L322 4.4 V8 - coolant loss and trans/hdc errors

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cheet22

Member
Posts
54
Location
Hamilton, Scotland
I have had my 2002 4.4 V8 Vogue now or just a few weeks and starting to find some issues. After just a week my prop/diff coupling splines went leaving me stranded but managed to get that sorted for not much money.

Now i have two other niggling issues i want to sort out.

First, coolant loss. Ive done quite a few miles already and ive had to top up quite a bit, i would say a litre for about 400-500 miles. Absolute no running issues, temp rises normally (reaches mid temp after about 3 or so miles) and temp never moves, ive sat in traffic for some time, crawled round a safari park, and blasted 200 miles on the motorway. No overheadt issues whatsoever. But, im losing coolant.

Seems rads, pumps, hoses all poss culprits but i just wanted to check its not something more sinister liked Hg so just did a block test today. Fluid should turn blue to yellow is a blown gasket is suspected, but it went green, kinda dark green. I did it like 6 times and sometimes it took 4 mins to go green, other times longer. So im not convinced either way by that. No oil in water or sludge on filler cap, no obvious steam from exhaust, so im tempted to plough on and assume i might be ok, and focus on rad, pump and hoses. That said, i CAN see what looks like water under intake just about with a torch, so my first attack is valley gasket, but can that alone account for such a loss? Big job?

Now, my second issue is about warnings that appear randomly when ignition on. Does not happen all the time, perhaps more if i dont use car for a day. I get trans failsafe and/or hdc inactive wanrnings. Switch ignition back off and on and they are away. Im suspecting this could be a battery? The previous owner did say that he had to recharge it a couple months back as he was seeing hdc warnings, but charging it made them go away. Anyone think it worth a shot changing battery?

I dont have any diagnostics yet to run codes - thats my next shoping trip i guess. I did have a faultmate for my old p38 some years back, but sold it on selling the car. Anyway, any thoughts on my issues very much appreciated.
 
I missed something. For no reason whatsoever when i did the block test via the expansion tank, i created something of a vacuum by pumping the rubber bulb of the tester quite a bit, with engine off.

At ths time i could hear hissing from what seemed like radiator bottom, and soon as i took tester off i could hear it stop and water move.
 
There was a diff recall done and you might want to to check if yours has any outstanding recalls with a main dealer, not sure if you would still get it upgraded for free.

Never used block test but you could possibly try UV dye to try and trace a leak of coolant.

HDC inactive when you start is classic low battery, you could try giving it a full charge but could be knackered, i bought a bosch battery which has been good.

Bosch Land Rover S5 Battery 020 - 5 Year Guarantee | Euro Car Parts UK?s No.1 Car Parts Retailer

i would get an allcomms as you will be peeing in the wind without one or another faultmate if you have some spare cash
 
Anyone who manages to purchase an L322 which has not yet had the front diff recall will be in for a battle with LR - they ended the recall 18 months back... although the official end date was in 2011.

But do not despair... I pulled every trick in the book to get mine done last summer at the cost of LR and thankfully won my case!

The chappie now responsible for this particular L322 "Q041Diff Recall" is Liam... who replaced someone named Paige... here's his direct email address: [email protected]

- be prepared to explain why your beloved L322 has missed this recall - and good luck!
 
Bit more info if you haven't already carried out the recall work yourself although this is from an American dealer it is still the same problem.

diff recall.jpg
 
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