Recently I changed the Radiator in my 2002 Land Rover Discovery SE. I have not done the coolant yet, so its sitting in the drive way.

I need to be able to drain all the coolant out of the block and everything and refill the coolant to where it should be. Now I have looked around online in this forum and other forums and found a little help but not what I am looking for. I also have the RAVE Manual on my computer and cannot find what I am looking for.

Here we go:

1). I need to know where exactly the bolts are to drain the coolant from the block?

2). How much coolant to refill?

3). And what type of coolant? ***I ask this because some people stand by the Dexcool and some say this is what is caused head problems with gaskets and what not. ***I will be using a bottle of Water Wetter to help out for heat. So what coolant would you use and why?


One more thing I would like to ask. Just a rough guess but would anyone know what the value on my Rover might be?

2002
Discovery 2
SE Trim
135,000 Miles
Dark Green
Tan Leather
18" Hurricane Rims
Grille Guard (Wrap Around)
Tail Light Guards
Fog Light Guards
Hitch and receiver
Premium Sound
Dual Moon Roofs
*Body and interior is in really great shape.

Just want what you guys might think?

 

Using any good yellow or green coolant like Peak, make sure to add a bottle of either Water Wetter or Purple Ice to your coolant.
Down load a free copy of the Rave CD, it will have pictures and a complete step by step directions for draining the system.

 

1. Forget about the drain plugs on the block, they are impossible to reach.
2. About 3 gals of coolant for a fill from empty.
3. You need coolant that is safe for aluminum blocks, any coolant. Pick your favorite flavor and go with it. There is a lot of noise about how bad dexcool is, you can go with the green stuff if you like.

Replace your thermostat and water pump if it has not been done.
Flush the engine block, heater core and all the hoses out with a hose - flush both ways. You can use an off the shelf radiator flush product as well, that will help get some of the buildup out of there. Drain the water and rinse out with distilled water, try to drain as much water as possible. Add water wetter and fill up with coolant.
Note that when adding coolant to a dry system you can get air trapped all over, remove the top hoses on the block and rad and fit them once coolant starts coming out at their fittings. I also pulled off the 2 heater core hoses and poured coolant in one side until it came out the other end, then fitted the hoses. Unclip the coolant reservoir and rest it on top of something so it is a few inches higher than the engine, then bleed all the air out at the bleed screw.

 

For the coolant I like Peak Global Lifetime. It is sold at Walgreens and comes in a gold one gallon container. It comes premixed so you will need three but I would buy four and keep one in the truck. I like it because it is made with organic acid which is less acidic than the others. I would still replace the coolant every two years even though it is a "lifetime" coolant. I would forget about the block plugs. Just disconnect the lower hose and flush the block with a garden hose from the top inlet, same with the radiator, good luck.

 

How do you run radiator flush through? Reason I ask is because the discovery has no radiator cap to pour it in and how do you drain it? Help needed with radiator flush.

 

I never have used anything but water to flush the system. Pop the top and bottom hoses off and flush the block and rad separate until the water flows clear. Then flush the block with 50/50 mix. Button it back up, fill with 50/50, and then bleed per factory specs. Once again, have a buddy at GM so I have always used the GM factory Dexcool. System is super clean and have never had an issue with the coolant. Only have had a couple of gaskets go, but it got over 123k on it now so I'm not surprised. Just FYI, a leak will kill a dexcool system. If air gets in the system they start gumming up and will fail. Dexcool gets blamed for a lot of failures that were really a maintenance issue. I've seen guys running Dexcool go years without fixing slow leaks and then when the system becomes contaminated and fails they blame it on the antifreeze. Ymmv.

 

OMG do Rovers have to be a pain and junk.

Ok so I put the coolant in and started the engine and on the right-hand side, the screw that holds the plastic shroud down is leaking coolant from the screw hole. This is ontop on the right side. I read online about this being a common issue with these radiators. Does someone have a fix it solution or idea. I read about using a good waterproof epoxy or something.

PLEASE HELPe

 

They are not junk, you need this: Hose - Radiator Top - Find Belts, Hoses & Other Land Rover Parts at Roverparts.com if I understand you correctly. This pain you are feeling will pass once you are on top of the maintenance. Read stickies on top.

 

Thank for your reply but this is not the radiator hose the is the radiator itself. It's the screw hole on the right side of the radiator. The screw holds the plastic radiator and fan thingy. Again, this is not the radiator hose or anything. If you take the top radiator/fan cover off you will be able to see the radiator top and a plastic cover that goes across the top and goes between the fan and radiator. There is a screw on the right and one on the left. ***If you have ever replaced the radiator this is the small plastic part between the fan and radiator which is hard to get off and you have to use the fan clutch tool to take the fan off so then you can remove this plastic piece so then you can remove the radiator. PLEASE HELP...

 

Aftermarket radiator? Problem is sometimes the tolerances are wrong and your screw punctures or cracks the thin jacket. Try to seal it with some Teflon tape. The damage is done.

(PS, if it was aftermarket I feel your pain. Aftermarket gaskets and hoses have screwed me every time.)