Hi everyone, I am new to this forum and I have read many posts tha deal withmy issue, I am just not sure what answer best suits my problem. I own a 2001 Disco II with 126k on it. Last fall my wife hit a deer and it did a number on the front end. After having it repaired we noticed that it was leaking antifreeze. The place that fixed it told me that it was a faulty waterpump that let go coincidentally at the time of the accident. I replaced the waterpump and filled the coolant. After getting the air out of the system it was fine for a couple of months (except for periodic topoffs every so often) Two days ago while my wife was driving, the temperature shot up to red and the fluid started coming out of the reservior. She shut it off immediately si it would not damage the engine. I put a new Thermostat into it, and I thought it was fixed since it was running for approximately 20 minutes with heat working and temperature right on when all of a sudden the temp went back up to full. My question is (from all of therelated issuesI have read in this forum) doesit sound more like an airbound coolant system, or does it sound like the dreaded dropped sleave? Any help would be appreciated. Thanks,
Don

 

Why was fluid coming out of the reservoir? Was it bubbling out? Head gaskets will cause bubbling through the coolant reservoir if they go.

 

Thanks for the reply Wolfpack. Yes, the coolant was bubbling out of the reservoir. The head gaskets were replaced at approximately 50k, but we now have 127k on it. A head gasket would also explain why it happened so quicky a few days ago and would also explain why the heat is not working. Is this a costly job on a LR? I have done head gaskets before, but from what I have read Land Rovers are pretty tempermental when it comes to this procedure. I wish someone made a conversion to throw in a late model Chevy or Ford Motor/Tranny/Transfer assembly. Thank you very much for your help.
Don

 

First of all, never shut off a hot engine without letting it cool down or in the case of a Rover engine, you might as well throw it in the dumpster, turn on the heater to high and let the engine idle with the hood down.
As for you problem, I would suggest you not drive it ,till we talk, so no additional damage is done.
303-862-7680
Colorado before 8 pm

 

Mike, thank you very much for the input. I will try a few of your suggestions today or tomorrow and check back. Thanks again, Don

 

Hey everyone,

Mike, I had checked most everything you had suggested regarding my overheating Disco II. I will recap what happened and what I have done. After hitting a deer and really racking up the front end our Disco II started losing coolant. After the repair shop did the bodywork for a month they told us that they could not see anything accident related with the overheating problem and they suggested a waterpump. I thought it was a little strange but I put a new waterpump in. The vehicle would run fine after I got all the air out of the system for a few weeks and then the coolant level would go down again. One day while my wife was driving the temp gauge went to hot very quickly. She stopped, let it cool down, and we brought it to my shop. So far I have also put in a new thermostat and a new upper hose with updated air bleeder. When I bleed all of the air out of the system and start the vehicle it will not overheat. I can let it run for an hour and I can drive it around. As soon as I shut off the vehicle and restart it it will overheat very quickly. There is some coolant leakage at the rear of the motor and when I put a sniffer in the overflow tank it registers between 50 and 139 for hydrocarbons. This number, even thought there should be none, seems low. Also, at the drivers side edge of the radiator on the top of the plastic there is a small hairline crack about 1/4" long that I could see a small amount of leakage when the vehicle is hot. Thank you very much for your input.
Also, congratulations on your readers rides submission to Off-Road. It was nice to see a familiar name in the mag. I hope everyone has a great day.
Don

 

That cracked radiator has to be resolved first, then another pressure test. Get back to me.

 

Okay Mike, I'll check it out. But I am correct, right? There should never be HydroCarbons in my coolant? Thanks again, Don

 

You would be correct (unless LR has some cooky crap that I've never heard of). Hydrocarbons in the coolant are indicative of expended fuel meeting the coolant...could be a head gasket, cracked head or cracked block.