Hey Everyone,

I wish my first post wasn't a question, but here goes: I have a '94 Disco I (3.9 V8, etc.) High mileage. I was driving fine all winter and it's almost 100F here in AZ now and it has started overheating. It will sit at idle forever and can be driven around in the neighborhood for a little while but will start overheating after about five or ten minutes under load.

I've flushed and cleaned the system. I replaced the water pump and fan clutch. I'm certain I've bled the system properly - I got a huge "belch" of air last time. I got one of those block tester kits from Napa and tested it twice; the color didn't change in the slightest. I thought I had it licked, but I took it out on a larger road at about 40MPH and it started to overheat.

I'm not sure if this is a radiator or block issue, at this point. Every radiator shop in town wants a fortune to work on it and a I can get a replacement for just about the same price of a re-core, but it still isn't cheap (I know I'm preaching to the choir.)

I don't really want to dump $500 into a radiator to figure out that I need new head gaskets or maybe even new heads. Is there another way?

Thank you!!

 

You need a new radiator.
Take it out yourself, its easy, it will take you 30 min.
I am assuming you already replaced the thermostat and it is not in backwards.
Then take the radiator to a shop and have them re-core it but do NOT tell them what it is for.
Just say you bought it off of e-bay for a off road truck you are building or something.
Drain the system.
Remove the fan and clutch.
Remove radiator shroud.
Remove trans and engine oil cooler lines.
Lift up on radiator.
Easy peesy.

 

Thanks man! I was just worried I was on the wrong track. Since you are still driving your D1 at 202,000 miles I will trust your word!!

Jeff

 

Mine still has the original radiator too.

If you change the coolant every 2 years your radiator will rot before it clogs.
Just do a drain and fill every 2 years no matter the miles.

 

GOOD ADVICE SPIKE. I NEED TO CHANGE MINE AND THE THERMOSTAT AS WELL, maybe even the hoses, the top one looks good, but the heater hoses look pretty old.

 

Do yourself a favor Danny and buy the hose kit, it comes with all the coolant hoses.
All coolant hoses need to be replaced every 10 years no matter what, if you only replace one you are just asking for trouble.
I have found that RockAuto Auto Parts has the best prices on Rover coolant hoses.
The part number for the t-stat gasket is in the tech section.
AutoZone will have the t-stat, I use a 195*F.

 

That's a good idea, I'll add it to the rotation. Hopefully this will be the end of this for a while. I'm going to grab the new rad in the AM...

 

For what it is worth, I just removed and replaced my radiator in a 97 (173K) multiple times. It is pretty straight forward. My radiator indy shop boiled out and rodded out and soldered a few leaks for $65 several weeks ago. This worked great. I had tried commercial flushes, soaking radiator myself in white vinegar, then again in brick washing acid, but that did not compare to the radiator shop results. I also tried radiators from a few boneyards, not much luck, one had a blocked oil cooler. So the radiator shop is the best deal. You can take out the upper plug in the radiator and look inside with a flashlight, you will probably see calcium around the tubes. This will be gone when it returns from the radiator shop. While you are at it, it is a good time to renew the O rings for oil cooler and tranny cooler lines.

 

New radiator in; so far, so good! The old one was trashed. You really can't tell until you get the thing out of there, either. I'm cautiously optimistic!!

 

Keep us posted.