Alright where to begin. I bought the vehicle about a year ago. It has given me no troubles so far except for now. When I originally bought it the previous owner gave me his binder with all the maint receipts and everything. It has been taken care of up to the 75K service. The next receipt was an attempt to make it a certified preowned vehicle. They mentioned in the inspection that the headgaskets were seeping coolant from them. The owner relayed that information to me as well.
Just a month ago or so I started to hear gurgling behind the dash. I looked it up and it is possible air/combustion gases in the cooling system. it happens when I hit accelerater in neutral or just while accelerating. With that said, I know the water pump is working.
I recently plugged in my bluetooth OBD2 adapter and ran the torque app on my phone and noticed my coolant was at 210 while driving and 220 while idle. The rad fans were on the whole time even while driving. I assumed it was just something with land rovers but now im thinking I have a legit overheating problem.
I want to flush the coolant and get rid of the dexcool anyways. Im reading that I should not mess with block coolant drains and just run undo the radiator hoses?
Here are my questions(sorry for rambling):
1. Are headgaskets in my very near future?
2. Am I correct with just draining what comes out of lower rad hose?
3. How many times should I fill with water before filling with 50/50?
4. Can I use tap water the first time then distilled the second?
5. Am I looking at around 3 gallons per fill?
That is all for now. I appreciate any and all inputs.
Don't do anything before you find the actual leak, I would suggest you fill the coolant system and then do a coolant pressure test to confirm the heads are blown.
How mechanical are you?
so pressure test first then get back to us. Your coolant system should be able to hold 18 pounds for 15 to 30 minutes.
Let us know what you find.
__________________
Mike
Retired service manager, member of Solihull Society, SCLR, NCLR and the Santa Barbara 4Wheelers clubs.
99 D2, 3" lift, CDL with Detroit,T.T. lockers, 4:11's,H.D. axles, custom ft/rear bumpers with sliders, a 9500 HSI Warn winch and 5 HID's.
Never done a coolant pressure test. I have put in a new turbo kit/exhaust/injectors/fuel pump/intercooler etc etc in my Subaru. Never had cooling issues before.
Can I go to advance or autozone and rent one?
How do I get that air out?
Rented the tool from advance auto, checked tool against itsself and it leaked pretty fast. When I connected it to coolant fill I went to 17psi and after 20 minutes it dropped down to about 5psi. I noticed a very small leak around throttle heater plate, but it was barely seeping. I do have coolant seeping from below the motor, towards the back. I cannot pinpoint it but im assuming its the HG.
The issue im noticing is the overheating. like I said before 217-220 while idle and 210 at 50mph.
the front electric fan is always on, and the main rad fan is always on. I felt all the hoses and they are all hot, so the thermostat is working im assuming. I also checked the tension of the belt, it seems tight.
I was about half gal low on coolant, so I filled it and bled the system and the gurgling sound is gone behind the dash, but im still overheating.
Thought I might chime in because of just doing the head gasket job in my 2000 disco.
The gurgling behind the dash is a indication of low coolant or air in the system. The overheating is being caused because you have low coolant or gases building up in your head due to the leaking gasket.
Find the source of your leak which may be the rear of the engine between your head and the the block. If you are losing coolant it should be visible but don't go ripping the top of your engine off just because you think it may be the issue.
Do all the steps to diagnose the problem. Pressure test, double check all your pipes and even feel the floor under your feet for moisture to make sure your not leaking internally. Check the thermostat to see if it is failing. Normally goes brown and becomes brittle.
The best indication of leaking head gasket is a sweet smell after driving or it is hard to start in the morning due to leaking into the cylinders.
RUN THE BEAST AND LOOK UNDER IT, IN IT . YOU WILL FIND THE LEAK!!!!!!!!
If you want, send me your number and I'll call you thru what you need to do.
__________________
Mike
Retired service manager, member of Solihull Society, SCLR, NCLR and the Santa Barbara 4Wheelers clubs.
99 D2, 3" lift, CDL with Detroit,T.T. lockers, 4:11's,H.D. axles, custom ft/rear bumpers with sliders, a 9500 HSI Warn winch and 5 HID's.
Thought I might chime in because of just doing the head gasket job in my 2000 disco.
The gurgling behind the dash is a indication of low coolant or air in the system. The overheating is being caused because you have low coolant or gases building up in your head due to the leaking gasket.
Find the source of your leak which may be the rear of the engine between your head and the the block. If you are losing coolant it should be visible but don't go ripping the top of your engine off just because you think it may be the issue.
Do all the steps to diagnose the problem. Pressure test, double check all your pipes and even feel the floor under your feet for moisture to make sure your not leaking internally. Check the thermostat to see if it is failing. Normally goes brown and becomes brittle.
The best indication of leaking head gasket is a sweet smell after driving or it is hard to start in the morning due to leaking into the cylinders.
RUN THE BEAST AND LOOK UNDER IT, IN IT . YOU WILL FIND THE LEAK!!!!!!!!
