Had already replaced the heater in/out, so I got the upper/lower and the short manifold replacement + a thermostate and gasket.

 

Sounds like a plan.

 

Hey Chris.

Mine did the same months ago and replaced the gasket. Just about a week ago, the tops started to seep again. I did torque them down to spec, but this time, I did it by feel. It seems to have stopped completely.

BTW....don't forget to replace ALL the rubber o-rings for the oil cooler lines AND cam sensor, front seals, check your oil pump and timing chain.......

 

On my 97 Discovery, I kept finding coolant puddling up on top of the water pump housing in small amounts. Mine also turned out to be the "shorty" hose from the rigid tubing into the manifold.

Since my heater hoses were original and I did not want to order and wait, I bought a few feet of 3/4 inch heater hose and replaced boththe inlet and outlet sides from the firewall but I went a step further and eliminated the short curved piece of pipe and ran the hose straight onto the inlet nipple. Problem solved.

With the age, I would still have a concern over the condition of the water pump and would go ahead and do a visual inspection on it to avoid wasting the coolant refill. However, do what you are comfortable with.

 

The firewall side are 5/8", the rigid tubes over the valve cover are 3/4", the nipple at the manifold is 7/8" or somesuch. IMHO easier to buy the correct hoses.

 

Another example of fine engineering. Hoses with two different size ends and three different size openings in one loop.

 

Yes, brought to you by the same idiots that decided it was a good war strategy to wear bright red and stand in mass in open fields! What were they thinking?

"I say, Charles, the Yanks are shooting at us from the woods!"

 

Last fall I had to replace my water pump with only 87k miles on it. It was wobbling like a sober Irishman.(they walk straight when drunk) But there was nothing wrong with the fan clutch, fan, or belt tensioner. So check your water pump. Can't hurt. But if it wobbles at all, replace it.

 

I checked my pump and it seems solid. I am not entirely convinced that the front leak wasn't just a few drips from the top rad hose. The shorty hose I just replaced is having some issues, so I will replace it AGAIN!

I have never replaced the top and bottom hoses, and I didn't see any record from the POs paperwork that they were changed, so I am changing them since I will have to drain the coolant again to replace the shorty hose.

And yeah, wtf were they thinking designing a small hose with different diameter ends that is a PITA to replace?

Anyway, I will keep my eye on the front cover after replacing the hoses, but I think (hope) it's OK.

I have several months before my trail run, and aside from replacing the brake lines, I should be good to go. Hopefully anything major that is about to fail will fail before am on a forest service road in the middle of the Cascades!

 

Well, she's equipped with all new radiator hoses and a new thermostat. After the replacement the temp gradually came up to just below 9-oclock as usual and stayed put, so everything is working. So far no leaks, but I'm keeping my eye on the front cover to see if that stays put. The Hylomar I put on it is a little discolored now; hopefully from the heat.

The genuine short hose went on MUCH easier than the aftermarket one I replaced.

One thing I found was that the bottom hose was a bitch to remove, and I didn't see a bottom drain plug, so that hose was my drain. Didn't see anything about the drain plug in the RAVE either. It made a huge mess, but I was able to prevent 98% of the coolant from spilling on the ground. What did spill I had to wash down my driveway drain, which goes into a drain field; bad but not as bad as going into a drain that goes to the Puget Sound.

Now I need to find a place to get rid of all the old coolant.