Hi there, new to the forum and to owning a land rover. I purchased the vehicle fairly inexpensively, but now i fear that i may have gotten in over my head. Firstly my issue is that while the car seems to be able to idle for as long as i leave it there and be fine, as soon as i drive for a bit(like a mile) she starts to overheat. apparently the head gasket has been replaced before, and i dont notice any signs of that being the issue. i went into this purchase with the knowledge of the over heating problem, so im okay with this, just want to know if anybody can point me in the right direction. the first time it started to overheat i turned it off and noticed that the hoses on top were not hot. i then bleed the system and alot of air came out and i noticed that when i restarted the car, the top hoses got warm, so i thought maybe it just needed to be bleed, but took it out again and once again it overheated.

 

Help me please.

 

You're going to need a copy of the RAVE, so you will have a guide to working on the truck. Most of the senior people hear have links to it in their signature. Once you get a copy, review the picture of the thermostat housing. I replaced mine and had the hoses on wrong, and it would idle fine, but overheat if I drove it.

Another simple check is to see if the electric cooling fan is coming on. Normally, it should not get hot enough for the fan to come on, but if it's running out - The fan should be on. Also make sure the heater hoses are connected and they are hot.

Assuming this is fine, the next step is to figure out if coolant is flowing completely in the radiator or if it's partially clogged. The easy way is to get a temp gun from Harbor Freight and let the engine idle till it gets to operating temp and then turn it off and point the gun at different spots on the radiator.
If there's more than a 10 degree change from top to bottom, that might be your issue.

This should get you started... Post back with your results.

 

Thanks a bunch. I'll start with doing all of those things and post results. Talk of things being wrong with the block have got me a little worried. Also the heat doesn't seem to be working either but the motor for it is. Wondering

 

I looked up the RAVE and the thermostat is connected fine. The lady I bought it from had it hooked upt to diagnostics and it showed that the coolant sensor was faulty. I purchased one and am just waiting for some help(my uncle and his tools) to install it. Any chance that that is the problem? Have yet to try anything else.

 

before replacing the sensor I would bleed it several times, rarely is it completely purge the first time. see that you have full heat and no noise of rushing washer behind the dash. before you go to much further.
depending upon were you live the fan would not be an issue at this time, especial when moving.
You should fill in your location on your Bio, your location does help.

 

OK I admit I am throwing this out there. Can you remove the thermostat and see if it still overheats with no thermostat?

It sounds like a circulation issue. Is the coolant foamy? (exhaust gas getting in from bad head gasket)

 

"Thanks a bunch...... Also the heat doesn't seem to be working either but the motor for it is. Wondering"

No hot air coming out of the heater means your coolant level is really low.

1. Check with diagrams to make sure coolant hoses are connected right.
2. Make sure the cooling fan turns the right way.
3. Make sure your coolant level is fine or very close to full. ( with heater running, and open
Radiator, top off radiator, while cold . With open radiator run the engine and top off radiator
Until she is full when the Engine is at operating temp. Cap the radiator and promptly turn off
the engine and let it Cool down. ) or .......fill up the cooling system as per Rave.
4. Do a pressure check on your cooling system.

Let us know what you find.

 

Actually i noticed that the coolant reservoir had a broken stem that the hose slides over. it's on the bottom of the reservoir and the hose is coming from the head i think? Either way i was losing pressure and fluid, so i ordered another reservoir and it should be here tomorrow. hopefully that was the issue and it will be back up and running soon. I'll post results when I replace the part. Thanks for the help so far, everybody.

 

I'll be bleeding the system extensively as well.