Good luck.
But when testing the pressure tester, should it lose pressure without it being hooked up to anything?
All the hoses feel hot so im assuming thermostat is fine. It is brown though.
Ok guys I posted a video that displays the details of my landrover. Please watch it and either post here or on the video with suggestions and tips...
Does everyones D2 heat up fully in like 1 minute?
Does anyone have any more tips on the direction I should go now? Pretty much my electric fan wont turn off now because it is over a certain temp. The viscous fan feels like peanut butter as someone mentioned, so i think that is good.
Should I start with thermostat? take it out and boil it?
Also which t-stat should I go with on AB.com? the warm weather one or normal one? PEL500110 vs PEM100990
Watched the video, the valve cover gaskets are a big issue and you will be surprised how much oil they can leak out the rear of the engine and the front. They are definitely something you need to attend to. Disco mike always recommends tightening the outside 8mm bolts before ripping off the covers but if the are rooted this wont help.
As for the coolant leak just bypass the heater plate using a 2 inch pipe and 2 hose clamps unless you are in a extremely cold climate. I did it and no more issues.
If the coolant is leaking at a rapid rate not due to the heater plate the best thing you can do it degrease the crap out of the engine and start your car and look everywhere for the next half hour to find the leak. It must be leaking externally so you will find it.
Watched the video, the valve cover gaskets are a big issue and you will be surprised how much oil they can leak out the rear of the engine and the front. They are definitely something you need to attend to. Disco mike always recommends tightening the outside 8mm bolts before ripping off the covers but if the are rooted this wont help.
As for the coolant leak just bypass the heater plate using a 2 inch pipe and 2 hose clamps unless you are in a extremely cold climate. I did it and no more issues.
If the coolant is leaking at a rapid rate not due to the heater plate the best thing you can do it degrease the crap out of the engine and start your car and look everywhere for the next half hour to find the leak. It must be leaking externally so you will find it.
Good luck
Thanks yeah the maint. receipts says they replaced valve covers, but im wondering if they only did the passenger side one. I have a couple cans of the degreaser..I neglected the instructions the first time and did it at a car wash thinking the engine was cool enough...Thought I was gonna start a fire!
Oil leak is not noticeable in the dip stick and the coolant leak is VERY slow.
Like I said I did the pressure test and in 20minutes it went from 16psi to 5. But I dont know if I trust the tool cause I checked it without attaching and it leaked(is it supposed to do that)?
Ok so looked at the 60k finished at 77k and valve cover replacement done at 84. I have 93k on it now. Can the gaskets fail that fast or is that one side loose...also where can I get the 8mm. 12pt socket at without spending a lot. I. Just want to tighten the one side.
I also noticed that if I rev engine while stationary. The temp drops about 7 degrees. Is that normal or a sign of thermostat or radiator clog. I also noticed a lot of pressure on the hoses.
I'm so lost right now. I don't know where to begin!!
The pressure test is reliant on you putting eyes on where the leak originates while you got it pressured. Losing pressure only tells you a leak is there. You already knew that. The coolant from the rear of the motor could also be the valley pan gasket on the lower intake plenum. Mine was leaking back there on drivers side.
Get a coolant hydrocarbon test kit from napa or whatever. This tells if exhaust gases are leaking into coolant. It is impossible for head gaskets to pressurize the coolant system without the presence of hydro carbons. This method doesnt totally rule out the head gasket either, but will rule out the coolant connection to it.
I wouldnt keep runnin it tryina see how bad it overheats. I completely rebuild coolant systems when they start to act up. After so many years once the water pump goes hoses start then the radiator is plugged especially if its still dexcool in there. Once that stuff is exposed to air it turns into terracotta clay. All this inside an aluminum block. Every time it gets hot go ahead and knock some expected life off.
The 180° thermostat is what you need to answer another question. I think your problem is in your coolant system. Air is really hard to get out of these things. But i dont think thats all wrong with your coolant system.
The reason not many people are responding is this subject has been beat to death. Dont take it personal. That was alot of explaining. The answers are in the pages of this forum. Just do some research and dont panic and blow a bunch of money. Take your time. I mention the coolant system first because what ultimately would cause the head gasket problem in the first place? Without hydrocarbons in the coolant and no oil water mix the head gasket can wait for you to fix your overheat problem. Theres no warranty with this advice but if you diagnose this proper and determine the H.G. not a detriment to your engine system the coolant is your immediate concern.
Thanks, No he didnt call yet. I am going to start with a flush tomorrow. I would just buy new cooling system but im juggling transferring from VA to MD in 3 weeks, 3 car payments including the $600 Sti(love/hate), and a wedding in may so I am trying to take care of this slight overheat until I can really get the LR in good health.
I used degreaser so tomorrow I will do the combustion gas test as well as the pressure test one last time and look for leaks.
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04 D2 gurgle behind dash/ possible HG/ overheat
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