This may have been covered somewhere, but don't have time for extensive searching...

my 89 Range Rover, over the last 2 weeks has had some issues. First the Coolant Light went on. Added more coolant - not much and it went off.

Yesterday, it went back on. This time when I checked, it seemed to be a bit full. So, using the manual and the RAVE manual, I went ahead and drained and flushed it...(biggie for me as the hubby usually does this sort of thing)...but the instructions were pretty much step by step.

Now, the damn light is blinking...

I cannot find any leaks - mind you I am NOT a mechanic...but that tell-tale green color makes it easy to see.

The Idle has also seemed to drop a bit - sometimes so quiet that I wonder if it stalled...has stalled out a couple of times...

Now, after putting all the fluids in and making sure that the clamps are tight and such...the light still flashes.

We got it with 52,xxx miles on it, and it not quite at 55,000. The book says that it is due for a service at 52,000...could it just need a servicing?

I have read that this could indicate the need for a cylinder head job...???

Don't know what to do. It is NOT overheating...I took a look as best as I could at the serpentine belt, and it is showing signs of wear...

Any suggestions?

THanks

Christine

 

Oh and this only started happening once I started using the heat...my driver side window stopped working - fixed that today myself too...but I had to drive around in the mornings with the heat on...only after that did this whole coolant light thing begin...

Heater core????

Thanks Again

Christine

 

Uh that Viscous Fan - That's that big fan behind the radiator right? Just read in another post that it should be stiff cold and stiffer hot...

If that is the case - mine moves freely...I can't hit it and it spins freely, but I can easily move it in either direction...

 

Not spinning is good, should turn like it is full of peanut butter, not spin a whole revolution.. If it has the silicone oil inside escape, it will not spin hard enough to cool the radiator when parked or in slow moving traffic. However, also not spinning will make the fan and engine seem oddly quiet.

I believe your older Range Rover has a coolant level float sensor, and the fill level is normally up to about an inch from the opening. Still need some space in there for expansion. The sensor is close by, and has a cable with a connector attached. If you disconnect that, the light should go out. If it does, and tank is full, bad sensor.

So if you have a bad sensor it could be a DIY replacement. A bad fan clutch is more involved.

 

You can also try to bang the float around with a pencil or screw driver, open radiator when cold, NOT HOT. Don't put fingers in there.

 

Thanks for the reply...

Oddly, left it alone for about an hour and when I went to go get the kids, no more blinking coolant light...

Will keep a close eye on it...temp was good...was thinking that maybe it was doing that because I flushed the system, and it needed time to get throughout...

Thanks

 

see Range Rover Classic Cooling & Heating Parts Available from RoversNorth.com for a diagram that shows the switch. item 43, and fan clutch, item 3. Switch is around $50. May be able to remove it, soak in white vinegar for six hours to remove scale, and wash and re-install. When fan clutch finally dies, it will "free wheel" when spun, and truck will overheat at idle and in stop and go traffic.

How did you come to have a 20+ year old Rangie with just 52,000 miles?

Note: good quality used parts are availabe from dismantlers that frequent this site and others. Paul Grant is linked below.

 

Thanks Savannah...will look into to...

Interesting story. The original owner brought it new with him from England...and at about 50,000 he had an electrical problem that he just could not figure out...

So it sat for several years...it was finally bought by this guy who builds race cars and monster cars...turned out it was a burned out rotor in the distributor...

He only drove it a couple times a week for about 6 months - and wanted a pickup instead...so he gave us a great deal on it - $2400 and that included a full size spare and 4 new tires...

Turns out, when the salvage guy came to get my suburban - He was the original owner!!! Said she was a great truck - and missed her...told him I would take good care of her - I SO love this thing...

Despite the fact that we are a family of 6 and it only seats 5...but we have a conversion van for that...

But it was in really good shape our mechanic was impressed - despite the paint job - sat in a field for years...everything else was really in great shape. Needed U-joints, trans flush and filter change (which you highly recommended)...so Its bound to have some other things start to go...

Thanks so much again - the knowledge shared here has been so helpful...

Christine

 

That's the kind of truck we Disco owners thought we were buying, but in some cases we just got the logo. You have rescued a great truck from pasture ornament status, keep up the good work! You can probably find all sorts of things to modify this beast with, from interior to roof racks.