stu306

New Member
Hi
Got my RR 99 P38 4.6 several months ago, fixed the EAS and the Brake System. The book icon has always been present since I got her, assumed it to be a low gas pressure on the aircon.
Has an oil leak around the radiatior area, steam cleaned the area to see where the leak was coming from which somehow caused the coolant system to leak badly. Would drive to work and find a pool under the front after coming back.
Driving back one night, temp shot up, stopped within 2 mins and then toped up water at nearest garage and drove home at normal temp.
Drained the system and replaced with Anifreeze mix, following RAVE method.
Problem I now have is that the temp inside is luke warm on max.
Am thinking that it may be Thermostate, possibly roasted when it got hot or an air lock.
Any Idea's?
 
Possible Airlock in the coolant system....even following RAVE it is a bugger to do....but I am not sure how to correct it....You could try jacking up the front of the car so the Radiator is the highest point and there should be a bleed screw on it, fill up through the expansion bottle with engine running, burp the hoses to try and expell any air and as the radiator is the highest point it should expell through the bleed screw.....
 
Steam clean around the rad caused a leak? I'd be very suspicious of a rotten section at the bottom of the rad and get that checked before you worry too much about what sounds like an air lock somewhere.

If you've still got the cheque book symbol up that could be the air con condensor also rotten. You might want to get that out and get it checked at the same time.
 
Bleeding as per rave states to open the expansion tank.cap accelerate till 2000 rpm untill all air is out.switch engine off.repeat the process.put the cap on drive to the nearest station and fill it up again if your rad is leaking.repeat the process untill u change the rad.
 
Rave also mentions that you must remove the bleed pipe from the top left of the radiator as you refil the system. Blow it through the clear any debris/obstruction, refit and elevate the flexible pipe as you refil. Once you have run the car to normal temperature, if there are still any air locks you can remove the bleed pipe and vent the system (always helps to set your heating to Hi)

All the same, sounds like you have a problem with your rad, and of course, winter is coming, you know what will happen if you don't deal with it now.
 
Thanks for the advice, will drain it and try again as the general consensus is an air lock.
Just to clarify, have got 2 problems here. One I created trying to fix another
1. Have an oil leak which coats the bottom of the radiator and the passenger side strut (UK). I think this is coming from the oil cooler that sits in front of the radiation. Was trying to clean it up to identify where this was coming from. Hence the steam cleaner. Before I did this there was no water loss from the rad.
2. Since I did the steam clean, I noticed an even bigger puddle under the rad for a few days, assuming the oil problem had got worse, didn’t think too much of it, kept checking oil levels but didn’t check the water and this is when the temp gauge went red, was on the motorway at the time but pulled over with in 2 mins and didn’t want to roast anything or mess up the block. Hobbled to the nearest garage and put around 4 lt of water in it. All was well.
I had assumed that by steam cleaning, had upset some sensor, these are complex beasties to a newbie and as coming up to winter in Scotland, drained the system and filled up with 50/50 coolant. Have been checking the levels of coolant over the past 4 weeks and has not shifted, so don’t think I have a coolant leak.
Just left now with a warmish interior.
Still got an oil leak from somewhere, but hey ho can deal with that till spring. Dodgy heating though. Brrrr....
On a side note, just to say that this is my first post and thanks to everyone who responded.
 
Is the 'puddle' under the car deffinitely engine oil - it may well be auto transmission fluid from the transmission oil cooler. Check out Rave for the location of the various components, it may help in diagnosing the origins of the leak.

If you haven't got rave, search for the download on the forum and get it quick - it is required reading for a Rangie owner.
 

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