I ordered a bunch of coolant hoses from Merriam Parts (Better prices than Atlantic British) to fix some small leaks, and a coolant reservoir to eliminate the low coolant message. I am replacing thermostat housing and primary/secondary belts while I'm there.

I was curious if anyone had any tips/time saving advice or things to be cautious of during this epic endeavor?

I am looking forward to finally turning a few wrenches on the beast!

 

Nice Coincidence. I just got my recovery tank yesterday and I'm waiting on the thermostat housing now. I'll keep my eyes on your thread to see if anyone posts up some good advice!

 

Get/rent the fan wrenches from AutoZone ($25). I've used mine far more than I planned when I did my first job that started with "remove the fan".

Various extensions and "wobble" sockets help a lot with the thermostat housing replacement.

It's a perfect time to replace the water pump too.

 

Thanks for the info gents!

I am going to add the water pump to the list as well, it's going to be one hell of a day in the garage! Any ideas on what brand WP to buy? Any experience here?

 

Get it from the same place- OEM. Do not skimp here.. just did mine, also all the hoses at the same time. Ordered from the same place as well.

I did end up duplicating one part somehow.. Probably because I did two separate orders.

 

I ordered the water pump from Atlantic British. They say it's good quality so I've got my fingers crossed.

Still waiting on a couple parts to arrive so it looks like next weekend is the weekend.

 

Expansion tank, multiple hoses, water pump, thermostat housing, belts, coolant flush, all went without much of a problem. The biggest issue was getting the throttle body off to reach the top torx bolts of the thermo housing that were burried under it. That was an unexpected adventure in itself, but not awful.

The labor intensive part of the job took me about 5 hours, which is about what I was expecting. Then had to bleed the system.... Start the engine, let it warm up, open bleed screw on expansion tank, turn the engine off, close the bleed screw, let the engine cool down, add coolant, and repeat 4 or 5 times.That process took much longer than I was expecting (close to 2 hours).

All in all, I spent close to $300 and an afternoon of my time in the garage. Probably saved 3X that considering labor at a LR dealer.

Thanks again for the tips gents.