Overheats on the outside/underheats on the inside

[brookester]

I have a 1997 Disco and I'm having an overheating problem that has me confused. I know it's not the electric fans and the fan clutch was just replaced. I just replaced the thermostat but the problem is still there. Also, on the inside, when I turn the heater on I get heat until the truck starts to get warm. Then the heat goes away and I'm left shivering. Is it possible that these problems are connected? Maybe the water pump?

[Rovin4life]

I would suspect the head gaskets.


Does it overheat when its slowly heated up from idling at all.

IF you drive off fast does it overheat.

[brookester]

Yes.
It has 168,000 miles on it.

[brookester]

Well, the good news is I burped it and it's not overheating and the heater is working inside now. The bad news is I had to put a lot of water/coolant in it. I guess I'll check it again later on to see if it is losing coolant.
What do you think it might cost to fix the head gasket problem?

[Disco Mike]

I would suggest you have someon do a coolant presure test and possibly a chemical test to determine the condition of your head gaskets.
If you have bad gaskets, at your mileage, and you send it to a shop, you'll be looking at $1700 to $2000 plus a possible valve job to take care of some potentially warn out heads which could bring the total up another $400 to $500 more.
If you have to replace the head gaskets, do the head for sure cause it will be alot cheaper to do them now then in another 20,000 miles or so when you start loosing compression.
Good look,
Mike

[brookester]

For about $8-9000 I could put a used Chevy LS1 engine in. Hmmm

[apbtpetey]

Originally Posted by brookester

Well, the good news is I burped it and it's not overheating and the heater is working inside now. The bad news is I had to put a lot of water/coolant in it. I guess I'll check it again later on to see if it is losing coolant.
What do you think it might cost to fix the head gasket problem?

How good are you at working on things yourself? I did the head gaskets on my 97 Disco and it took a weekend. I agree with Mike on having the heads worked on seeing how you have to take them out anyway. The replacement of the head gaskets was a fairly straight forward job, just takes a good amount of time. If you are not good at working on cars then I would stay away from doing the work yourself. But before going and replacing the head have the system tested.

[pavel]

Brookester: I had to replace a broken exhaust valve (carbon build-up) so know what is involved with replacing head gaskets - its requires good tools and time. The job took me and my son 2 weekends with time in between to have the heads checked for straightness, cleaned, pressure checked and the valves seated etc. Cost was $700 including new head bolts - not too bad.
What is the condition of your Disco? At 165k miles, the engine is no spring chicken. If you aren't ready to spend a lot of time and money there is a possible "quick fix" that might work if you are a lucky guy....it's called 'Thermogasket'. I've never used it myself but understand it costs about $100 and might (temporarily?) solve a leaking head gasket problem on your engine. Just a thought.

[brookester]

I've noticed a small amount of white powder on the exhaust manifold. It's located on the passenger side at the back near the firewall. Idon't know where it's coming from but it must be leaking very slowly because I haven't noticed much coolant loss, if any. I''l keep watching.
My Disco is in pretty good shape so I would like to keep it for a while. I keep thinking about dropping a Chevy in it. I looked into Marks adapters a couple years ago and I know a mechanic that has done a number of Jag conversions and has a former LR mechanic working for him. It would be pricey though.