QuestionQUESTION: i saw you question: "I own a 2001 Land Rover Discovery II SE with 68,000
miles. Recently, I have had an odd development where at "lower" speeds -
under 40 mph - my temperature gauge has gone up and into the red zone
accompanied by a burning smell but when I get to highway speed thwe
temperature gauge goes back to normal range and the smell goes away. This
morning once I got off the highway and drove into the parking garage, the
temperature climbed again and the smell came back and when I turned off
the engine, smoke was coming out of the engine. The coolant seems to be at
a normal range and the last time this happened I put in a couple liters of
water and the problem seemed to go away. I cannot figure out why this doing
this at lower speeds but goes to normal at higher speeds. "
the same thing is happening to my disco, same year, 70,000 miles. no smoke
coming out of mine yet.. what was the problem with yours? do i need a LR
expert to fix t, or any mechanic?
ANSWER: Hi Blythe,
headgasket failure could cause this problem; blown headgaskets are common with Disco II' - dealers charge up to $2000 to repair this.
There are ways to detect if the headgasket is at fault: check oil dipstick for milky oil; check reservoir for oil slick on top; check tail pipe for water or sickly sweet odour; have a coolant system pressure test performed.
Don't let this problem wait for too long - you could damage the engine and run up the cost of repairs. Worse case, a cylinder sleeve could become loose and drop, ruining the engine completely.
Best of luck,
JohnMc
---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------
QUESTION: Thank you so much for your quick response. One more thing, should I take it to
a LR expert, or can anyone do this?
AnswerHi Blythe,
interesting followup Q...
if it were my Disco, I'd go to a local garage and have them check out the cooling system. Most general mechanics can do this and they should be able to tell you if the problem is with the radiator, heat matrix and perhaps even the headgasket.
If the repair is for a radiator - again, most rad shops can do this very well. If its the heater matrix or the headgaskets, I would then turn to an independent LR mechanic to have this done. I would only go to the dealer if I did not have an independent LR shop to rely upon. Removing the heater matrix requires a lot labour and knowledge of how LR's are assembled will make it easier to do.
As for headgasket repairs, if your trust your local shop and they are comfortable working on your LR, then you are a lucky owner. Many local garages can be intimidated by LR's and may not want to do the work. The parts are expensive and they usually don't want to take the risk of damaging other components during the repair. A good local mechanic should be able to do the headgasket repair but you should ask if they have had experience working on LR's.
Regards,
JohnMc
