I have a serious coolant leak from the front of the engine bay, looks like the area around the water pump. I have looked at the hoses and all the other simple items. Please let me know if this is a DIY project or something I should take to the shop and what the cost experience has been. Please also let me know if you have any tips on making sure I have the correct diagnosis.

 

Kelly, how many miles do you have on the 2000 disco.

Is you coolant reservoir on the right side of the engine compartment empty, how much coolant have you had to add.

Has it been leaking for a while or did it just start.

 

It has 106K. I had the system flushed three weeks ago and it showed no indication of anything wrong until a week after that I had to add some fluid a week later. I checked it yesterday and it was about 2 quarts low and this morning when I got to work all was good and as I left for lunch I had a lake of coolant under the car.

 

Coolant leaks could be caused by multiple components:
[ul][*]Radiator inlet or outlet molded tubes or caps are cracked.[*]The water pump.[*]The hoses themselves to and from the radiator[*]The hoses to and from the external thermostat.[*]The small hard plastic lines for overflow and throttle body.[*]Etc.[*]Etc.
[/ul]I would not risk driving it like that, because you will overheat it and cause major damage to the engine.

Have your trusted independent ASE certified technician check it out.

 

Ditto.
Get it into a shop ASAP, top off the coolant system before you drive it in. Have a coolant pressure test run to verify the location of the leak.

 

I have it at the shop right now and when I looked at it with my mechanic this is what was noted, let me know if he is off the mark, I had it towed the two blocks to be safe, $125... We topped off the coolant and ran the car at idle for about 10 minutes and then turned it off and coolant came pouring out of what appears to be the water pump and if not that it was definitely the front of the block. There was a small but noticeable squeal and all things to me indicate a water pump. We rechecked the oil and other fluids and everything seemed to be normal and no discoloration of foam in the oil. If this is not the water pump then what else could it be? Would it matter if the grease monkey used a universal coolant when they flushed the system and I used dex when i topped it off a week later?

 

So the truck is in the shop and after further review it is not the water pump as suspected. The mechanic now thinks it might have something to do with the IM gasket or something in the throttle body? Any idea what I am looking at for a repair bill if the shop does the work?

 

I don't know what your issue is... but it seems like you just need to get the thing pressure tested to find out where it leaks. If your current shop can't do it, try someplace else. Also, I don't think mixing Universal with dex-cool is a problem, since that is why they have Universal... BUT... as long as you are getting it done, flush the system in the end and fill up with fresh antifreeze.

some notes for you too...

I just went through a throttle body plate replacement and it is pretty easy. The plate is held in by three bolts with tiny tiny heads. The one farthest back is a little difficult to get at. If you do this, get the complete kit and replace the throttle body plate because there is a decent chance that it warped.

If it was your water pump, I'd let the shop do the thing. I attempted mine this weekend, as long as I had everything drained, and wasn't able to get the fan clutch off. If you do this, secure the right tools first.

 

It is at the shop and they did a pressure test and the thing is spraying coolant from above the water pump near the throttle body, they are still taking pieces off to determine what and how bad. They are not land rover experts but great mechanics none the less. I am going to have the guys fix whatever needs to be done because I have to take the truck about 1500 miles in about two weeks and I want to trust that it is done right. These guys work on my X5 and I am sure this is no more complicated than that. What did it cost you to do the throttle body kit? I had a quick lube place do the coolant flush and even though they say universal I have a hard time trusting them.

 

The kit is available online for about $27 plus shipping. I picked mine up from:
http://www.roverparts.com/Parts/MGM000010KG.cfm

If you have a dealer nearby you can just pick it up, again make certain you ask for the kit since it is only a bit more than just getting the gasket.