Overheating
 

Just bought a Discovery II today, love it overall, but there seems to be an issue of overheating at higher speeds. Does anyone know if this is a common issue and/or if there is a "common" fix?

Driving around town seems fine, it doesn't even approach the high end of the heat gauge; higher speeds are a different issue - had to pull over driving the 45 miles from where I bought it to where I live.

It appears that the previous owners put water rather than coolant in the reservoir; is it possible it simply needs to be flushed and replaced with antifreeze, that it might be a water pump, or is there an underlying, much bigger issue I need to be considering?

Another point of interest that is somewhat intriguing is that it seems to take quite some time to cool down after it's heated up - longer than I would consider "normal."

Ideas, suggestions?

Jump over to the DI section and read up on the "what to look for".
The engine is all aluminum, if you overheat it to badly or to many times it will be a boat anchor.
Yes running just water can cause over heating as it cannot remove as much heat as engine coolant can.
Do NOT use Dex-Cool when you drain and refill the system, just use any aluminum safe coolant you want.
It could be a bad water pump, loose belt, bad head gaskets, almost anything.
I would first put coolant in it, then if it continues let us know.

Return the truck now if you still can.

Its obviously been a problem for someone else, and probably overheated many times based on what you've said so far.

It needs a radiator. But replacing that doesn't take back the 5 or 6 times its likely been overheated in the past.

Hope you got a good deal or can get your money back.

Normal operation goes from cold (after sitting for a while) to 1/2 way on the gauge. Never higher. City and highway driving. If it raised above the midpoint, you have something causing it.

Generally, 50/50 is considered the best ratio as antifreeze both prevents freezing, as well as increasing the boiling point over 100% water, but even with the correct ratio, I don't think that is going to solve your problems.

Buying this truck from anyone who does not have the sense to run actual coolant should be a huge warning sign, I think radiator at the very least, possibly headgaskets.

The temp on the truck should stay pegged horizontal with only an occasional millimeter movement up, followed by an immediate millimeter under the center line (the truck is designed with a bypass system to cycle coolant faster when it gets hot).

I would not worry about the truck staying warm, on a hot day, I will park and get in the truck 3 hours later and the temp gauge will already be halfway up.

I would read up on headgasket symptoms and determine if you have major problems right now, if so, try to get your money back. If you are keeping it, you can overhaul the cooling system with Radiator for around $300 give or take + wrench time. Welcome to the club...

Try and get your money back if you can, unless you are real good turning a wrench, and willing to replace a lot of the cooling system and maybe headgaskets. Good luck

Dude, what is with these guys buying old ****ty rovers? "I bought a rover with water in it and it overheated on the way home, pliss halp mi." If your not a mechanic with 50k in tools go buy a new Toyota/Honda/Kia. Seriously, what are you going to do with a 10 year old 12 MPG unreliable as hell tank? Take the truck back, If the guy wont take it back drive it right to the junkyard, Take the 1000 bucks the junkyard gives you and go put a down payment on a kia. The gas money you save will pay for the brand new car.

Dude, what is it with people on a forum thinking they can act like you, RMT? Seriously, what are you hoping to accomplish by being an absolute turd to someone who's come to this forum for suggestions on an otherwise legitimate issue? I'm not going to take the truck back, and I don't want to. If it's a mistake, it's a mistake and I'll deal with it, but I'm reasonably sure this forum is in place to actually assist folks with issues and such mistakes, not berate them for buying a truck you've never seen nor know nothing at all about save for what you see posted here. This was an opportunity to buy a land rover and learn how to work on it. My money, not yours, so perhaps you should stick to the topics where you actually have something meaningful to add to the conversation and not attempt to be the big man by trying to make a new member feel stupid for posting a question. Granted, I'd guess that the conversations where you can add meaningful input are quite few and far between.

To all others who HAVE actually offered valid and valuable insight and suggestions - thank you, sincerely. I have no new information to post but I will return with updates as I have them. Thanks, sincerely. I really appreciate you taking the time to answer and offer input to a novice.

Really dude.. 50k in tools. Show me one "write up" that can't be done with a good socket set.

And I'm pretty sure that no one in the history of man has ever said, "this damn disco, shoulda bought that Kia". If you are going to buy a Rover, you can assume that the Sportage has been ruled out as a viable option.

I am assuming the yuppy set you probably deal with at your shop has made you a bit bitter and that's fine, but I think it should be ok to be a noob on the forum and not get attacked by certified mechanics with lots of tools.

Dude, I could spend 2 hours writing in complete detail everything that could be wrong with your car. How would that accomplish anything? 1. Your dumb enough to buy a 15 MPG truck with skyrocketing fuel prices being the main attraction on every news channel. 2. You drove it 30 mins away, only to have have it overheat and didn't go directly back to the scam artist you bought it from and strangle him. based on that information, I would be a fool for thinking you have the mental aptitude to be able to fix the thing in the first place, thereby rendering any technical assistance i may offer useless. Yes you are right though I don't know your car, but im a good guesser: 4.0 or 4.6 engine right? 4 wheels? one spare on the back? Im sure its kinda close to the 1000's of other discos iv'e worked on over the years. Im not berating you, you make yourself look like an idiot. You have had the car for 1 DAY and you are asking total strangers how to fix it. You wanna learn how to work on stuff? Drag a broken lawnmower home and tinker on it with your K-Mart tool chest and wooden claw hammer, your daily driver disco dont make for a good project to experiment on.