I am about to replace the radiator on a 2004 Disco II. Research I have done says that I do NOT need to remove the fan, grill, or secondary (oil/trans) coolers despite what the LR Manual says. Any comments? Also, since the vehicle is 10 years old with 180,000 miles, should I assume that I will end up trashing the three main hoses while trying to remove them? My goal is to get the vehicle in shape for trade to a dealer, not keep for another 100,000 miles.

 

I believe 04's do not have the additional coolers and certainly no need to remove the fan.
if "I" had not replaced the hose I would replace then and the termostat while I was in there.

 

you are fixing it up to trade to a dealer? Are you crazy? Don't even bother.
Just trade it.
Waste of money.
Dealer does not know or care about the cooling system.

They will look up the value of the truck make you an offer - that's it.
They will look for things that don't work - radio, how it appears.
They will NOT spend time or money looking at your cooling system.

This is like - I want to sell my house - so I put on a brand new roof for the new buyer.
Unless you are rich, or foolish - don't bother.

 

Plus 1..
Your trade in value to a dealer is determined (mostly) by what you are buying, not what you are selling.

 

A radiator swap is only $100-200ish for a DIY job. If the dealer finds out it has a coolant leak, they may refuse your trade entirely or they may not care...depends on the dealer and what type of market they're after. I don't think $100 for more marketability is foolish but I'd buy the cheaper one from Genesis or similar.

 

Thanks for all the replies. Changing the radiator unfortunately is not an option; the leak is so big I cannot drive it more than a couple of miles as-is.

 

Just changed mine today...not too bad if you ignore the RAVE completely! The one I got from Genesis is 1/8" thinner than the stock radiator. Not sure how much cooling power that loss relates to, but it's half the price of the Nissens one FYI.

 

If you are trading then I would find the gooiest form of stop leak and use that. The dealer is going to use Vauto and Manhiem Auctions which show them what price cars are selling for and NOT what KBB or Edmunds say the value of the car is. They will also run a car fax and then make there offer to you after a look at the car to make sure there are no dash lights on, and that the car runs and stops.

If it was me then I would not bother with replacing the radiator as it does not add value to the Disco over a couple of cans/bottles of stop leak.

My $00.02

 

I sure hope I don't buy that one later on, but he's right... Dealers will offer you what they can afford to loose on the sale vehicle. The actual value of yours is not really important due to it's age, mileage, and Land Rover Reputation. They will likely offer around $1000-$2000 fixed or not, unless you are buying a new F350 or something comparable, in which case they will bump up to about $3000-$5000 because there's about $10,000 markup in those.