I have a 2003 land rover disco 2 and this winter it over heated so I parked it changed thermostat fixed a leaky resovor and started it up still starts fine runs fine won't over heat if just ideling but as soon as I put it in gear and run down the road it starts to over heat the line coming out of top of radiator feels full of air thanks for any help

 

Need more info. After the engine warms-up Does the bottom radiator outlet hose before the thermostat feel cold, like the radiator is stopped up? If so, flush or replace the radiator.

Is the viscous fan clutch on front of the engine working properly? There are methods/procedures for testing the unit.

An engine can idle with a faulty radiator in the cold ambient air temp & maintain a suitable operating temp, but will overheat under load or at an idle if the ambient air temp is high like 90* plus.

Same for the viscous cooling fan. The engine can idle with a faulty fan clutch but will overheat under load & warmer ambient air temps

Either test the new thermostat in hot water or buy another replacement. The only thermostat you should be using is the tropical 180* model made by Land Rover. It is gray & costs $70-$80. Anything less than that should be considered suspect & either returned/exchanged for the above unit or at least bench tested. You wouldn't be the 1st person to receive a faulty thermostat that is new in the box.

If the lower radiator outlet hose is warm & radiator/thermostat is cycling properly & the fan clutch has resistance/pulls plenty of air, then a combustion gas check of the coolant system should be performed. If all cooling system ancillaries are in proper working order, the engine idles to operating temp but then overheats under load, this probably means combustion gas is over pressurizing the system while spiking the coolant temp, simultaneously.

You have work to do.

 

thanks for the reply I have since flushed the heater core and radiator but just realised my t valve don't have a bleeder screw how to get around it

 

release the header tank from its fixings and prop it up on the battery cover or factory bottle jack location with the cap off.


post a picture. there aren't many manufacturers that make the top hose assembly without a bleeder valve.


you can also buy a steel or aluminum tee, tap it 1/8 and screw in a petcock valve. easy stuff but a PIA.

 

I also am having a problem. Our Land Rover Discovery is a 1998. It seems to have two problems or maybe the problems are connected, we can't figure it out.

First it will overheat after driving for about an hour, especially if we drive it on the highway, my husband changed the thermostat last summer and we just bought another one to see if it helps. We also put some of the radiator fluid in that helps keep the temp lower. The vehicle idles to high when driving and then when we put it in park it shoots up to almost 2,000 rpms.

The other problem is weird. During driving it will all of a sudden loose all electrical, lights, wipers, radio, windows, everything. Then when we go to turn if off and put it in park, it will make this grinding noise, that my husband finally got to hear, because it happens very randomly, he said it sounded like the starter trying to start even though it was already running. Let it sit for an hour or two and then everything is normal again, electrical works again, it doesn't make the grinding noise when put in park. We can't figure out what it could possibly be and we don't want to leave it in park and on for very long (long enough to check where the sound is coming from) because the grinding sound sounds so bad.

Last problem, the anti-lock brakes light is on and sometimes when I push on the brake it resists and makes a fast bumping I can feel in the brake pedal and it gets very hard sometimes to get the car to stop you really have to push hard on the brake. Thanks for anyone who has some advice.

 

Hey Lisa. You've got yourself a bunch of problems (mostly unrelated) and it will take a lot of time to go through it all.

The only real dangerous issue are the brakes. Many simply disable the ABS system by pulling the fuse (in the engine bay fuse box) for the ABS pump until they get it sorted. The ABS light will stay on and you won't have ABS, but your brakes will not stop working spontaneously.

Finally, post your issues in the D1 section and you'll find more help with your specific issues.

 

lack of maintenance. this is not the Toyota Corolla that you drove in high school. You know, the check engine light comes on and you keep driving it day-in, day-out and always gets you to the destination. When the dash warning lights come on with the Disco, it is possible you will be stranded or at the very least cost of repairs begins to increase exponentially as the issues are not immediately resolved.
Seeing as how you let it go this far, its fair to assume members of the household are not gearhead/weekend warrior/or just don't have the extra time. I suggest you get the truck into a shop for a good $1,000 worth of repairs if you depend on this vehicle for a daily driver to work. That or just keep driving it until the wheels fall off; if you aren't familiar with this model of vehicle you will never get it running right. But yeah, sooner or later you will be sitting on the roadside waiting for a towtruck. I just hope for your sake it isn't 100+ degrees when it happens.


At least flush the radiator and heater core out in your driveway and see if that helps get the coolant/engine temp down. If that doesn't work, go to Harbor Freight and buy 1 of those laser thermometer and check the temp at different hoses, and top/mid/bottom of radiator and get back to the board with your findings on that.

 

You are making a tremendous amount of assumptions. First your assumption that we do not do routine maintenance is incorrect. My husband over the last three years has replaced just about every part that can be replaced and has done oil changes, kept anti-freeze levels accurate for our low temps and many other things. We even have a instrument that we can plug into something near the fuse box and it will tell us what is wrong BUT it won't give us a reading, he has checked ALL the fuses and nothing is blown so we don't know why it won't give us a reading.

My husband has been in the HVAC/R field for thirty years and does commercial buildings, he already has several temperature sensors and I even have one for use in my kitchen. Where we live its rare to get to 100 degrees, we live in Alaska. We are going to flush the radiator this weekend by the way, that is already on the schedule.

The point of getting on here is to get help by people who are very familiar with Land Rovers and their common problems, not to be derided by someone who does not have any idea who we are, how responsible we are or even how old and experienced we are.

You sound like you are THE BAPTIST of the Land Rover forum.

 

Also chubbs 878, the problem just started and it is very random. My husband finally got to see it do the weird thing this last week. He had no idea what I was describing to him. The overheating problem we fixed last summer with a new thermostat, the idling problem and overheating has also just started. So again, you have no idea what you are talking about.

 

Thank you, my husband took the wheels off and looked at the anti-lock device or something that is in there. Someone told him to do something to it there, I am not sure what he did but it did not fix it. I would rather it be fixed than just pull the fuse. Anyhow thanks for the advice, I will go post in the D1 section as soon as I figure out where that is.