Dave-A cooling system is a cooling system is a cooling system...Rover cooling systems are no different then the cooling system of a '57 Chevy. They all work the same way. The only thing that you need to make sure of is that the coolant that you use is safe for aluminum.
Land Rover engines are cast aluminum NOT cast iron.
Chevy, Ford, etc use a cast iron block and aluminum heads. Rover went one step further and uses aluminum block with steel cyclinder liners (like a lawn mower) and aluminum heads.
If you remember the old Chevy Corsair's had problems with burning oil (they had aluminum blocks) because they didnt use cylinder liners and aluminum wears fast because it is a soft metal. But it is light and really good at disipating heat. So it works well for air cooled engines and helps to save weight.
Your truck already weighs 6,ooo lbs, imagine if it had a iron block!
Engines with cylinder liners will last as long as a iron block as long as you do not overheat it. Different metals expand at different rates (block aluminum/liners steel)and if you overheat the engine you will "drop" a liner and your engine is toast.
In my opinion Dex-Cool is recommended because it is bio-degradable and GM needs the "green" credits so that they can continue to build pick-up's and bigger than life SUV's.
And I imagine that is also why LR reommends it as well.
I wont risk it, I use Peak Globle Lifetime and just drain and fill every 50k.

 

I am by far notan expert in anti-freeze technology, but I've done a lot of reading on another forum where this topic has been beaten to death. A lot of people agree that Dex-cool is junk.

I will probably use Zerex-G05 in my Rover, which uses a combination of conventional and organic technology (it's a Hybrid - OAT), so you get the best of both worlds. Whatever you do, just don't use green anti-freeze.

 

Why can't you use green coolant?

 

Most of the older type antifreeze (North American) has green dye added to it. This is the inorganic type that is not made for Land Rover's. They do a good job of protecting your system, but it breaks down quickly and a lot of people say that it makes plastic brittle after a while (which I think LR uses in their radiator's??).

They add different colored dyes to the newer OAT coolant to distinguish it from the inorganics.

 

Interesting, I looked at the Zerex website and they recommend their HOAT for Land Rovers up until 1996, then they recommend their OAT DexCool. I wonder what changedin 1996? I'd still like to use the HOAT, it sounds like a better coolant.

BTW, it may be ok to use the green IAC type antifreeze, just don't mix it AT ALL with any OAT types. IF you have green fluid already in your system, it needs to beCOMPLETELY flushed out before you add any OAT types. (Some OAT is dyed green, but I wouldn't chance it unless you know it's OAT).

 

Thanks all, this is a very useful discussion. On the topic of all aluminum engines and cast iron/aluminum engines, this issue raised itself in the early 1990s as aluminum heads on cast iron blocks became much more common. The early GM designs like the 1.8L 4 cyl used in the Skyhawk and others had problems with the standard coolants of the time, which set up a galvanic corrosion situation, with head cracks and failed gaskets. GM produced pelletized additives for a few years to correct the problem. The formulation of ethylene glycol based coolants was changed with new additive packages to eliminate the problem.

I've owned all aluminum engines for the past 12 years, starting with a Subaru. I've used only standard ethylene glycol based coolants in all of them for 150K on average and changed it every 30K in each case. No problems noted. However, the argument that these coolants break down plastics may have some merit, in my experience. The plastic end caps and hose nipples on radiators tend to get brittle over say 10 years. I've always chalked it up to heat exposure but the coolant could be the culprit as well.

Dave

 

A follow-on question: Does anyone know what coolant shipped new with my '04 Land Rover? It's green and probably hasn't been changed in the 38K since under the dealer service regimen.

Dave