Hey guys - bought an 04 Westminster Edition two years ago at 98k miles. It now has 117k and I'm loving it. Aside from oil changes (full syn) nothing has gone wrong with it.

Over the last six months or so I've needed to add coolant to it about once per 6weeks. I have smelled coolant outside of the vehicle faintly for several months now and I was thinking I needed hoses or had a slow leak somewhere (This Rover had its entire service book intervals stamped at Buckhead Land Rover here in Atlanta up until 5k miles prior to my purchase) The HG was replaced around 92k miles so I wasn't thinking it was HG related...Brought it in this am and up on the lift there was dexcool all over the bottom of the engine looks like it had been leaking like a sieve! Very little oil - but a lot of coolant.

My driveway never has leaks on the floor (oil or coolant). I've never ran it hot or overheated it and it runs strong.It's time to dig in and spend some money ensuring it will last me another several years. I was quoted $2,100 for a throttle body gasket, intake gasket, valve cover gasket, tstat, oil change and a new radiator (mine had a small crack in it). I was told this will stop all coolant leaking issues. Sound like a fair price for said work? By the way I get it serviced at an indy LR exclusive shop so I know it's in good hands.

Looking for some battle tested feedback. Thanks! By the way should I take this opportunity to flush the dex and switch to the green stuff? DiscoMike has changed his tune on the dex and I usually follow his lead...

 

The parts for that would run about $3-400.

As a DIY'er, $2100 is obscene.

 

Yea, I know - but I just don't have the time to tear it down. I just need it fixed and reliable and back on the road stat so I can continue on with life...

I AM interested everyone's thoughts on switching to the green at this point.

 

Definitely switch to green and get a 180 degree thermostat also.

 

If you're going to Road Britannia you can't go wrong. Neal is a trustworthy and helpful dude. If not, see what they're charging per hour for labor. I think RB runs around $75-$100.

 

You either need to invest time or money. In this case, time (about a day) will save you A LOT of money (about $1,800). This forum caters to a lot of DIYers, however, for the business man making $1K/hr, spending your own time would be dumb unless you just enjoy tinkering.

 

Quite right you are sir! I'm a big tinkerer and diy guy - just not with the LR when timing is at a crunch. I'm slammed with work (I build custom vintage furniture, home decor and industrial inspired lighting) so just having one less thing to stress about right now is the meal ticket - even though I'm choking on that meal to the tune of $2k...

I'm going to do plugs, wires, blown rear subwoofer in tailgate and retrofit an overhead DVD player for my daughter when things die down. Prob need to flush all fluids dif, trans, etc. too. Gotta start tackling that 120k interval and keep this thing humming.

 

Why not clean it up and replace the radiator and the throttle body heater and then see if your leak is fixed. You can do the throttle body heater in half an hour. The radiator is a little longer job, but if you can save almost $2,000, why not try? All of your leaking could be from the small radiator leak when it's under pressure and then blown all over. Otherwise you'd be spotting your driveway. You should do the 180 degree t-stat at the same time. I replaced my radiator in an evening.

 

Radiator is not as hard as the RAVE makes it out to be (Sophisticated Radiator Mount Upgrade - Land Rover Forums - Land Rover Enthusiast Forum). Remove the battery and air intake boxes and you can remove it without much issue...2-3 hrs. Just make sure you order a radiator that is fitted with/without secondary air, IAW your vehicle specs. Also, use zip ties vs the 2 top tank screws which are the cause of most radiator failures...also spelled out in the link above.