I recently purchased my Rover mid January this year, never owned one prior..I have owned many 4x4 SUV's and drove Semi's for living. Since purchasing, I have had a few issues such as no heat (switch was shorting out, been replaced), had oil changed and power flushed cooling system (3 times) loosing coolant seemingly from the coolant recovery (overflow) so I replaced the cap, seems to have no leaks while flushing but I have had to put coolant in it every time I drive anywhere. I first thought it was the heater core but it isn't and the heat works just fine when fluids are full, however, I keep losing coolant. I just ordered a new water pump and will be replacing it soon as it arrives. The previous owner assured me that the thermostat was recently replaced all maintenance has been professionally done since brand new, he has even replaced the whole air ride suspension, so I am process of elimination... I don't think that the coolant is circulating properly! Any suggestions? Seems that you all are pros when it comes to the Rover... I am new to foreign made vehicles but very mechanically inclined... :help
04 Discovery SE7 coolant issue
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You can try replacing the water pump but I think you may have a failed head gasket.
There is no coolant in the oil, no milky or foamy substance whatsoever, hence to why I am thinking it is the water pump..
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You loose small amounts of coolant into the combustion chamber when the system is pressurized. Also, the combustion gases get into the cooling system and displace the coolant this causes gas/air pockets. Test the coolant for combustion gases.
There are tests for a failed head gasket that would take out the guesswork :
Cooling system leak down test
Test for exhaust gases in the coolant
Add uv dye to the ccolant, check where it's going with uv flashlight
Compression test
The 3.5 in my TR8 continually lost coolant, the problem was a faulty pressure cap. Second time I got lucky with car, first was the oil pressure sender fixing a flickering oil pressure light!
Cooling system leak down test
Test for exhaust gases in the coolant
Add uv dye to the ccolant, check where it's going with uv flashlight
Compression test
The 3.5 in my TR8 continually lost coolant, the problem was a faulty pressure cap. Second time I got lucky with car, first was the oil pressure sender fixing a flickering oil pressure light!
Well I am still having problems, I have gone through at least a dozen gallons of antifreeze, and had it pressure tested 4 times, and it has also blown the recovery coolant cap completely off once. I have gotten in contact with the previous owner, he's out of town at the moment but seems very concerned with these problems since I have only owned it for about 5 weeks. He is telling me that he is highly certain that the thermostat housing and that it isn't being properly burped. Guess I just have to wait for him to return... Thank you all for your help...
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you blew the cap off because your over pressurizing the system. how does this happen??? seems like your in denial. blown head gasket or slipped sleeve, no question. either the cylinder liner has moved or the head gasket is compromised on the interior between the cylinder wall and the water jacket. that's why there's no sign of loss on the ground
I am not in denial, I just bought this vehicle and from the information provided to me from the previous owner, I was trusting that these maintenance issues were just performed within weeks prior of me buying it. However, since I have owned it, a little over a month and don't venture very far from home rarely, that perhaps the system just had an air bubble and simply needed burped. This has not been the case and so I have contacted them to inform them that they sold me this vehicle with blown head gasket. They are still trying to convince me that this cannot be..
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You are in denial.
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I just went through this with my '99 Disco II and it is a common problem. I had the same issues and we first thought it was Head Gaskets. $2,500 later it was doing the same thing so we decided to work on a possible cracked block and did a glass coating job...still no good. Finally decided to run some Block Sealant for radiators through it with the Carbon Fiber in it ($50.00/bottle at auto parts store). Originally held for a while then started leaking/back-flushing again so dropped another bottle in it.
Working good so far (going on two years now) but I'm looking for a 4.6 litre V-8 to drop in it. My mechanic is seeing a lot of 4.0L Disco engines with this issue. Evidently, the company that was casting the aluminum blocks of the 4.0L engines held lousy tolerances with the cooling sleeve as it relates to the cylinder walls. There are thin and uneven wall sections that will crack and allow cylinder gases to leak back into the cooling system thereby allowing pressure to build in the cooling system and backflow the system.
I was told you can also have the cylinder walls re-sleeved to solve issue but the cost is so high it is better to drop a few extra bucks into it for a new(er) 4.6L. The 4.6L engines evidently do not have this issue so we are looking for a decent used or rebuilt unit out of a Range Rover as it supposed to be more or less a "plug n' play" scenario and will also give me more power and essentially give me the same engine that was put into the '04 models before they created The Abomination now called the LR4.
Good Luck!
Working good so far (going on two years now) but I'm looking for a 4.6 litre V-8 to drop in it. My mechanic is seeing a lot of 4.0L Disco engines with this issue. Evidently, the company that was casting the aluminum blocks of the 4.0L engines held lousy tolerances with the cooling sleeve as it relates to the cylinder walls. There are thin and uneven wall sections that will crack and allow cylinder gases to leak back into the cooling system thereby allowing pressure to build in the cooling system and backflow the system.
I was told you can also have the cylinder walls re-sleeved to solve issue but the cost is so high it is better to drop a few extra bucks into it for a new(er) 4.6L. The 4.6L engines evidently do not have this issue so we are looking for a decent used or rebuilt unit out of a Range Rover as it supposed to be more or less a "plug n' play" scenario and will also give me more power and essentially give me the same engine that was put into the '04 models before they created The Abomination now called the LR4.
Good Luck!
Well after weeks & weeks of not being able to drive the Rover more than 2 miles without getting hot, the issue has finally been diagnosed, one of the freeze plugs had popped out. It is currently being replaced right now, but I want to thank all of you for all your help! Very much appreciated.
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