Need help, land rover smoking...

I was driving home from school, and the check engine light came on, so I pulled into a parking lot, and opened the hood, there was a small amount of smoke coming from the bottom left side of the engine. I checked the oil, and it was low, so I added oil. After doing this and restarting the engine, it sounded like the fan belt was slipping. I checked the belt again when the engine was off, and it was a little loose. Does anyone have insight what the actual cause of this problem could be? I know I need to tighten the belt, but what would cause the smoke, and for the belt to loosen all of a sudden?

head gasket maybe? i dont know about the belt, could just be a coincidence. thats just my 2 cents.

To be smoking you must be seeing something on the grouud. Red fluid,black fluid,Green fluid? Let me know- more info needed. Thanks, Rusty

There were a few drips on anti-freeze on the ground, they didn't seem to be coming from a certain place. Coolant level was at cold fill, and the oil changed recently. I think that it may be coolant burning, cause the smell is a little sweeter, and the smoke not as dark as oil smoke usually is, and a coolant leak would account for the smoke/steam. A family friend who used to work on land rovers said it could be a vacuum leak?

If it is coming from the front of the engine- possibly a faulty water pump,intake gasket or timing cover gasket. If it is in the rear of the engine, most likely a head gasket leak out of the back corners of the cylinder heads. Let me know. Rusty=HR Motorcars.

If your belt is loose, and you are gtting dripping coolant then the most likely cause is bearing failure on the water pump. You will find that the fan wobbles around.

You will find the coolant is dripping from a hole at the bottom of the casting which has the fan fixed into. That is the water pump early warning system, it will soon start loose larger and larger amounts of coolant.

My Disco dis this and it turned out that it was losing oil and that the smoke was the oil burning

I'm with Lighting, loose belt, coolant, belt slipping, it's water pump. If you take tension off the belt, I bet you have 1/8" or so play in the water pump pulley.

check the valve cover gaskets. The the coolant systems. pay particular attention to the water pump. keep a check on the coolant level. Questions. did the check engine light go off after you added the oil? Is the coolant level low. what type of engine and how many miles? any noise from the engine, other than the belt? hope it helps, let me know. gotta love a rover. duboff

ditto on water pump. I think I am going to replace everything on my truck within a year of buying it. I know you guys may not believe me but I just went through this same deal. Does it ever end?

you would thing. for the first time since i got it i am now problem free. so far ive only had drive train issues. nest week my engine is going to explode or something.

experiencing similar situation myself, except it smells like coolant burning. I can smell it under the hood after driving the truck, and occasionally smell coolant in the exhaust. coolant level needs to be checked and topped off frequently too.

My guess is head gasket(s). had a little overheating issue for about a week also, when the thermostat decided to stop opening and circulating the coolant thru the radiator...

Is it possible that the heads have warped due to overheating? is that a possibility with these engines? (I'm not overly familiar with these engines, but am with cars in general).

If this sounds like it's just head gaskets, then how hard is it to replace them? something a somewhat experienced wrench could do on their own? or, better left to be handled by a mechanic - not worth the trouble and cursing..?

thoughts?

thanks!