Land Rover Repair: RRC Question, coolant system, range rover classic

Question
Mr McInnis,

Thank you for investing so much time in this resource.  

I have a 1990 Range Rover Classic that has an overheating problem.    Here is the background:

I purchased the car without knowledge of its running condition.  After replacing the fuel pump, it ran beautifully.  The engine was quite noisy, and I realized that there was no coolant in it.  I found two freeze plugs missing, replaced them and the expansion tank.  The cooling system no held fluid and I was good to go.

At idle, the engine never got too hot and everything was fine.  Under the load of a roadtrip (lessthan 2-3 miles) the cooling system pressurized and the car began to get too hot (not red zone, but close).  It was determined that the head gaskets must be replaced due to the overheating problem as well as a puffed up valley gasket.  All the while, compression has been between 152 and 164 on all cylinders.  

The headgaskets have been replaced and we are experiencing the same problem, although the system begins to build pressure at idle now.  We filled the coolant on a incline to minimize the air in the system and bled as much out as possible.  

I think there are three causes of this:  radiator, water pump or block.  Any inupt you may have would be appreciated.  We are thinking of having the radiator flow tested to determine its proficiency.

Best Regards,

Joseph  

Answer
Hi Joseph,

was as sad trail of events!  It could be a serious problem if the Rangie had all these problems before you purchased it.  

Running a LR engine with no coolant is a recipe for trouble.  The cylinder linings have been known to drop if the engine is allowed to operate at extremely high temps.  The welds that hold the linings in place let go and after that the engine is trash.  If you have compression problems, coolant system troubles, this just might be your trouble.

You could spend $1000's looking to solve the problem; replace the rad, pressure test the coolant system, flow analysis...but if you Rangie redline's all the time EVEN after new head gaskets...it does not look too good.

If necessary, consider buying a salvaged engine for less than that head gasket job you had... www.car-part.com is the search engine to use for locating salvaged LR parts.

Best of luck,

JohnMc