Does anybody have any leads to a mechanic in Western Pennsylvania? I am really reluctant to take my 2003 DiscoII (104k miles) to the dealership in Pittsburgh. I flagged down a fellow Rover enthusiast onetime to ask him where he gets repairs and such because we live in a small town. He turned me on to Rover's North.... which is great.... if I knew how to fix the truck myself. I do have the RAVE mechanic CD and have fixed a few minor things. The problem lies within.... some of the things that are wrong with it, I have no idea what they are. I really would like someone to just look it over and say "well, you have this, this, and this wrong with it." I know.. a pipe dream. Anyway, I have the SERVICE ENGINE light on, sometimes I get the THREE AMIGOS, I smell maple syrup when I turn (which I'm believing is coolant?), I hear water in the dash, and there is a ticking noise... I think it might be a belt. Oh yeah, there seems to be an exhaust problem... I took it once to a "Foreign Car Mechanic"- he did a diagnostic and told me there were no codes... ummmmm to be nice, he lied. My friend used his machine and read a few codes but didn't know what some of them meant. Anyway, I love this beast. I want to keep her. I would like to fix her up. HELP!

 

All is not lost...
As for the smelling coolant as you turn, your throttle body heater is the most likely culprit.
http://www.roverparts.com/Parts/MGM000010KG.cfm
Easy DIY.
But first clean the engine, then take a flashlight and with the engine running look for the leak at the bottom of the throttle body.

As for the waterfall sound in the dash, you are low on engine coolant, go buy a gallon and top off the system before you overheat and blow up your engine.
Buy the yellow kind.

As for the ticking noise, worry about the other first.

What type of exhaust problem do you suspect?

www.cartalk.com, "Mechanix Files", enter your zip code.

If your check engine light is on then there are trouble codes.
AutoZone can read them for free as well as tell you what they mean.
Write them down and report back here.

 

what is the reason for replacing the entire throttle body heater plate and gasket, not just the gasket?

 

Thanks spike555...
We have bought the Seafoam for the engine and coolant. We are taking it in to AutoZone to have the codes read. I will update as soon as I know. Is it safe to assume that I should go ahead and order the throttle body heater plate?

The exhaust... I am pretty much a dunce when it comes to automobiles but I am a fast learner! I'll explain to the best of my knowledge the exhaust trouble... First of all, the Disco sounds like a diesel truck. I checked under the body to examine the muffler as best as I could (for someone who doesn't know! I basically looked for holes). I didn't see anything. The tail pipe looks like it has a ring of soot at the opening. The exhaust cloud is visible and odoriferous. That's the best I can do to describe.

 

i would say that the soot is normal; visible cloud, probably normal as well while the engine is cold since it is winter now and the water vapors are evaporating from the exhaust, but if there is still a visible vapor after 20 or 30 minutes of driving it might be something to be concerned about. But like was said before, if it is in fact the head gasket 20 or 30 minutes of driving is not advised. If it's burning coolant the exhaust will smell sweet, that's the best way I can describe it. Good luck on diagnosing what is actually wrong and get back to us when you get the results. If the throttle body heater is bad you will actually see coolant that has dried around the bottom of the throttle body where the heater plate attaches, if you're unsure what to look for there is a DIY in the how-to section that has excellent pictures of what a bad one looks like.

 

Egda

How is your engine temp? On overheating event can make things worse. Keep a gallon of coolant in the truck as you evaluate. Monitor engine coolant temperature if you continue drive.

Coolant loss can happen for several reasons. Coolant hose, water pump, or gasket failure.

External evaluation - visual inspection you can do. Wash the engine so you can do a visual inspection. Typical external coolant leak is the head gasket at the back of the engine. After washing park truck and run the engine. Using a flash light crawl under truck being careful not to contact the hot exhaust. look for coolant running down either side of the transmission bell housing. Also look for coolant leak at bottom engine front. Possible front cover gasket leak.

Internal evaluation - local repair shop to pressure test and test for co2 in coolant.

Look for a mechanic who specializes in British automobiles.

Interested to hear what codes are stored.

Three amigos are linked to ABS. Intermittent appearance is due to error signal not linked to your engine issue. Requires a Land Rover capable ABS code reader. Check out this video on YouTube for additional information from RSW solutions.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BPTg1...e_gdata_player

 

Egda,

If you're still looking for an independant Rover mechanic in Western PA, then contact Harold at Jagspeed Motorwerks (724-520-1881) in Latrobe, PA he specializes in Rover's and Jags.

 

Thanks for all the advice and help. My job keeps me very busy so Ihaven't been able to log back into the forum for awhile. So far... the update that I have is that a friend of mine took the truck to his son who had a code reader. I am waiting for him to actually give me the codes. But what he said was that it was the oxygen sensors. He took the Ybar down to check the catalytic converter and said everything is running fine. He told me that a cuople of things are wrong.... he said a gasket had blown out. Not the head gasket but another one (?) anyway, he put a Chevy part in as a temporary fix until the Land rover part comes in. He said it should be fine but I should not wait. He ordered the part. He also said when the new alternator was installed.... the guy didn't change the belt and it is cracked. NICE. Anyhow, the 4 oxygen sensors have been ordered. Once, everything comes in- and is installed.... we will run the codes again. So, now.... I wait. I finally get out of work early today and I will be able to inspect the throttle body....

 

Why don't you send me your tele number and I'll call you.
Yes, it is obvious you have problems and you "SHOUL NOT BE DRIVING THE TRUCK" as it will just cause more damage.