PROBLEMS TO WATER LEAKS

If you suspect your Land Rover Defender using coolant, a cooling system pressure tester is the best way to thoroughly inspect the entire system. External impact from sticks and debris, particularly during water crossings can cause leaks. Always take care along heavy bush tracks to avoid a stray branch spearing the radiator. A faulty radiator cap will allow coolant to bypass the cap at a much lower pressure. The system will then boil and coolant can begin to violently escape from the overflow bottle. Hoses that are past their used by date have the potential to cause problems. Always check and replace your cooling system hoses periodically. Radiator hoses tend to decay from the inside out and can be hard to see the problem developing. Hoses will go soft, begin to collapse and stretch with age. This leads to failure at the worst possible time. It a good practice to replace the full set of hoses in your cooling system at the same time. That way you aren’t left with any surprises out on the track. Keep the old one as spares to get you out of trouble when you’re out on a trip.

Most cooling system are made up of cast aluminium, cast iron and cooper. Corrosion is one of the biggest killers in a cooling system. As the components corrode away small (and something large) leaks can develop that can be expensive to repair. It can be avoided as much as possible with regular maintenance and the use of good quality coolant with corrosion inhibitor properties.