you warning.

 

Depends where you are standing when you smell antifreeze, if in the rear then most definitely head gasket but if at the front, not so sure. There are a lot of places for coolant to leak (headgaskets are but one of them although probably the most common) Check the underside of the radiator for any buildup of coolant (leaking at the radiator seams is also common) Beg or borrow a pressure tester and see if you can locate leaks at hose connections. A cup every 400 miles doesn't sound like much but it shouldn't use any. Like Spike said, if it's a HG it could get much worse, very fast.

 

MTNROVER, how mechanical are you?
You need to deal with this ASAP before whatever leak you have blows and you loose an engine.
Do you know how to pressure test the coolant system?
If you want some help, send me your number and I'll walk you thru this.

 

I'm no master mechanic but I can handle basic stuff. My dad is a great backyard mechanic so I think he can get me through pressure testing the system. If this is the head gasket, on average how much does it cost to fix?

 

DIY head gasket, under $500.
To have a shop do it, $1200-1500.
Shop does it, drop it off Mon, pick it up after work Tues.
You do it, start Fri. after work, drive it to work Mon.

Of course all of this is assuming no problems along the way.

 

If DIY it yourself the time frame is longer, unless you have a machine shop and machinist waiting for you to bring them the heads Saturday morning and they are going to return them to you Saturday afternoon.
Around me that is not done, the machine shops do no open on Saturday unless they have left over work from the week. You are going to want to have the heads planed so that they are flat & true before you put anything back together.
The time frame is correct 2-1/2 days is plenty of time for a DIY, but the machine work will give you some down time in the middle.
The other route I took was to buy a set of used heads (I paid $50 for mine) and I had the machine work done on them and put those on so I had no down time.

 

I'm having multiple problems so I'm all over this site. I just noticed an antifreeze leak today. I've had my 2003 Disco for about a month and have already replaced the radiator. Back to the shop again?

Julie

 

you need to have your cooling system pressure tested, it should have been done after the radiator was installed