Land Rover Repair: 2000 Land Rover Discovery 2 overheating, land rover discovery 2, land rover discovery

Question
Hi John,
I recently purchased a 2000 Land Rover Discovery from a local used car dealership. The Rover ran great for the first week of driving, then it overheated. I thought maybe it was low on coolant when I purchased it, so I put some water in it and continued driving it. Three days later it overheated again. I filled it up with water, and took it to my mechanic. They started by replacing the cap on the fill tank. That didn't fix the problem, so they replaced the thermostat. That didn't seem to fix anything either. I then contacted the dealer I purchased the Rover from, he took the vehicle to a local radiator shop. They flushed the radiator and replaced the thermostat again. I drove it for another week, took it on a 2 hour trip and it overheated again. I filled it with water, it got home before it started getting hot again. I have noticed gurgling coming from the heater core. It actually had water in the floorboard after the first time it overheated. I haven't noticed any water in the floorboard since. It tried to overheat on my way to work yesterday. I filled it with water again. There does not seem to be any white smoke coming from the exhaust. The LR runs great, so could it be a head gasket problem. I noticed bubbling in the water reservoir. I cannot find any leaks. The nearest Land Rover Dealer is 3 hours away. Any ideas?

Answer
I'd guess there is an internal failure in the engine block, and that's why the truck ended up on a used car lot.  The original owner likely heard about the problem, traded it in, and now it's your problem.  That's what lemon law or dealer warranty is for. . .

There is an article on Land Rover engine block failure on my blog, robisonservice.blogspot.com   I'd urge you to return this truck to teh selling dealer and get it properly repaired before you take it back, and I'd make sure they actually fix it.