1. I'm going to start looking through FAQ's , use the search and all that. Please don't jump on me for starting with a picture prior to having dinner with my kid before doing my research.

I had a coolant blowout at the top of my engine. It didn't actually drain the reservoir and I was able to limp her home. I can't rely on anything in the dash as it is already like an old pinball machine due to water damage to the computers under the seat.

After getting all the plastics off the top of the engine, it appears as though a plastic Y piece that attaches to the upper coolant hose and then to something under the throttle-body and then to the front of the engine (assuming water pump). That's as far as light and temperature would let me get so far. It seems like in order to get at this I'm going to have to remove the throttle-body if not for access to fasteners then at least for visibility. I'll learn a lot more tonight and over the US Thanksgiving holiday weekend. In the meantime, I'm hoping a picture will spark all your knowledge and quickly point me in the right direction.

Thanks,

- Steve

From the top looking down. The throttle-body is center-right of the picture and the upper coolant hose is still attached.

 

I believe that is your thermostat housing, which is very common to crack and leak massive amounts of coolant. Hopefully you noticed it quickly and did not overheat your vehicle.

 

Here are a couple of pictures that might help...

 

Yes, I've been searching through the wonderful content AB provides (Doug has been my guru in LR3 maintenance), though it seems my needs have fallen through the cracks in their wonderful videos. It is indeed part of the thermostat housing and assembly, but not actually the thermostat side but rather on the passenger side. Their videos make it seem pretty easy to replace the hoses and even the thermostat housing though my first glance makes it seem like I need to remove the throttle-body to get at (seems pretty extreme and not in their videos).

Perhaps it'll look more accessible if/when I remove the fans & shrouding.

I did catch it in time. I'm sure I overheated but did no real engine damage it appears. This was actually a few weeks ago (life and all that) and it still starts and runs so nothing permanent.

I'm hoping to do this repair without having to tear down to the level of P-Bod's pics.

 

Found a pretty comprehensive video on how to replace this. I might just remove the fan & shroud for more access. Wish this was from AB as I love their content. But yeah, looks like it is the thermostat housing which is just 'well packaged' into place.

 

Yeah, its not a difficult procedure really. I just did the one on my personal LR3 a few weeks ago along with a full flush and such. The only hang up can be the housing bolts themselves, they can sometimes be corroded on the heads which are torx. I did not watch the video but I will add a couple tips:

The general consensus is to only get an OEM housing assembly. The aftermarkets tend to crack. I actually got mine from Parts Geek for about $100 USD under "genuine". What came was clearly an OEM unit with all the LR logos removed.

There is one coolant hose behind the housing and water pump that goes under the intake. It can be replaced with some witchcraft without removing the intake. The part is LR006158 and it is the hose that loops back up above with the infamous plastic t-fitting that often fails and takes out engines. Again now is a good time since to do it requires digging in deep anyway.

When putting on the housing, install all screws but do not tighten. Then tighten the four on the front/outside of the housing before doing the four under the throttle body. This is because tightening the ones out front will cause the housing too slide back. If you tighten the back ones first you can stress the housing and cause premature failure.

Do the water pump. The AC Delco is a good and cheap replacement that many have used. It is easy to do at any time, but with everything out it will be even easier. Lubricate the pump's o-ring with silicone grease or such. I did not on my first install and even though I thought I was careful I pinched the o-ring! Oops!

Prestone Dex Cool is fine to use. Its also pretty cheap at about $15 gal concentrate. Four total gallons of mixed is needed if you have rear HVAC. So maybe consider doing a flush and getting all new coolant in there. Of course use the correct coolant and NEVER mix green with the orange unless you want to replace the engine.

Lastly dont go torque crazy when installing anything. The specs are pretty low on most items. Only holding back 16 psi after all.

 

Dakota Traveler,

Thanks for all your good tips. I'm going to catalog this for when I do my real maintenance on this.

I'm afraid this is one of those occasions where I have to do the minimum. I've put my summer cars away for the winter and this is my only vehicle that isn't a two-seater. I need it ASAP. I ordered the AB part and not OEM. I hope it doesn't fail me, but it has good reviews.

Come next spring/summer I rarely use the LR3 and mostly for towing my race trailer. I can plan to tear it down, replace the hoses all around and the water pump. This time around I need this before we get real snow (and to bring my dogs to kennel from time to time; recently divorced and lost the minivan option).

I do appreciate the advise. It's just going to have to be a job I can't plan out and do other logical things (like the water pump and hoses all around).