pauldaf44

Active Member
My P38 was delivered to me yesterday afternoon and overall I am pleased with it although it is being a typical Range Rover already.

How long does an early 4.6 normally take to warm to normal operating temperature? Mine seems to warm up alarmingly fast. I have only driven her up the farm track and back so maybe a mile and half at max 15mph and she was already reading fully warmed up on the gauge.

Last night, I did this and she got up 3/4 on the temp gauge and upon switching off their was steam coming from under the bonnet. Something definitely not right! I did find something straight away, the expansion tank cap was loose and tightening down properly stopped the steam. I came back to her this morning and the system was down 6 pints of coolant, I topped it up and took her for another test run up the track and once again she was up to temperature very quickly but this time stayed at half way and no steam.

Other things I have noticed the exhaust does seem to be a bit steamy but it is not exactly warm out at the moment so steam from the exhaust is to be expected.
Engine oil while not new is in good condition and show no signs of emulsion nor is any visible on the oil cap.
There is some coppery residue on the expansion tank cap which makes me think it has had K seal or similar in it in the past. When starting with a cold engine and cap off it is not bubbling or building pressure very quickly which is a good sign.

I am thinking the issue is likely thermostat and radiator related but have niggling suspicion that I may be looking at HG issues.
 

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If you suspect head gasket problem then take the plugs out and check if any are steam cleaned.keep them in order so you know which cylinders have a problem.Welcome are sorry to hear of your problem, looks like the seller knew there was one,K seal and loose expansion cap are dead giveaways.
 
  1. Heater should warm up within a mile or so, but check if radiator gets hot. If not definitely check thermostat in kettle.
  2. Re-bleed the coolant using procedure in RAVE.
  3. For HG check, do compression tests & get a coolant pressure test kit like this
Plugs are a dead giveaway and cost nothing Pete.;) You know what these farmers are like.:D:D:D
 
+1 on bleeding according to RAVE.
If it's had leakstop or some other rubbish in the coolant i would flush out out. I've had no end of problems caused by that stuff.
It's easy and worthwhile taking the radiator and flushing it off the car. While you're at it, check for blockages - lay it flat and fill with boiling water and check for cold spots. You have to be quick because it conducts the heat very quickly
 
If you suspect head gasket problem then take the plugs out and check if any are steam cleaned.keep them in order so you know which cylinders have a problem.Welcome are sorry to hear of your problem, looks like the seller knew there was one,K seal and loose expansion cap are dead giveaways.

I suspect you are right on that it was a known fault and because of that I think the chances of getting them to take it back are zero and it's not even worth trying. The car was supposed to be a running project and originally supposed to come with an MOT. The seller said that they had personal problems and couldn't present it anymore but would deliver it at cost, I think I should probably have smelt a rat at that. Oh well I paid non runner money for it anyway and I have a fully equipped workshop and have done 4 nut and bolt restorations previously.
Mechanical issues I can fix myself, even a full engine rebuild if it came to that, and I can weld. My concern with these was the complicated electronics as this one seems to be okay in that respect.
 
I'd be trying some UV dye and then check the dipstick after 100 miles.
 
I suspect you are right on that it was a known fault and because of that I think the chances of getting them to take it back are zero and it's not even worth trying. The car was supposed to be a running project and originally supposed to come with an MOT. The seller said that they had personal problems and couldn't present it anymore but would deliver it at cost, I think I should probably have smelt a rat at that. Oh well I paid non runner money for it anyway and I have a fully equipped workshop and have done 4 nut and bolt restorations previously.
Mechanical issues I can fix myself, even a full engine rebuild if it came to that, and I can weld. My concern with these was the complicated electronics as this one seems to be okay in that respect.
Compared to a modern landrover these electronics aren't that complicated and as @Datatek would agree just poorly built and executed... o_O
 
I found some of the coolant hoses don’t look too clever. The ones that are spliced in for the LPG system are rock hard and completely inflexible and I wouldn’t be surprised if they had a partial blockage. I will be changing all the hoses I think as all bar the top hose look ancient.

I have another question regarding EAS. The system goes up and down fine and has no warning lights or error messages. How long should it take for the system to deflate? She goes down a bit at the front overnight but stays up at the back. It corrects itself within about 3 secs of starting the engine.
 
In an ideal world it shouldn't deflate, if there is a slight leak somewhere, it will check every 8 hours and drop to that common level
 
I found some of the coolant hoses don’t look too clever. The ones that are spliced in for the LPG system are rock hard and completely inflexible and I wouldn’t be surprised if they had a partial blockage. I will be changing all the hoses I think as all bar the top hose look ancient.

I have another question regarding EAS. The system goes up and down fine and has no warning lights or error messages. How long should it take for the system to deflate? She goes down a bit at the front overnight but stays up at the back. It corrects itself within about 3 secs of starting the engine.
If it comes up in 3 seconds, it's pretty good.
 
The later rover v8s are well known for cracked in the block :( this presents as exhaust gas in the coolant
 

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