Hi everyone,

Long time lurker on this forum that hosts a tremendous group of people. Knowing such a helpful place exists factored into my decision to purchase an LR3.

2006 LR3 HSE, 110k miles, California truck. The radiator was leaking from cracked plastic on the passenger side upper hose connector. The radiator was the original with a 2005 build date. Impressive! I also see some seeping from the thermostat. I've pulled the radiator (that was a learning experience, but maybe I will share my experience in a different thread) and will replace the entire thermostat housing. I will also replace the drive belts. What else should I do "while I'm in there"?

Radiator - replace with Nissens
Thermostat housing - replace with Genuine
Belts - replace
Throttle body - might as well clean since I have to remove for thermostat replacement
Water pump - replace? No signs of any issues @ 110k, but access is good to replace now.
Hoses - replace? These are original. They don't feel particularly soft, but I see some build up on the inside. I have no experience to know if this is normal.

I am not trying to spend needless time or money, but the truth is I have fun working on my LR. Let me know what you think!

 

Replace all the hoses. Probably should have been replaced at the 10 year mark even with no sign of wear.
Do all the plastic connection fittings. A LR dealer mechanic I know replaces the plastic with brass fittings
If the t- stat housing is seeping, definitely replace that too. Pretty much everyone says use only the factory part here.

 

Hoses are not quite a milage thing, they age once they get put into service and degrade no matter what. That build up is pretty normal. I did all my hoses less the heater core bit and was in it for about $300. Which is not bad. I have a thread that goes over the hoses I used and the brands I went with.

https://landroverforums.com/forum/lr...-hoses-123393/

 

Replace the coolant expansion tank as well

 

That is a great thread. Thanks for the information. I just purchased all new hoses. Is the bypass hose with the breakable T fitting easy to replace when replacing the thermostat housing? I will already have the intake plenum off for that.

 

good call. It was last changed in 2008 according to my records. Is genuine the way to go or is there another brand recommended?

 

You are taking the the intake off? Then yes, it will be really easy. But I have only done it with intake in place and it is not difficult but it is tricky. I will mention what I did for anyone else reading. Removing the old it not too hard, just work it with a bend needle nose pliers to break it free of the outlet fitting. You know how coolant hoses "stick" and pulling is the worst to do, so just twist then just back it off and out. Install tho took some figuring. What I did was position the clamp up the hose a bit but not too far. Then I looked a strong string around the hose in a way to make two long leads. Put some coolant mix on the pipe and maybe inside the hose to act as a lubricant. Then you position the hose onto the pipe end and use the string to pull the hose toward the front of the engine. I never did it with a needle nose pliers of proper angle and size, but I think if you have a set that may work just as easy. But the string method has worked for me just fine.

My 2 cents on expansion, OEM is best really. I have an aftermarket and I think before my next big trip I may get an OEM to swap in. There are two instances that I know of where an aftermarket tank split open at the plastic "welds". I only replaced mine tho to get rid of the low coolant warning.

edit to add pic:

Looks like this was from the first time I did this. This was not on my LR3 and this particular one suffered mouse damage. The hose that was removed was chewed up bad and then just finally blew. So this was basically an emergency fix and we had to find a way to do it without removing the intake, which would have required new gaskets, etc. Also it looks like we used a worm clamp, not a fan but for this it would be fine.

 

Dakota, that is the perfect picture. I see the challenge. I probably misspoke earlier. I am removing the intake piece between the throttle body and intake manifold which is required to access the thermostat housing. Like you, I am not taking the whole manifold off.

I ended up buying all Genuine everything except the radiator which is Nissens. What can I say, I like to pamper my LR.

 

I cleaned up the gasket area of the block with a Scotch brite pad and brake cleaner. I removed some of the inner ring of off-white material while I was cleaning the gunk around the outside area. Should I be removing that entire inner ring of material or does it matter? It feels smooth. I didn't think the shop manual called for any gasket maker, but I’m actually not sure. Keep in mind I have never cleaned off a gasket surface in my life Thanks!

 

Radiator flush is really good to use before doing work like this, it will remove some or all of the scaling. In theory there should be none tho, it is sometimes a sign of incorrect coolants or water being used at some point. But I have seen it when coolant is used well past its life expectancy, which for the good ones is five years and for the low grade stuff just a year or two. I would think the scaling you have is probably not a big deal, but the issue is thermal transfer of heat which it can inhibit. If you are at all worried, you could push radiator flush or other stuff in after you button all back up and use distilled water. Run it for a couple days then flush with distilled water and replace with coolant.