Last Thursday I am driving to work when I park at a gas station. I look back at my 2003 Land Rover Discovery and noticed some steam coming from under the hood. When I get back out I pop the hood and my coolant is boiling in my reservoir and overflowing a little. I go back in and buy some 50/50 dex (thank God they had it) and put a little in there to replace what was lost. It had not been leaking and there was no burst in the system. I cant be late for work and I crank the beast up and watch the temp guage. It is slowly rising and my work is only about 1/8th of a mile away. As I drive it continues to rise and I make it to work. Right when I pull in to a spot, the temp gauge goes from hot to cold like it just stopped working. BTW I have no heat in the car so the coolant isnt getting to the heater core. I turned the car off myself (it did not cut off). The coolant is boiling and steaming but no smoke from the engine or tail pipe, and no water in my oil. I assume its a thermometer and I order one as soon as I get to my computer. After work I go to crank the beast up and it starts, revs up, then slowly dies. I try again and it will turn over but not crank, so its obviously a fuel issue. Over the past few days Ive checked my fuses, attempted reset by unplugging battery, and listened for my fuel pump which is not coming on. Is possible that I need to reset the ECU (and is there a trick to do it?). Or another problem that I am not thinking of? I am not an idiot, but not a mechanic at the same time and just learning this stuff as I go.

 

sounds like your thermostat could have been dexmuded up. hopefully, the overheating didn't do more damage than you think.
if you want to check fuel pressure, there is a valve on the fuel rail. you can read pressure and rule out fuel as a problem.

 

Thanks dusty1, I shouldn't need to take off the IM to get to it right? I am at work and not beside the Disco, so I cant go look at it. I don't have a pressure gauge so just doing a squirt test should give me a decent idea of if I'm getting fuel from the pump right? Again, I'm not mechanic and just figuring it out as I go. Also, on the '03 Disco can I reach my fuel pump from inside the back of the car, and if so, how would you recommend putting power directly on it to see if it spins? Thanks!

 

yes you can reach the valve without removal of im.
there is an access in the cargo area for pump.

 

more concerning would fire (or misfire), not fuel, due to the overheating.

 

It sounds exactly the same as if I were just starting it normally, but it just keeps turning over. It will crank strong every great once in a while if I'm holding down the gas pedal but just idles down and craps out, which leads me to fuel pump (not to mention i cant hear the pump run even with the gas tank lid open and my ear halfway down the tube).

Ive been trying to find a correlation between the two issues (overheat and not starting) and I have yet to come up with one. It did get warm, and was in the red for approx. 20 seconds, and I know that the aluminum is prone to issues with heat, but Ive had absolutely no obvious symptoms of any engine damage.

 

besides fuses and relays there is an inertia switch located on the passenger side (right side) firewall, in the engine compartment. when tripped it will shut down your fuel pump. its just a black, push button looking thing. I am just throwing this info out, as there is no reason for me to think it has been tripped. just giving you info related to your fuel pump.

 

Yea, that was one of the first things that I checked. What is the best method to put power directly on the fuel pump to check function?

 

unplug the pump and check it with a test light

 

Im not sure how to get power to the pump while it is in the car, but if you remove it there are two wires that are bigger than the rest coming from the pump itself to the underneath of the top of the assembly. Should be green and black.

Use a 12volt power source(I use a 12 volt drill battery) and connect + to the green, - to the black. It will spin. Make sure exit nozzle is pointing away from your face.

I hate to say it, but I think you have fried your motor. I am not sure of the exact reasoning, But I bought an 04' that someone had driven up into the red until it dropped to dead cold and died on them. Then it wouldn't start. Sounds like you might have turned it of just before it died out.

Any coolant coming out of the heads? How about codes? The CEL has to be on.