as part of my continuing attempt to get my disco96 back into top shape, blah, blah, blah, i replaced the top radiator hose. as a consequence, the temp guage is now a worthless display in my dash. i dont even know if this is the cause. i didnt see any sensor/s connected to the hose. what did i do wrong? how can i fix it?

 

You have two sensors on the intake next to the oil filler cap one is the tenp gauge sender,, you may have
gotten antifreeze on it.

 

Why replace only one of your coolant hoses????
With your mileage you should be replacing all of them. A new hose can increase your inner water pressure and blow an old hose quickly.
Did you beed all the air from your system after installing the hose?

 

I was also going to sujest a air bubble, right where the temp sensor is.

 

nope i didnt bleed it. I didnt know i should have i replaced it coz it was leakin at one end of the tie cable. Should have asked here first. So, i need to replace all the coolant hoses. How many are there in all? If its a bubble, how do i fix it? Is it an easy thing 2 do or should i get a mechanic 2 do it? I hope i didnt mess up the sensor

 

http://www.roverparts.com/Parts/9370DB.cfm
Go to their home page and click tech tipsto find out if you have advanced EVAP loss or not, I dont think that you do, but double check.
To bleed the cooling system take off the resovoir cap and the filler nut on top of the radiator.
Fill them both. Start the trk and turn the vents (both sides) to full hot. Let the trk idle until coolant comes out of the hole on the radiator, replace the plug with the trk running still. It should come out at a nice steady rate and be hot.
Next is the resovoir, it will be hot, it wont overflow. Replace the cap.
The whole time that you are doing this keep sticking yor hand inside he drivers window and feel to make sure that the air is hot and that the temp gauge is in the normal range.
Check the coolant level again every morning when the engine has sat overnight for the next two days, topping off as necassary.
As long as you are replacing hoses also replace your thermostat and gasket.

 

To get rid of the air bubbles get the front end higher than the rear by about 6 inches. Remove the bleed screw, release and raise the coolant res. tank as high as it will go. You can use a bungee cord or something else to hold the tank. Then fill the res tank until a steady bead of coolant comes from the bleed screw. Tighten bleed screw and then lower the res. tank. I believe that is the order of the process. I've read you can also run the heat on its hottest setting on max fan speed for 10-20 minutes.

 

Fan speed has nothing to do with it, you need the coolant to flow though the heater core, heater to hot and fan on low is all you need.

 

Ahh, gotcha Spike. Maybe I was thinking if you overheat... that's when you want max heat and fan speed after pulling over.

 

If the gauge was working prior to replacing the radiator hose, sounds to me that you inadvertantly disconnected the harness offthe sending unit. I'm not trying to be the know it all newbie, but when incorrect info is being given, we all share the responsibility of correcting that info.

A air pocket in the cooling system will not affect the gauge. A properly working gauge will still function as designed regardless if the system needs to be bleed or not. Have you ever started a engine that was completely drained o coolant? The gauge will still work with no coolant in the engine and you can't get a bigger air pocket than that.

Pressure in the cooling system is regulated by the radiator cap, or surge tank cap in our cause. Pressure will not increase or decrease with replacement of new hoses.