1999 96Kmiles DII no hot air.

[Serg911]

Just my luck, on the first really cold morning in the San Francisco Bay area my heater didnt' work. As of last thursday when I last moved the truck, the ac/heater were properly working. This morning, no heat....and that blows
I'm thinking it might be the thermostat stuck open...is that a possiblitity? any other ideas?

thank you

 

[KyleT]

is it blowing cold on both sides?

it takes a good while for it to warm up too.

 

[MUSKYMAN]

often its the throttle body leaked enough fluid out that there is a air bubble so no flow is going through the heater core.

start with fluid level

 

[Serg911]

yes, both sides and rear vents are blowing equally cold -not ac cold, but just as cold as outside temp. And yes I know they may take a little while to warm up, I've had the truck since new and i'm used to its 'personality'. I'll check the fluid level as I've noticed I've had to add fluid at least 3 times in the last 4-5 months. I wonder where that fluid is going?
coult you tell me more about the throttle body, and how it relates to the cabin climate control?
thanx

 

[MUSKYMAN]

the throttle body has a small plate on the bottom that the coolent is circulated through to prevent a frozen throttle plate during cold weather. It is a known common leakage place for these.

you can often see the tell tale signs of the OAT coolent on the driver side valve cover.

 

[Serg911]

I'll check that, thanx for the tip

 

[flyfisher11]

I'll check that, thanx for the tip

FYI it's a $20 fix and 15 minutes.

 

[Serg911]

alright, it seems the coolant was very low. Added water -for now- until I get a coolant flush and refill hopefully this weekend. With adequate fluid level, I turned the heater on and it blew hot air.

Now the question is...where is my coolant going? there is no apparent puddle under the truck, could it be hitting the catalytics/muffler and evaporating before it hits the ground? wouldn't that result in a coolant smell though?

I'm puzzled.

 

[Serg911]

alright, it seems the coolant was very low. Added water -for now- until I get a coolant flush and refill hopefully this weekend. With adequate fluid level, I turned the heater on and it blew hot air.

Now the question is...where is my coolant going? there is no apparent puddle under the truck, could it be hitting the catalytics/muffler and evaporating before it hits the ground? wouldn't that result in a coolant smell though?

I'm puzzled.

 

[Ballah06]

Any smell at all? Had mine running low on a D2, the plastic nipple on the bottom of the tank was broken off. It was leaking though. Replaced the tank, refilled and its been working fine.

 

[Serg911]

after paying close attention to the smells after driven, I did notice a very faint smell of coolant; I'll read what are common leaks for the DIIs and post my findings.

 

[Cozy41EF]

Check the back of both head, mine has a weepage, from the back of the right side head. Runs down and drips on the cat and burns off, never hits the ground. Watch it close, fill as necessary, a flush prob isn't needed unless it's been a while. I lose about half a tank in 500 miles, will be doing an intake gasket over the holidays.

 

[MUSKYMAN]

Check the back of both head, mine has a weepage, from the back of the right side head. Runs down and drips on the cat and burns off, never hits the ground. Watch it close, fill as necessary, a flush prob isn't needed unless it's been a while. I lose about half a tank in 500 miles, will be doing an intake gasket over the holidays.

shouldent you be doing the head gaskets if it's leaking from the head?

 

[Serg911]

alright, it seems the leak is coming from the back (close to the firewall) of the engine. I've always been under the impression that if the head gasket fails, the coolant leaks into the engine and mixes with the oil....am I wrong?
how difficult is it to change the head gasket and what tools and time is required?
on a scale of 1-10, I'm about a 3 when it comes to being mechanically inclined.

 

[DMA3]

I have the exact same problem... very much looking for some guidance on this as well!

 

[2xdisco]

unfortunately having head gaskets replaced is expensive. private reputable shop quoted 1400$ cause you clean the valves and do it right. if u do it your self. it is fairly simple, follow the manual and or have some rover buddies help. it is time consuming. best take the hood off(FYI). a few rover shops, roversnorth, DAP, Atlantic-British . and some others have kits for this that comes with torque specs and ect. prices are in the 100-160$ range. clean the head good before re assemble and use a good oil with enough ZDDP or additive(which u should already be using) after because of the flat-tappet lifters and valves to redcoat every thing that was cleaned.

 

[Serg911]

Ok, this is just too much coolant for me not to notice a leak or a smell. The truck overheated yesterday; luckily I was very close to a gas station where I purchased a gallon of coolant, then drove about 10 miles to my house. Today I drove about 60 miles....then it overheated again!!!
Where is the coolant going???? I did an oil change last Saturday Jan,02 and the oil had no indication that it was mixing with coolant. I removed the dipstick today when I got home just to make sure there's no coolant mixing with the oil, and it looks clean.

HELP!!

I'm in San Jose, and the truck is a '99 DII 4.0 94K miles.

 

[mbrummal]

when you start it up in the morning does it spew out some white smoke?

 

[kclandrover]

Since we are on the coolant/headgasket subject now, i have some experience to add. I own a 04 disco with 86k miles.

I was losing coolant slowly too and over 2 months it was progressing and kept topping off the coolant. I could never see anything dripping on the floor. But later discovered coolant dripping on the exhaust pipes and sizzling leaving a while burnt color on the exhaust. It had the "smell" of hot burnt coolant too. It was especially worse towards the back. So i learned it had to be the head gaskets giving out.

Got estimates. Dealer wanted $3000. And local Rover shops quoted me $1500 to $1800. I chose the higher bidder at the local Rover shop. They pressure tested it to confirm it was the head gaskets.

I checked Atlantic British website. $200 for the full kit with all gaskets and head bolts. I'm a pretty good mechanical guy and do alot of work on my own on many vehicles. But knew with busy work schedule and toddler/wife to keep happy in the evening, I knew I better suck it up and have a shop do it instead of me working on it off/on for weeks.

Unfortunatley, I drove it for about a week after i got it back, and still on small area of fluid was leaking from the new headgasket...dripping some amounts on the exhaust. So I took it back. They have a 1 year guar on labor and parts. They said the head bolts needed to be retorqued and they retested another pressure test....it passed.

So after i pick it up, the next day, it has the smell of burnt coolant again. Same spot same problem. So now they have it again, but this time promised to start from scratch and redo everything again. Pretty frustrated now, but hope the third time they get it right. Now i wish I had done it myself and spent only $200+ and would had it done sooner than the shop on their 3rd try.

 

[ptschram]

unfortunately having head gaskets replaced is expensive. private reputable shop quoted 1400$ cause you clean the valves and do it right. if u do it your self. it is fairly simple, follow the manual and or have some rover buddies help. it is time consuming. best take the hood off(FYI). a few rover shops, roversnorth, DAP, Atlantic-British . and some others have kits for this that comes with torque specs and ect. prices are in the 100-160$ range. clean the head good before re assemble and use a good oil with enough ZDDP or additive(which u should already be using) after because of the flat-tappet lifters and valves to redcoat every thing that was cleaned.

I don't know how a reputable shop can do this job for only $1400 and make money.

Same with the gaskets and bolts for less than $150. They are more expensive to ship in form overseas than you might expect.