2008 SR180 2.2 D-Cat 82K miles using coolant

[NickSw]

Checked oil & water on wife's car last Friday, prior to a 400 mile journey. Took a fair bit of water, a bit less than 2 litres. Last time I checked (about a month ago, slaps wrist) it took about 1L. That was the first time I've ever had to put coolant in it. I kept a close eye on the temp gauge throughout and it was good, not any sign of overheating. Checked today after our return and it took more than 1L. No sign of any leakage. No drips on the ground. No oil in water or vice versa. Floorwells dry, so hopefully not heater matrix. Over the w/e I met an old pal who has a Rav4 with similar engine. He said he'd recently had similar problems, correctly diagnosed as failing water pump.

Any thoughts on this please? If it turns out to be the water pump, is this a major task?

Many thanks, Nick.

[alan333]

The 2.2 diesel engine is prone to cylinder head problems, have a sniff test done.