We have a '99 LRD Series 2, that has about 87K miles on it. Last night the wife got the oil changed, and was told the radiator was bone dry. So it got filled, and on the way home, it all went hay-wire. She said that the coolant just basicaly poured from the car. I don't hav alot of automotive repair experience, but I am think that the water pump has gone out. Can anyone tell me what the symptoms of a water pump failure are?

So today, I fill up the radiator, and let the car run to see if I can get it to replicate what my wife said happened last night. She also mentioned that the thermometer was behaving rather strange as well. It would flucuate from stone cold, to boiling hot, back to the middle, hot again, cold... I thought this might be an indication of a thermostat problem. Any thoughts? Anyway, after filling the radiator, I let the car run/warm up to see if I could spot any leaks. Nothing major came out. I did see some steam rising from the area right around the radiator refill tank. As I was looking for leaks, I thought I could see the fluid in the reservior bubbling/boiling. I was told that if you see that happen, then you have a head gasket leak, and engine exhaust is getting into the radiator fluid. So, if I see the fluid bubbling, what does that mean?

I appreciate any and all help w/ this problem.

 

Before you pull your hair out- have this truck checked out by a shop. Head gasket failures are common as well as water pumps. thanks-Rusty Owens-HR Motorcars-Rover repair specialists

 

Well, I am really hoping to able to fix it myself. This problem couldn't have had any worse timing. The advice I have received so far leads me to believe it is the water pump or thermostat. No sign of fluid in the oil, as I am not seeing the pasty/mayonaise looking oil, nor any steam coming out the tail pipe, so I am not thinking head gasket.

How tough is it to replace the water pump? I am about to go out and see if I can wiggle the pully. If it wiggles, that means the bearings are out, right??

 

Okay, so I think I may not have a problem after all... I filled the system w/ about 2 gallons of coolant, and it has been running at normal temp for about 20 minutes and nothing is leaking.

 

Filling the system with water without bleeding would cause the problems you described with regard to the thermostat going all over the place, i.e. one moment it had water over it, next moment air..

Have you bled the coolant system, most likely by now it has vented most of the air into the refill tank, hence the bubbles you saw, if it was boiling you would have felt the heat off the refill tank quite easily.

The water pump bearings can fail, and you can tell this by seeing the belt become slack and the pully been able to be wiggled. Also when the pump fails, it leaks coolant from a hole at the base of the pump.

The question you need to ask is why the coolant level had dropped so much. Check the radaitor very carefully, at the sort of mileage and age, it would not be unusal for the radiator to start leaking slightly. Simple way to check is to put newspapers down under the disco, and let it run for a short time till you get up to running temp and then have a look, the newspapers will show very quickly where you have any leaks.

 

So... back to the water pump...It was confirmed by two sources that water pump is going out. So now I need to figure out if it is something I can do myself or does it need to be done by a professional? I have found aftermarket replacement parts, for about $100.

Any suggestions on getting this done?

 

So I have a new water pump/gasket on the way. It should be here tomorrow afternoon. Does anyone know of any online resources I can use that might guide me through the process?? I understand that torque settings can be pretty important. Anyone know where I can find those? Any help would be much appreciated.

 

You could try looking on this website.. http://www.landrover.ee/est/varia/downloads/cars.htm for the manual...

It is an easy job to do, and actuallly the most important factor is getting the right bolt back into the right hole, as they are different lengths, therefore, when I did mine, I used the new gasket to draw an outline on a peice of card board and then as I took each bolt off I placed it in the approriate place in my cardboard... might be simple but works everytime...

 

Any tips on getting the darn fan off?

 

You need two special fan wrenches or A air hammer with A 2' bit. I would suggest taking it to A competent repair facility. This is not A easy DIY repair.