So far I have had or have done myself the following on my new '01 Disco II w/125k mi :
Front Crankshaft Seal, Plugs & 8mm wires, condenser fan, coolant fan, Sea Foam Intake treatment, new tires, rear disk pads, rear wiper motor & arm, vaccume line on cruise actuator, front washer nozzles, recharge A/C.

Parts on order or on hand :
180 T-Stat, pressure cap, serpentine belt, A/C Compressor (recharge still blowing hot), front drive shaft (got a great eBay deal for a like-new w/greaseable U-Joints for $210!), Blue Devil (for persistent t-case leak.), and 'Water Wetter'' to add to coolant. Front rotors and pads.

All waiting to be installed. But I have a few questions :

1 - should I just go ahead and replace the radiator while I have the fan & belt off? It's been running hot - 221 on the highway w/out a/c on (according to UG coolant temp).

2 - Front prop shaft is a no brainer, but the rear U-Joint looks good as does the rotoflex, should I just do those anyway?

Aside from the recharge of refrigerant, I can do all the work myself, I just don't want to do it twice! Did I miss anything? Is there anything I should be aware of that would cause a tow into the shop?

Thanks in advance for all the help - this is one of the best BB's I have been on - this coming from a former Jeep Wrangler owner!

 

New fan clutch (if part of the coolant fan repair) will increase load on worn out water pump, and make it fail even faster. They have been a team for millions of spins, now you have the old guy dancing with the new gal body builder (Ms. Fanny Clutch), and she is a handful.

If 180 stat is not gray in color suggest test on stove in pot of hot water. Some after market have reports of open at wrong temp.

Radiator can be evalauated now. Warm up truck, engine off. Measure temp on rad fins top to bottom in a vertical line. Should be less than 10F spread. More spread indicates cooler on bottom, from less flow, through restricted tubes.

AC work requires gauges, and a vacuum pump. You could have much less costly things, like a dryer that has been exposed to outside air and is clogged up, etc. You would replace the drier if you do compressor anyway. Without gauges you are just guessing at what is going on.

Water wetter when used with 50/50 coolant may drop you a few degrees, the bottle says up to 6. The higher drops are when straight water is used. It did maybe 2 degrees for me.

Grease the rear u joint at every oil change, eyeball the roto flex. Will show up as tears/cracks.

 

Thanks for the advice - love the analogy too! As a former Jeep TJ owner who spent hundreds of hours and thousands of dollars modifying it, I am familiar with what lovingly can be referred to as a 'work-in-progress'! Just want to be sure I haven't missed a step - the Land Rover gestalt is new to me!

 

What does "like new" propshaft mean?

 

First, who's t/stat do you have, the old grey 180 soft spring t/stats are now white, not grey and replace the coolant cap if it hasn't been done yet.
Replace the radiator now, even if the heat distribution looks good cause the plastic tanks, at your mileage have taken more heat then they can handle and are now brittle.
The A/C is very simple to do if you only need to recharge a now weak system. Buy an 18 oz. can of synthetic 134A with a gauge and follow the directions, takes less then 5 minutes.
I would stay away from most of the drive shafts listed on E-Bay as they are usually just cheap U.S. knock offs or made in China and buy a good one from either Great Basins Rovers in Salt Lake City or British Parts of Utah which also come with a serviciable centering ball which many don't offer.
And consider replacing your water pump along with the viscus clutch. There is a great replacement for the pump made by Air Tex which has a solid brass impellor and comes with a 2 year warranty at British Parts of Utah and A.B. for around $160.
Should have replaced your timing chain and oil pump gear set by now and or if you do you water pump, cause they will be showing wear at your mileage.
Let us know how it all turns out.

 

Replaced the pressure cap yesterday and immediately saw a 2-3 deg drop in temp; got the 180 deg t-stat from British R=Parts. It is kind of white. The front prop shaft hasn't arrived yet, and as I'm not doing any off road driving with it and it has Spicer U-Joints, I'm OK with it. Hadn't thought of timing chain and oil pump, but if the chain was worn significantly, shouldn't that show up in as a timing issue? Will update as work is done.

 

Spicer u-joints will fail just as readily as others without corrected maintenance.