Urgent Help, Water leak

[British Bulldog]

Hey all,
I am just new to this site as I just bought my first Rangie 82 Four door of eBay for $600. Now I have to get it the 200 ks home. I don't have a vehicle big enough to tow it. It has a slight water leak from under the intake manifold. Would this be safe enough to drive back as long as I stopped regularly stop and keep the water topped up. I need a answer as soon as possible as I have to pick up the car tomorrow.
I did this with my last subaru l seires and killed the head gasket, so I am very weary of doing it agin.
Will post pics once I get it back here.
Cheers Kris

[schuler]

You could try driving it with the radiator cap not pressurised, it may reduce the amount of fluid loss...

Cheers

Steve

[jbell]

It may be a heater hose leaking as these go under the inlet manifold
some are steel pipe & rust out others are rubber & chaf through.
good luck!!


Jeff

[muddydigger]

Rover motors do not like to be over heated at all in fact its properly the most common thread among Rover forums "over heating Rover", if you do try this you will need to monitor the fluid loss very carefully. As suggested don't do up the cap tight as this will pressurise the system, or you'll loose everything in minutes. try doing it at night to keep it cool with less traffic.

[British Bulldog]

Thanks for the advice guys. I drove it back it didn't seem to really lose any water. It looks like the leak is from the thermostat housing. Is there supposed to be a gasket there or not?
But it did lose tons of oil from around the back of the engine underneath, what could this be a sump gasket or worse? It does not smell like gearbox oil just normal engine oil. It drips out while running. I will degrease the whole underside tomorrow and see where it is really coming from.
There is also oil leaking from around the rear pinion seal so I will replace this and see how it goes.
It has a dull thud from underneath when coming off and on the accelerator this would be the rear diff ball joint wouldn't it?
It also won't down shift from third to second at all what the hell is the problem here do I need a new gear box or rebuild?
Otherwise it seems to be a great truck for the price who can really complain for $600.
Cheers Kris

[Simo63]

Thanks for the advice guys. I drove it back it didn't seem to really lose any water. It looks like the leak is from the thermostat housing. Is there supposed to be a gasket there or not?
But it did lose tons of oil from around the back of the engine underneath, what could this be a sump gasket or worse? It does not smell like gearbox oil just normal engine oil. It drips out while running. I will degrease the whole underside tomorrow and see where it is really coming from.
There is also oil leaking from around the rear pinion seal so I will replace this and see how it goes.
It has a dull thud from underneath when coming off and on the accelerator this would be the rear diff ball joint wouldn't it?
It also won't down shift from third to second at all what the hell is the problem here do I need a new gear box or rebuild?
Otherwise it seems to be a great truck for the price who can really complain for $600.
Cheers Kris

Yes there is supposed to be a gasket in the thermostat housing. Cheap to buy or if you have the right gasket paper, easy to make.

The oil leaks are very common in Rovers however that is mainly due to poor maintenance. You need to be aware that if it is a 4 speed manual (LT95 gearbox) then it should run engine oil as it has a oil pump like a motor. The reason I am telling you this is that I have sen people chase oil leaks by pulling out motors and replacing the rear main seal, replacing sump gaskets etc only to discover that it was the gearbox leaking through the front seal lor oil pump (located at the front of the box in the bellhousing).

The thud could be many things but yes the rear ball joint is often the culprit. To check, put it in gear and rock it back and forth quite violently with someone under the car. You will see the ball joint moving around. Also check the lower control arm bushes as they often faill as well. Better check them all I guess

Again the shifting down from 3rd to 2nd could be many things (again assuming it's a manual box) but it sounds like the synchro rings. I would check or change the oil first and try that before looking any further but if that doesn't fix it then, yeah, a rebuild might be on the cards.

Cheers
Simo