Steamy heater problem (Def 300tdi)

Leak in the heater matrix, or just possibly the pipework. It doesn't have to be much of a leak, but you did the right thing. Keep checking coolant levels until you get the heater sorted out.

Sounds like a leak from the heater matrix or one of the hoses near to the matrix.

You should keep an eye on the coolant level. If it goes big time then in some vehicles drivers have been sprayed with scalding water. I don't think this would be in issue in a Landie though.

You can bypass the heater if it gets desperate, given the time of year it would need to be bad though.

A prompt repair sounds like the best otption.

Lee D

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In news: snipped-for-privacy@posting.google.com, Guy Lux wrote: | Driving back to Luxembourg yesterday, there was the smell of engine | coolant in the cab, but as the engine temperature remained constant I | didn't stop. About half an hour later, I suddenly noticed the inside | of the car was very steamy (like a turkish bath) and coolant-smelling | steam was coming from the heater vents. I closed off the heating, but | again, engine temperature never changed. Outside, it was minus 2 and | very foggy and I had been doing a steady 70mph for about 3 hours. | With 2 hours to go, it was a flippin' cold trip. | | Any ideas as to why my Defender should turn itself into a mobile steam | room? | | Guy

I found on mine that the drain valve on the trunking from the wing top air intake to the heater matrix was clogged up.

Eventually the water level rises to a point where it can get sucked into the fan and through the internal pipe work, turning to steam on the way.

Mark

On or around Mon, 05 Jan 2004 13:32:04 GMT, "Mark Pewsey" enlightened us thusly:

smell of coolant makes me think it's a heater matrix leak though. BTW, unless yours is an oddity, shutting off the heater won't stop it leaking as unlike the old series motors, the water flows through the heater all the time, but the air is vented round it to get cold.

I had this on a car once, and it only takes a very small leak to produce that effect, not enough to be short-term problem.

I'll check out the pipework. Hope its not too fiddley. If there aren't any visible signs, I'll try some Rad-Weld and hope that does it!

Cheers Lee and David

Guy

Just for info, the steamy heater is fixed. It was not a belt and braces fix (actually I was disappointed it was so easy, I had already printed the relevant part of the workshop manual and sourced metal pipes and clips to bypass the matrix ) All I needed was that Rad weld stuff. It took a while to work. For a day, it was still steamy then I gave it a bloody good run on the motorway to get everything cooking, and lo 'n' behold, De-misted!

My old man tells me this is just a temporary fix, But when I first got the Def a couple of years ago, the radiator leaked, I rad-welded and it has been leak-free ever since!

Guy

Good to hear you are up and running... I'd get a matix on the off chance and bung it in the spares if your planning an adventure.

Sis is planning a trip to Lux in Jlo at Easter.... but then she inherited the Mad-as-a-fish gene ;-)

Lee D

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Might be wise, I hope be off to Iceland in late August with the Def for Tourism and Mountainbiking.

To visit friends I assume, as tourism-wise it's a bit feeble! If she is interested, I have lots of off-road trip maps for Lux.

Guy