So recently I've noticed my temps are not where I want them to be. When idling in the driveway, 60-70 degrees outside, the temps stay between 210-215. If I give it a little throttle it immediately shoots back down to 200-205. When driving it stays in the same 200-205 range. Are these numbers acceptable? I've decided to go ahead and take the plunge and switch from dexcool to peak green stuff. I ordered a genuine 180 thermostat and am going to flush it this weekend. I was told by another rover buddy to run the prestone flush treatment through it to help clean it out. My main question is can someone give me a straight forward, step by step answer on how to do this? I was planning on just running the garden hose through the top hose and flushing the hell out of it until no more orange came out but some folks say it's bad for the system, others say it's fine. I don't feel like wasting 10 gallons of distilled water if I don't have to. And to clarify, this 04 D2 has 146k miles, no leaks whatsoever, and head gaskets have never been replaced. A local mechanic actually opened it up a year or so ago and said he wouldn't touch the heads because the engine looked like it was brand new inside. Thanks for any help fellas!

 

I switched from dex to peak when I first bought, 2 ish years ago.

I didn't do any crazy full, engine plugs out, distilled flush.

I did just drain the rad a few times always replacing with peak. Maybe 1000 miles between changes, until I was draining purest green.

I've just fitted an inline stat, following a common mod on here. My inline install > https://landroverforums.com/forum/discovery-ii-18/my-inline-thermo-install-78393/

I can't recommend doing that highly enough.

Edit. Switching your stat for a new, 180 should get you a big difference. I'd lose the dex as a matter of course.

 

Definitely use a green or yellow coolant. Pretty much ANYTHING other than Dex Kill. The 180 stat is also a good idea. I am planning on installing one of those very soon. When I switched from dex to the green stuff, my temps went down 6*C which is quite a bit. They would go down even more with a 180 stat.

 

Thanks guys, I appreciate the advice. Planning on flushing the system tomorrow and adding the tstat. Then Friday I'm going to replace the pulleys, belt and spark plugs. Love long weekends.

 

Not sure about hose water. I always read tap water leaves mineral deposits. I'd do 88cents per gallon distilled water from walmart.

 

Yeah that's the plan, I'd rather play it safe

 

That is true, and some cities/regions have REALLY hard water on tap. Can flush with a hose for as much as you like and finish it up by running the engine a couple of cycles with distilled to then flush the tap water minerals left behind, like I did (about 3 gallons-worth.) It takes a lot of water to push all the old Dex out. I saw a nice little kit at Oreillys that I'm going to pick up. It's a water hose adapter that splices into one of the coolant hoses or heater lines--has a valve built in so that it back flushes the water through the system. The adapter also doubles as a bleed-off valve for when the system is refilled and air can be purged out properly. Just have to be sure and mount it at the highest point.