Hello friends,
My 1995 140k miles disco is leaking a lot of water from the water reservoir cap. The engine overheats very fast and I need to wait for it to cool down before I add more water to the reservoir. My first reaction was to buy a new cap but I think the head gasket might be the problem. Any advice? At this point I am willing to try anything….
Thanks in advance,
George

 

If the reservoir is black get a white one if cap leaks buy a new one, are you running g 50/50 mix?

Is the clutch fan working?should roar when hot

Is there debris between read and condenser?

Last time you did the thermostat?

Codes?

Do you have a ultra gauge to see what the actual temp is? Do not go by the factory gauge

Any other coolant leaks? White smoke in exhaust? Coolant in motor oil? Looks like milk

 

The symptoms you describe speak of a head gasket leak. Same symptoms I had in my disco ii and I did have to replace the head gaskets (myself). I never had white smoke out of the tailpipe.

 

There is a tool to rent or buy that attaches to the resivoir with dye to tell if it is getting exhaust into the coolant/ bad h gasket

 

https://landroverforums.com/forum/ne...reply&p=464980
Hi! Thanks for getting back to me. I truly appreciate the help

I do have the black reservoir. I am running 50/50 mix. My fan does get very load when hot. "debris between read and condenser?" Let me check, but I would say no because I take good care of my motor. Last time I changed the Thermostat was about 3 years. I do not have an Ultra gauge, but the temp is very hot. Vapor comes out of the cap. Reservoir makes growling noises? No white smoke from exhaust? no other coolant leaks. I will check for coolant/water in motor oil.

Thanks for the pointer! Will keep you posted.

 

Thanks for your input. I will look in to getting a pressure tester from local auto parts.

I will check with old school method for water in the oil.

Thanks,
G.

 

If its a 95, you can't have an ultraguage because its not OBDII its OBDI.

 

I understand!

 

Sorry bout that, can try a code scanner for obd1 maybe, or in fared laser thermometer on thermostat housing, coolant in reservoir, and shoot several areas on radiator

You can also feel hot rad. To see if there's cool spots

The black reservoir is bad plastic can break/ burst easy get white from newer d1

At this age probly a combination of semi clogged radiator about $200 new on ebay for nice aluminum one direct fit, new thermostat, good flush, newer resivoir and cap

You may have bad hg but these contribute heavily

If the system does not pressurise the coolant boiling temp is lowered some, may want a 180 stat too

Read above is supposed to be rad . Auto correct is pita

 

As this behavior is BAD for an aluminum engine do not run the engine anymore.... you have no idea how much fun you can drop on your motor by repeatedly overheating it, no idea. Perform all tests that you can with a stone cold motor from here on out. No more starting it until you know why it's overheating. Best advice I have.

I don't know what your experience level is but I'll assume it's not equal to mine because your asking a simple question that an experienced motor head would not. So with that in mind I'll throw you a large bone.......

As you have 140k on it I would go ahead and do a head gasket replacement (and check the liner to deck height) along with update replacements to insure it's sound and will last as long as you want to remain owning it. If your motor was installed with steel head gaskets replace with the same otherwise you will drop compression ratio with a tall composite even after shaving the heads. (3.9's already have a larger cc'd combustion chamber and the heads are spec'd to shave two times without touching valve to piston dome.)

I'll tell you from experience, diving into your motor at this stage of the game will give you all the information you need to keep maintaining it properly. This is my advice and I have 6 years of saving Rover streamlined cinder blocks to prove it.

If you want a good read on what not to do find Savannah Buzz's thread on head gaskets replacement. I'm not picking on SB as he's suggested the same to other members. It was painful for me as head gasket replacement is fairly simple to do (within a weekend) if planned properly.

Good luck and I'll be following along......