signs of head gaskets failing

[cptcaveman]

Hi gang how do you tell if the head gaskets are on their way out? I have recently bought a v6 2001 model I have experienced a strange burning smell which the wife says smells like curry!!!! there doesnt seem to be any loss in power and it isnt over heating but the coolent level was quite low. (mind you it was warm) I have topped it up and checked it over the last 2/3 days all seems ok the thing is I have a lot of driving planned for next week and I dont want it to pack up miles away from home, what do you lot think? any comments would be most welcome, many thanks cpt...........

[Lighting90]

any sign of the oil in the engine emulsifing? (excuse spelling, lack of sleep for the last few nights)
Any sign of oil in the water?

A lot of people also report of hearing a guggling noise coming from the engine bay.

Might be worth giving it a close check over, and putting some newspaper underneath, to check for coolant leak. Any leak dripping on the newspapers, how ever minor it is..will show up... I had a situation where the radiator was leaking, but I never could find the leak, as it only did it once the engine warmed up and put water through at a higher pressure..

[cptcaveman]

Hi Lightning there doesnt appear to be any oil in the water and visa versa and no gurgling sound either. what i did notice was when the engine was hot and I undid the expansion tank top the level of the coolent rose there seemed to be a fair bit of pressure there, since I have opened it up the coolent seems to have stablised but I will keep an eye on it as I will be gutted if the engine goes.
I bought the v6 because I was led to believe that the 1.8 pre 2000 was the one with the hgf problem and not the v6.
I also wanted an auto for the wife as she has never been any good wih the gear changing lol.
she drove my defender once!!! omg never again thanks for the advise anymore would be welcome many thanks cpt.............

[ROB 110 HICAP]

Head gasket symptoms;
using some water,
then overheating,
then using lots of water,
then loss of power,
finally loads of white smoke out of the exhaust,
Can take a few months to develop.

Doesn't sound like it from what you describe. Burning smell could be auto clutch, brakes, something touching the manifold, electrical/wiring short leading to burning, takeaway curry behind the seat?
good luck

[pie2000]

I have had 2 v6 Freelanders and both had the same problems lose of coolant, the first we only had2 weeks so it went back to the garage and was replaced with the second car.

After about a month the car was loosing a lot of coolant, about a 1l a week and the wife only does about 100 miles a week.The car was under warranty so it went into the dealers and they found 2 of the piston liners were spinning in the engine block this meant the engine had to be total stripped down and rebuilt.

The things you need to look out for are emulsified oil in and around the oil filler cap and lose of coolant.
The v6 can also have problems with the heater matrix, if you can smell burning inside the car have a look under the dash to see if you can see a leak, if you are only lossing small amonts of coolant then it could also be the expansion tank cap.

[cptcaveman]

No curry behind the seat that was a shame Im starving!!! all other pointers will be checked out many thanks lads

[drk]

I seem to have the same problem with my 2001 V6: burnt plastic smell inside, and slight traces of smoke coming out from behind the radio (which I took out). This happens only occassionaly when motor is still and I accelerate a lot.
I was just wondering if you had figured out what the source of the problem was, and how you have solved it.
thanks

[vitalspark]

Have had no problems at all with my V6 unlike my td5. Head problems with that resulting in a new engine. As said the V6 was not noted for o/heating problems. If it does you will probably find your hoses are `solid` when hot. If they are not and no contamination in oil I wouldn`t worry. If you are really concerned have the dealer do a gas analysis..additive in the coolant and sample the exhaust I believe. I know they use a bit of fuel but they have to be the best Freelanders on the road, silky smooth and 175bhp.
Dave

[drk]

But do you have any idea where this burnt smell and those traces of smoke might come from and how serious it might be?