I just recently bought a 2005 LR3 V8 SE from a guy who said it has an over heating problem. I'm trying to pin-point the source of the problem. It is defiantly flow related, as i flushed the radiator (there wasn't much in there, maybe 3-5 quarts) I then filled the reservoir and followed land rover protocol for refilling the coolant system but - there is no movement pushing the radiator fluid into the empty radiator. I'm squeezing the hoses - they are most defiantly empty however when i squeeze the big hoses i can hear movement through the reservoir as in like I can hear water moving, not a loud sound but i can hear stuff moving. took off the thermostat housing and the thermostat wasn't even in the housing, so it was just wide open. I can see in the radiator fluid in the engine, the level is VERY low and looks like it hasn't even been moved around.

Some things I know, or what the guy told me.

- He said he replaced the water pump, I have the old water pump in the seat. i'm sure he did it correctly, althought i might have to inspect that after I replace the thermostat housing + thermostat.

- I cannot get heat to blow from the dashboard via putting the defrost on or turning up max heat, and setting the fan controls to the dashboard. neither methods will produce heat - it will only blow cold air.

- I've tried all ways to try to fill the system via leaving cap on or off, even slightly open.

what i'm wondering is, since the thermostat isn't in the housing, does it not give the pressure to suck the hot coolant fluid through the system to return to the radiator?

I took off the thermostat housing - no coolant in the return hose to the radiator or the other tiny hose (it goes to what looks like the top part of the engine, maybe throttle body?) but the hose on the bottom (the feed from reservoir T-connection thing with hose to heater feed) had plenty of radiator fluid - which makes sense for the most part as it is directly connected to the reservoir, but it is also the heater feed, and I can tell it defiantly did not come out of that, it came out from the pressure of the reservoir from being filled up.

my first step is to order a thermostat housing + thermostat with that.

any insight on this system would be extremely helpful, also if anyone knows how to pinpoint a bad heater core, I would GREATLY appreciate that.



ALSO I tried driving it. it will sit at idle for 10-20 minutes and not over heat, once its under load it started rising so i cut it off before it got max red - i had to pull off the road and the radiator reservoir was full and spitting out a little bit of coolant, I can tell it was really hot but I don't think i let it get too hot to do damage, nothing smelt burnt or anything and there was no funny noises.

ALSO this might be helpful to someone, but before i drove it - the return hose from the top of the radiator to go back to the reservoir (it is a tiny hose that runs across the radiator) I could tell while the car was idling, there was bubbles coming out of that hose so there MUST be movement of some sort??

went to retrieve the vehicle later that night - I drove it for under 2 minutes as i was not far away (it didn't over heat or anything, it was a quarter mile away or less). looked under the hood and the reservoir was empty.... i don't get it.



Thank you to all for giving this a look.

 

I actually went on ahead and and bought the whole housing assembly plastic device, for the thermostat that is

 

once you have the system back together a infrared thermometer is very helpful in looking for coolant flow issues. You can check various spots on the radiators and hoses to see what is or isn't getting flow

 

If coolant is not flowing then either the pump is broke (very unusual) or there is too much air in the system. If the pump is surrounded by air, no coolant will ever flow fo course. Physics and all.

 

I would start with bleeding the system fully. Make sure the heater is turned on and up to max. Also check for leaks. Fluid bubbling out the overflow bottle can mean a head gasket leak so check oil is not milky.

 

I am back with pics!

First thing I did was disconnect the heater feed hose to the heater core and the return, shot a hose water through it, there was no block. checked the radiator for any sort of block and it checked out. EVERYTHING i checked seems to be unblocked and free of passage. I tried filling up the reservoir again but still - nothing sucking the coolant from the reservoir.

I think I have too much air in it, ive only drained about 5 quarts in total. but i also think there is a pressure leak somewhere. i'm going to get a pressure test system this week to check for that.
Also I did drain the oil *phew* no milk at all

I can see the new water pump (as he gave me the old one), made sure the belt is installed correctly, even spun the water pump to see if coolant would move, and I can most defiantly hear water moving

I have pics of the thermostat housing - what is that orange stuff? the walkthroughs I've seen do not use that for reinstalling.

Also the 2nd pic, i'm not sure what that is, but it is rusty as crap and I want to replace it, what is it? it looks like some kind of gate valve type thing, the inside is very corroded

also isn't there supposed to be a gasket on the throttle body? because there wasn't a detachable one unless its just that green O-ring thing.





Also, thank you for all the responses. I appreciate ALL the help!

 

The orange stuff is possibly 'gasket goo'. People tend to use this when replacing an old gasket. You need to scrape it all off before refitting anything. Me I would remove water pump as that seems to have an abundance of it on there. some may have gone inside blocking something. When you have the pump off make sure the impeller is the correct way round. Not sure on the second picture, what was it connected to

 

The "gate" thingy is the EGR valve. It should have a metal gasket. When reinstalling clean all surfaces and the gasket well. You may even want to use very high temp gasket sealer. Use VERY little.

Someone was clearly in there and did very poor work, that was WAY too much red RV silicon sealant. and generally not needed. I swear I see blue shop towel material even wedged between the pump and block, but maybe that is from you and just resting there.

You should replace the green o-ring. You took the throttle body and its neck off. Most just remove the throttle body high up cause its a lot easier and that is were there is a black metal gasket.

 

I can literally tell what happened. this guy got both pieces of the water pump (you know how its like, well two pieces) and didn't install the NEW back part and used the same gaskets.... the blue thing is like some sort of old crappy gasket. I just installed everything up to the fan. going to tackle the rest in the morning, there was a dent in the metal connection surface where someone took a screw driver and hit it hard to peel the water pump from itsself. I have smoothed and cleaned all surfaces with scotch pad. I think it was a big pressure leak in the temperature housing because when I took it off, there was a part where it just wasn't sealed all the way. also maybe this poorly put together water pump could've been the issue, i'm about to find out as I just got the coolant leak pressure testing kit.

I need to get a new EGR valve, thank you for that information

edit:HOLY CRAP scratch that - they are 200$! LOL

 

Is you EGR failing? You can clean em. I would not replace unless its failed. They normally look pretty carbonized inside.