I have a '97 Disco and I live in Bahrain. It's hot here. About a week ago I had been driving for about 5 min when I noticed my temp start to rise. As it got about 3/4 up on the gage I slowed down and drove to the closest gas station, but the needle was just touching the red by the time I got there. From the time I noticed the needle above half way until I shut it off was less than 5 min.

I had to put in about 5.5 liters of fluid, so it was pretty dry. I drove over to a friend of mine so he could look at it and the molded hose attached to the bottom of the radiator let go in his garage. Replaced the hose and thought I was good to go.

After work the next day, I drove about a mile, stopped for an hour, then I drove home. After driving 5-6 miles I noticed the temp starting to rise again. The temp gage got to about a needle's width form the red.

Went back to my friends and we flushed the radiator. The thermostat was cycling so I know it is working, not sure what temp is opening at though. Drove to work today on my day off and was there about an hour. On the drive home, the temp held steady until almost the exact same location and then it started to overheat again.

From what I've read it sounds like a thermostat problem because it doesn't overheat when I'm running at less than highway speeds. All my fans (two electric and clutch) are working and we hosed off the radiator but there are no bugs to speak of over here so the rad isn't clogged up with wildlife. The engine runs very smoothly. I've smelled the exhaust and there isn't a sweet or antifreeze smell to it and I don't notice white smoke when I start it up. I have a new thermostat on order just to rule that out.

I've had the Disco since early April and haven't had any overheating issues until now. A few weeks ago I had the front drive shaft replaced and the mechanic noticed it was very low on power (it drove like a 4 banger). He said the timing was about 10 degrees off, so he advanced it and he told me he added about 4 liters of coolant/water. It was about a week after that when it overheated the first time.

Anyone have any suggestions? Also, this Disco has been sold from military member to military member (including me) over the years so it hasn't been well maintained. It was found pretty much abandoned in a lot with two flat tires. I just need this thing to make it through the next year so I'm not looking to invest a lot of money in it. Sorry for the novel. Thanks in advance for any help you can provide.

-Rebel
"Fly Navy"

 

Have you needed to put any more coolant in the tank?

 

Please take a look through the cooling system post in my signature. Lists a variety of things to look at. Would suggest a 180F alternate temperature stat also. If your heater core is bypassed you may not hear the "gurgle" sounds that indicate bubbles in coolant. You have to get all the air out, or it can make a "steam cloud" behind the thermostat. One way to prevent that is more modern thermostats have a "jiggle" device that allows air to pass by, or you can drill a 1/8 inch hole in the flange. Your old radiator could be clogged up with calcium, etc. Reverse flush can help, it is unlikely you will have a small radiator shop nearby, but I guess they must be there somewhere to work on the road building equipment. And if coolant keeps vanishing, consider doing a coolant pressure test up to about 18 PSI. Some leaks are sneaky, like hose on bottom of coolant bottle, nose of water pump, etc.

 

Timing off ten degrees in which direction? Advanced or retarded? Your timing will impact the engines temp. Should be around 5 degrees advanced with vacuum hose pinched off. What kind of water are you using, distilled or tap?