I have a 2001 disco 2. I noticed a few weeks ago a minor squealing that would occur when i accelerated slowly, about between 1 to 2 RPM, after 2 rpms the squealing stopped. I had new tires put on the truck about a week ago and the squealing keeps getting worse. Now the squealing is continuous. Today the truck started to over heat. The squealing will only occur when the vehicle is actually moving. I tried to place it in park and rev the throttle body to see if i could notice where the squeal comes from and it doesnt squeal. I even tried to put the parking brake on and apply the foot brake while accelerating in drive and still no squealing. I noticed today that there is a pressure relief hose off the top of the expansion tank and when the engine gets hot instead of sucking the coolant down its blowing it out through that tube and causing the engine to over heat. I am in no way a mechanic and just want others opinions before i take it to the shop for a diagnostic so i don't get ripped off. People hear land rover and just assume you are made of money. Please help!
Thank you in advance,
Tom

 

These problems could be related so I would check the weep hole on the water pump. If there is a leak there your pump could be going bad causing the belt to squeal. The overheating is something we have all had experience with. I would start with a coolant flush and see if that helps. The coolant is coming out of the hose because you have coolant leak somewhere in your system. These trucks have a closed system and when there is a leak air is sucked in as the engine cools. This crates an air bubble in your system and when it reaches the water pump coolant stops flowing. Have you noticed a waterfall sound when driving or on startup? If so you indeed have a leak. Find the leak, fix it, get it flushed you should be good to go.

 

Thank you for your prompt reply Frank. When I first bought the Disco I did hear the 'waterfall' while driving. However the a/c drain was clogged and after having that fixed it went away. Right before the truck overheated I did notice the 'waterfall' sound again. But it was literally, right before it overheated. I took the disco in to my local co-op here because the closest rover dealership is in nashville and the co-op said they could work on it. 3 hours later I get a call back stating they have no clue what's under the hood, imagine my irritation. I do love the truck, and for the price of the disco 2 you really can't beat it. I was leaning towards the water pump, but wasn't sure. To be completely honest, I don't even know where the pump is on the truck. I am not mechanicly inclined to do much on any vehicle. However I do have common sense and am sure ill be able to locate it.
Thanks again,
Tom

 

The squealing is most likely caused from a loose bad belt and or belt and tensioner, do you know how to check them?

 

The pump is right behind the fan pulley. You will probably have to take a look from underneath the truck to see the weep hole. I changed my pump a few months ago and found it to be on the moderate side of difficulty only because I couldn't get the fan knocked loose and had to remove the pump with the fan still attached.

 

On the third attempt i did find a local repair shop that knows landrovers and was able to take it to them this morning. They contacted me within an hour of dropping it off and advised me that the serpentine belt was bad, the thermostat needed replaced, and there were a couple of coolant hoses that needed replacing. Total bill came to $362 and some change. The catch, they have to order the parts from landrover and wont have them till Monday. So I guess I'll find out for sure Monday evening if thats truely whats wrong. If it is I'm quite please with that, I was thinking anywhere from $700 and up. I do have another question about changing out the plug wires if anyone cares to respond. They wanted $350 to do it and i just cant see spending that much. I do know the distributor cap is in a difficult place between the engine and fire wall, is there any trick to changing them out, or is it just patience and small hands?

 

That is still very steep for what they are doing. Serp belt is $30 hoses are $50-$75 for a couple (or so depending which ones) and thermostat is $20. All are very easy to DIY.

Buy 8mm magnacors from Apex Performance for $85 and some decent plugs. Your truck has ignition coils not a distributor but yes it is hard to get to but not that hard. Buy the wires and plugs and we will walk you though it. Read the sticky also (replacing wires without removing IM)

 

Thanks, I've been reading through a lot of the post trying to see what all i can do myself. I've already looked into the prices of the parts, but The serpentine belt I'm pretty sure I couldn't do on my own. I get frustrated very easily and am truly not mechanically inclined to vehicles. I do a lot of home maintenance and renovations, but vehicles is not my forte. I calculated about $150 to $200 on labor they are charging me and it would take me the better part of a day to get it done and I'm sure I would also have to buy tools since i don't own any for vehicles, so in the short version. I would make more money working then I would be paying them for labor to fix it, so I'd rather just pay someone else. The $350 to replace plug wires is what had me baffeled. I owned a BMW before this and it literally took maybe 5 min to switch them out. That I couldn't pay someone else to do.

 

I forgot to add $20 for coolant. Serp belts are as easy as turning one bolt to loosen the tensioner pulley then putting on the belt. It takes 15 minutes total time. For hoses, thermostat and belt is about an hour, 2 hours max if you take the time to flush your coolant properly. If you have the money to spend then by all means spend it. I usually do work on a weekend morning, I enjoy it though.

On the wires they will probably remove your upper IM that is where the big $$ comes from. You don't need to remove it but it is less aggravating that way.

 

I have pretty small hands so I'm gonna try the plugs and wires myself. Is there any reason to go ahead and replace the ignition coils as part of a tune up? The belt sounds easy to replace, but i tend to run into difficulties when i try to do things like that. Also, not to make myself sound even more dumb, i dont even no what or where the thermastat is or what it would take to change it out either. I'm a work ahoilic, so my spare time is spent doing things like rafting, tubing, attending a concert, sky diving. I do like to get my hands dirty, just not on vehicles. To add another problem with the truck, what would you suggest about replacing the fuel sending unit? It reads half a tank after I fill it up, when the light comes on and i get gas it will usually only take maybe 16 gallons. Its not much of a concern, but its just one more thing that isnt working correctly.
Thank you for you replies and assistance,
Tom