Reposting this from the New Member Intros hoping to get some advice.

After a couple months of shopping, I bought this D2 in NJ on Friday and was driving it home to FL. I thought I had found a good one since they said it had a new radiator/thermo, head gasket job just done, and low mileage. It seemed to be running great, no leaks visible, no weird noises, everything worked, etc.

After about 300 miles I noticed the temp gauge was going up a bit, but it was still "inside the lines" and not close to the red so I just chalked it up to a hot summer day and didn't think much of it. I know now that anything over halfway should have gotten my attention. About 50 miles further, the temp gauge quickly shot up to red and the light came on. I immediately pulled over and killed the engine.

I let it cool down and noticed the coolant tank was empty, a good Samaritan stopped by and gave me a half gallon of coolant, so I put it in and drove < 2 miles to the nearest gas station and filled it the rest of the way. I looked for leaks and didn't easily notice anything (I'm new) - so started driving again, but after about 20 miles saw the temp gauge starting to go back up, so stopped again to investigate further. Coolant level had already gone down significantly.

Long story short, I found a local mechanic and he said I needed a water pump. I could see the leak visible coming from the pump and coolant all around it. I paid him to install a new one, and was on my way.

The truck seemed to be running great again with no overheating, temp gauge pegged in the middle. But when I checked coolant when stopped for gas it was once again low. I discovered a previously patched together hose with loose clamps coming from the expansion tank that was dripping coolant, so thought that must be the problem. Also saw some coolant coming from the hose off the throttle body heater, I was able to tighten the clamps and seemingly stop those leaks and I continued on my journey.

Next stop, still losing coolant, this time it looks like it's coming from the overflow hose off the expansion tank and cap is hissing. I only had a few hundred miles left to go and it's the middle of the night, so I continued to top it off every 100 miles or so, and eventually made it home.

Apart from having to put coolant in constantly, the truck seems to be running well, not overheating, no smoke visible from exhaust, idles stable, oil level is good and oil looks clean.

So, how screwed am I? I don't think the mechanic properly bled the system after replacing the water pump because this truck is missing the bleeder screw. He said something about using a tall funnel to bleed it, but that doesn't sound like the right procedure. Could these symptoms be caused by just needing to bleed the system properly, or am I totally screwed and need something like new heads or head gasket?

All I could think the whole way home was, my girlfriend is never going to understand why, with all this trouble, I still love my new Rover.

Thanks for any advice.

 

I don't think you're screwed yet... But you do need to find out whats going on with the cooling system.

Get one of the pressure testers from an auto parts stores and start fixing all the leaks you can find. Then do the proper bleed procedure, which I'm sure the random mechanic did not do... Running without a bleed screw is just asking for trouble!!!

The proper bleed procedure can be found in the RAVE and on here in many posts. Be patient as it can take days to get all the air out. for the last final bubbles of air you can remove the bleed screw while cold and top off there using a small funnel.

Of course you'll want to put the bleed screw back on when you finish.

GOOD LUCK!!

 

Welcome to the wonderful world of Rover ownership!

Read here a lot and definitely download the RAVE manual to your computer. You will reference it a lot. Also plan on doing Disco Mike's high mileage checklist over the next few months. It looks like a good one but it's still 16 years old and hoses and belts and the like that have been spinning and going thru the heat/cool cycle since '01 need to be replaced if you want a reliable Rover.

Good news is that once you spend a year or so tinkering with it and fixing things you will have a reliable vehicle. My experience anyway.

And when you do invariably run into trouble it's most likely been seen by this forum before so get a code reader (ultra gauge is great for monitoring engine temps real time) and come do a search on here. Someone has most likely already solved that problem and you can easily work your way thru most anything.

And if you get stuck then post. Greatest group of guys I've ever met online, all of us willing to lend a hand.

 

Nice post

 

The cooling system is critical. First thing, get an ultragauge, scangauge or torque app so you can monitor your temps from the OBDII. It will also read codes for you. Not ABS or some others, but your main engine codes it will. You can see the actual temp, the temp gauge on our trucks is terrible. Why? no idea.

As mentioned, a pressure test will check the cooling system for leaks. I would also recommend a compression test for at least peace of mind. If it is the worst case scenario and your headgasket is gone, it is possible to do it yourself. Guys here will have great advice, I have not done one, but would.

If it is the head gasket, have the block tested to make sure it is still good, but hopefully you just have a few leaks.

I would at the minimum recommend an GENUINE 180 degree thermostat. The grey one. Or do the inline thermostat mod.

It doesn't sound like you are screwed though, but I would redo the whole cooling system and make sure to go to Peak.

 

Great you found one here in NJ. So far you made it there. I would also do an oil change as you get those things done. The oil too got compromised reaching that temperature, so start new. Cheers!

 

Well, your water pump is new there should be no leaks at the front cover. When all your hose leaks are resolved confirm no lingering drips by placing cardboard under the truck overnight. There should be no coolant loss - so if the reservoir level continues to go down as you drive there's a chance you have a water jacket compromise (slight crack behind the cylinder liner) which allows pressurized coolant to be burned off in the chamber during combustion. Not enough to make visible white smoke or for you to smell it, but at speed coolant burns off.

If that is the case keeping the reservoir topped up can keep the truck running like this for a very, very long time. But in any event it's not a great situation and may be why the truck (1) had the head gaskets replaced by the PO, and (2) was for sale. Wishing you the best of luck!

 

OK I'm going to dare to ask again because there are 90 different answers in my searches... What type of oil should I use?

I know it currently has conventional 10w-30 in it per the guy that sold it to me.

FWIW, that was not one of the oils listed in the manual. Should I switch to synthetic? What brand? I live in south FL so hot climate...

 

i have been using mobil 10/30 synthetic extended performance for the past 13 years in both my discos. A lot use rotella but i change oil every 4k if i get the chance sometimes longer. I replaced my head gasket over 12k miles ago and no leak yet. I use KN filters all the time with filtermag. Theres absolutely different opinions which oil is better in the forums.

 

Rotella 15w40 has the additives your engine needs and costs 12.99 a gallon at Walmart.

Though people use it, Nobody recommends synthetic for these vehicles.

Both of the reputable indy shops I frequent are switching to a 20w50 and adding ZDDP.

With no winter in FLA you don't need thin oil.

The first time you use Rotella 15w40 you might want to change it out under 3k miles as it will dissolve lots of gunk and sludge which will stay suspended in the oil until you change it. Part of what the additives do is clean your engine. if it hasn't been cleaned for a while or you don't know, just keep an eye on the color of the oil and you'll know when you want to change it out.