Overheating Td5 / pressure testing ?

[Jimbo]

Over the past week the heating in the Disco has intermittantly been blowing cold - initially I blamed it on the cold weather, but then the nagging feeling that the head gasket was on its last legs got the better of me and I checked the coolant level. The level in the header tank was a tad low (about 1" below the line), so topped it up and all seemed ok.

Today, the temp gauge went right into the red, a red light came on, and then the gauge went right off the other end of the scale. 3 litres of Volvic later (garages only have ready mixed screenwash on forecourts now  :x), and I limped home.

I'm hoping that it's not the head gasket, or the water pump ! There seems to be a lot of anti-freeze/water all over the fan blades/fan cover, and all around the bottom of the main rad - so I'm hoping that it's just a holed radiator, well I was until I looked on Paddocks.............they have two options, one for vehicles without ECD3 emission requirements, and one for vehicles with:

One is £97 + vat, the other £289 + vat  :shock: - how can there be such a difference in price ?????

And how can I tell which one I need ?

I'm also thinking about getting the system pressure tested - is there a place to buy a testing kit, or is it cheaper to get it done at a garage ?

Jim

[thermidorthelobster]

The coolant level being a bit low isn't anything to worry about, but what you describe with the temperature gauge is exactly what mine did when the head gasket failed :(

I won't tell you how much it cost to replace the gasket and the cracked head...

That said, if it had boiled off the coolant, what would it be doing all round the engine bay?  It does sound like a leak;  fingers crossed that's all it is!

[Jimbo]

I'm going to see if any local garages can pressure test it - might show up the leak, its not easy looking down at the base of the rad with the engine running !

My old D2 suffered the same problem, that was the head gasket as the head was located with the infamous plastic dowels, and the gasket had gone between one of the waterways and a cylinder - but with that Disco (W reg), it only ever overheated when you pushed the engine hard, with this one (52 reg) the leak is constant as far as I can see !

Something I've just realised is that the aircon fan (the electric one right at the front) is running even with the aircon turned off - anyone know where the temperature sensor for this is ?, I'm wondering if there's an airlock in cooling system somwhere..........and if the two problems are connected.

[Porny]

52 reg = Post 2002.... so the engine is EU3.

Easiest way to tell is whether you have a water cooled EGR set-up - or just a plain pipe from the exhaust manifold to the inlet manifold.

As I found out this weekend ( ) the difference between EU2 and EU3 radiators is there is an extra outlet at the bottom of a EU2 Td5 radiator... on a EU3 radiator, this outlet doesn’t exist, and instead the bottom hose has a T-piece in it (this is definitely the case on a Defender, and I'd imagine a Disco is the same)


Ian

[Jimbo]

I do have a water cooled EGR system - well, sort of..........the water cooling is there, but the EGR is gone  ;)

So I guess I need the rad for a vehicle with ECD3, seeing as I don't want to mess about blanking/bypassing the EGR water cooling pipes - and (according to Paddocks at least), this rad is £97, whereas the non-ECD3 version is over £300 - must be a typo/mistake on the website I reckon 

[Jimbo]

The Disco got pressure tested yesterday - the coolant it literally 'peeing out' of the base of the radiator according to my Technician (he doesnt like being called a Mechanic !). New rad on order (£200 + vat  :roll:). Once fitted, it's getting another pressure test to see if the head gasket is still intact............ [-o< [-o< [-o<

[Porny]

The Disco got pressure tested yesterday - the coolant it literally 'peeing out' of the base of the radiator according to my Technician (he doesnt like being called a Mechanic !). New rad on order (£200 + vat  :roll:). Once fitted, it's getting another pressure test to see if the head gasket is still intact............ [-o< [-o< [-o<

I hope that £200 is for genuine one!!! (well, they are £230 ish from Land Rover I think).  An aftermarket one can be had for about £110 + vat.


Ian

[Jimbo]

Yep, genuine.

Got the Disco back last night, all seems ok, no more overheating and no more leaky rads - pressure test after the new rad was fitted showed up no other leaks.

Shame the same can't be said about the transmission oil cooler, and the air-con rad..............both are looking way past their best  8-[

[Porny]

Yep, genuine.

Got the Disco back last night, all seems ok, no more overheating and no more leaky rads - pressure test after the new rad was fitted showed up no other leaks.

Shame the same can't be said about the transmission oil cooler, and the air-con rad..............both are looking way past their best  8-[

Shame the intercooler is ok though....

Would have been a perfect excuse to the misses to get an uprated one  ;)


Ian

[Jimbo]

Indeed..............I keep leaving subtle hints, but she seems somewhat oblivious to them !!