Hi everyone,
I have been having engine temperature problems, go figure.

My first problem was line that runs from the radiator to the reserve tank was leaking causing me to loose fluid and overheat. I replace it with a high temp line and the leaks stopped.

The other day I was driving and the temp gauge on the dash spiked and the red light turned on! After and instant shut off and roll to the side of the road all the radiator fluid was gone. I had it towed home refilled the system and over the past few days have been purging the air out of the system. I do not have and white smoke out the back, the fluid is holding, and my oil is not cloudy... so I believe my head gaskets are still good

I bought and installed an UltraGage yesterday and on my way to work today in 62F weather I noticed my disco got as high as 230F with a average temp of 220F and dipping to 216F when the engine was not under load.

I checked the fluid level and it is holding just fine. I checked the fan connected to the engine and the clutch seems good. I don't seem to have the electric fan that I have read about on the outside of the radiator.

There is a bit of past history on my instagram feed @discobudgetbuild

Any ideas on my next move.... and taking it to my land rover guy is not the answer I'm looking for.

 

Replace thermostat first and go from there.

 

It has a new thermostat and water pump that was installed 4 months ago.

 

Get the 180 degree thermostat. Bleed the cooling system properly and let air out. Not enough coolant since you had issue. Top it off.

 

Should the OEM t-stat not be opening way below 230F?

I have refilled the system and been bleeding the system for the past week now with....
1.engine stone cold
2.take radiator cap and raise "reserve" tank above the engine
3.unscrew bleeder screw until first air than fluid stats to run out
4.tighten screw as soon as fluid runs out, clean up
5.drive for the day and next morning when the engine is stone cold redo steps 2-4
6.Top off system each time you bleed the air

The waterfall sound from the dash has disappeared.
What am I missing?

 

I think that your thermostat is shut. The 180 should open at 180. If bleeding procedure done and still over heats, the thermostat should be checked first again then the pump any thing else could be clogged in the system. The OEM thermostat usually runs at higher temp around 200-208 degrees or even higher in summer temperatures. But yours is high already on 62 degrees ambient temperatures. It could even run at 121 deg. but yours is a bit too high on oem thermostat.

 

180 thermo starts opening at 180 but isn't completely open until 190ish. But that's definitely not the problem.

Is there any coolant around the pressure cap after driving?

Unfortunately, if you didn't have a compromised headgasket, you more than likely do now. Aluminum doesn't like to get that hot.

 

I have no leaking coolant anywhere that I can see. Nothing around the cap, joints where hosing attach, on the ground or anywhere else. All the radiator hoses become firm when the truck is running and hot. I have not lost any fluid since the last refill.

Compressed headgasket?!? What do I have to look forward to with that? Would that cause the engine to run hot?

 

If the pump was just replaced, and the radiator hoses up top firm up then it sounds like the thermostat is opening, but possibly at the wrong temp.

To keep things cheap, assuming you have a pressure tester, I would pressure test for leaks and then bleed the system. Air in the hoses means the coolant can't properly make contact and absorb heat. If that checks out and you're still having problems the thermostat is the next best option I believe.

 

Is there any issue to bypassing the t-stat all together?
Will it cause any damage to the truck?

I found a 180 t-stat on Amazon that I will try.