(EDIT) - MY INITIAL DIAGNOSTIC WAS WRONG - SCROLL BELOW FOR THE ACTUAL PROBLEM

Hi all, it appears I've got a little bit of a problem...

The symptoms...

A few days ago, I saw on the floor what appeared to be coolant liquid (orange liquid). The drip appeared to come through the gaps in the skid plate (there were some drops on it, mostly from just inside and slightly forwards of the front right wheel).

I added some coolant (the tank was just reaching minimum when cold so it hadn't leaked that much). Then, I ran the vehicle while it was stationary for around 20mins, looking for the leak. Could not find it...

Yesterday, I headed out of the house and within two minutes the vehicle started smelling burnt. Opened the hood and there was some smoke coming from behind and below the engine block (so closer to the passenger compartment). Got my fire extinguisher on standby and continued the short drive to the grocery store. Opened the hood there; still smoking and smelling burnt. However, coolant tank was still full (hard to tell if I had lost any). And I still couldn't find the leak.

On the way back, I had the heater off. The smell did not come until I turned the heater back on as I was getting close to my place (the windows were starting to fog up, so I turned on the defrost actually).

So, the heater played a part. When I left with the heater on, the problem came up right away. When I returned, the problem only arose when I turned the heater on. Is it simply because the heater brought the smell inside the vehicle, or do I have a heater core leak/failure... I don't know...

My hypothesis is that I have a busted heater core.

Can anyone either confirm this hypothesis or guide me in another direction!?

Many thanks,

Simon

Last edited by LR2drivendiscover on 1st Feb 2017 8:33 pm. Edited 3 times in total

About burnt smell / smoke.

i would think thats the glycol which starts to smell when it starts heat on engine block surface.
Have sometimes spilled overall places glycol when removing hoses from heater core ( other cars ) and it starts to smell / smoke
when engine gets hotter.

Have you tasted red fluid, if it taste like very very sweet, and you are 100% sure its glycol at least.

And about the core, if it starts to leak you would see it inside cabin floor mats also

How old is you car, and are you able to reach / see hoses behind engine block if they are " slightly " loose from core
Check the cooling fluid expansion tank connector

I don't want to scary you but some symptoms are related to head gasket failure ( Fog windows inside ), but i wouldn't think that =).

Thanks for your input, j00pis.

My vehicle is an '08 (9 years old) with 160,000kms.

I don't think it's a head gasket failure as most of the symptoms are absent (my engine is not overheating, there is something making a burning smell and smoking but the engine temperatures are ok. I cannot see any bubble in the coolant tank and my oil doesn't appear white/milky at this stage even though I haven't driven it for a long time).

I haven't seen any coolant below the floor mats but I didn't pay attention there as I didn't know the heater core may be the issue at the time. But there definitely seemed to be some "wet" patches in the fabric wall separating the engine bay from the passenger compartment.

Haven't tasted the liquid as I know it's not too good for you but I guess I could rub it on my lip. It was definitely orange though, and I don't know of any other vehicle fluid that is orange.

Okey, well dont drink it, i meaned just to taste it abit whit finger to your tongue. Small amount wont hurt you


I hope you will get it sorted out!
I will follow this thread =)

Haha don't worry, I understood what you meant. I was being extra-cautious I guess but I'll have a "taste"

The vehicle will go to the dealership but they can't get me in until Jan 30th (and from there, I would imagine it will take another week or so until they get the parts to fix it).

That's why I'm trying to figure out the issue and if it is safe to drive the car with the heater off or with a simple temporary fix.

Thanks.

Anyone else with info on this?? Wondering if anyone's had an issue like this on here, what was the repair cost, etc.

The cabin heater core on an FL2 is always in circuit (coolant flowing).

When you say you turned the heater off, do you mean you turned the blower off? I suspect with the blower running you are drawing air in from under the bonnet (the area/gap at the back of the engine bay) and this is why you're getting a smell.

Try putting the car into 'recirculated air' mode instead of turning the blower off and this will tell you the source of the smell (cabin vs engine bay).

Thanks for the heads up about the heater core being always in circuit.

Indeed, when I say I turned the heater off, I mean that I turned the ventilation off.

Good idea about engaging the recirculated air to see the source of the leak. If the smell does not appear, I would assume it is originating from the engine bay but from somewhere between the engine and the firewall, as that's where the smoke and smell was coming from last time I ran my vehicle.

Simon,
you had this issues sorted out, right? I think I saw on instagram some goods news from you.
If that's the case, please let us know what the problem was.

Greetings from Argentina!
Juan

Indeed, the news are good since Monday's inspection! For the short term, at least. I've just hadn't gotten around to posting an update on either Instagram or on here.

It turns out that what I am dealing with is a slight leak from the block heater (for those not familiar, a coolant heater that keeps the engine warm when turned off during the cold winter months).

I thought it was the heater core due to the burning smell... But what really happened is that when looking for the coolant leak, I noticed a very slight bit of rust on the top of the exhaust and sprayed some rustproofing on there. A bit of overspray also went on the firewall. Having already used the product, but never at that spot, I had no idea it would make a burning smell as it evaporated from the hot exhaust on my next drive. Seeing as I was already "on the hunt" for the source of the coolant leak, the combination of seeing the slight bit of smoke, the burning smell and the wet marks on the firewall made me think heater core!

So, LR are charging 1000$ for a new block heater. I know I can drive it no problem within the city with some coolant in the back of the car - it's a very, very slow leak and I only need to top it off every few weeks or so.

My investigation will now be on if the leak is at a point that is pressurized and as such could "burst" on a long drive - hence something I should get fixed asap - or if it is something that can wait. I will also remove the skid plate and have a better look at it to see exactly what part of the unit needs replacing.

Glad to hear you found me on Instagram by the way! I should be posting some more stuff on there sooner than later

Cheers,

Simon