Hi there, I have a 2000' land rover discovery with 87,000 miles on it. It was having some problems overheating & I took it in to a local foreign auto shop. they said the problem was the head gaskets it ended up costing me a whopping 1,700! It's been about a month since they did the work & it started having the same EXACT problems again. The problems are as follows; first I hear a swishing sound behind the passenger side dash when I accelerate, then the heater isn't working well, then it overheats & needs coolant added. I took it into the same shop thinking its possible they didn't get the head gaskets right the first time...they just called & said its a leaky radiator!? Is it me or does this sound like I'm being ripped off?

 

Sounds like they didn't bleed the coolant correctly and they'd like to sell you a radiator too.

Read some of the other threads on here, there is a very specific method for bleeding the cooling system of air.

This is why these vehicles should never go to a "foreign auto shop" and should only be taken to Land Rover specific independent shops with good reputations. Other reasons, you don't know if the "foreign auto" guys buy cheap Chinese parts, you dont know what oil they put back in your engine... You don't know if they took your heads to a machine shop or not... you don't know if they reused the old head studs... you don't know if they put Dexcool back in your radiator... etc. etc..

And they don't know all the little tricks and tweeks common with these trucks and what other things might be lurking in your near future that can be taken care of while things are apart that will save you more troubles down the road.

 

These guys are the only auto repair shop in my area that works on land rover besides the dealership. Do you think not flushing the system & bleeding it properly can make it overheat?

 

Also the overflow hose from the coolant reservoir is constantly dripping!

 

They didnt bleed it probably, so of course it will overheat. Also, the reason the overflow keeps dripping. There is a air pocket that heats up and pushes the coolant right out the overflow.......If they are the only place that works on Land Rover's besides the dealer, you may wanna think about picking up a wrench....
or you could take it to the dealer...
..
.

 

OR, since the head gasket is not leaking now (hopefully) there is more pressure in the system and the next marginal component of your cooling system is now failing ... the radiator! Yea, your truck has low miles, but it is still 13 years old and in the rain soaked NW, and unless you are the orginal owner, you probably do not know the history of what has been put in your cooling system, so you are not necessarily getting the shaft here. And if you do replace the radiator, new hoses all around and a t-stat may be in order as they may be the next marginal components to be tested.

 

Rover_Hokie is correct and brings some good perspective.

At this point you can't rule anything out.

Spend a few or more hours on here and the interwebs finding out as much as you can about the subject and at least be able to ascertain for yourself what the problem most likely is and if the mechanic you are dealing with knows more or less than you do.

 

About 2 weeks after my head-gasket job was done, my rad starting ****ting the bed. If it's an old rad then that extra pressure does excellerates the issues. It's probably a good idea to replace the rad and the water pump when you have a head gasket job done. It's saves money in the long run.

 

Thanks for the info everyone. I picked it up from the shop yesterday & it seems like the guys aren't jerking me around. They put new clamps on the hoses no charge & I drove it home. I love a lot of what this car has to offer I'm just not sure I'm willing to continually dump money into it. I've owned it less than a year and its already been in the shop 3 times. Is this just the nature of being a land rover owner?

 

Rovers love attention to be lavished on them by DIY owners, competent shops, and dealerships. The Rover gods also like meat to be roasted on a fire in their honor, and adult beverages consumed. But as with any vehicle, maintenance makes them last longer. I've owned Dodge, Izuzu, Ford, Honda, Audi, Mercedes, Kia, Nissan, and Rover. And had a lot of other high miles things at the office to worry about. All of them can break, whenever they want.

And they all have these in common....