2011 LR4 Coolant and Power Steering Fluid

ballyscanlon

New member
Mar 5, 2021
1
0
USA
hi.

trying to top up the coolant and power steering fluid in my 2011 LR4.

manual specifies 'Castrol SF' for coolant w/50% water and 'Texaco Cold Climate PAS fluid' for power steering. i can't find either as a specific product online. ive spent about an hour searching to get an answer but have struck out.

can anyone tell me what i need to get? i've spent sometime on forums and google and cannot get a definitive answer.

thanking you in advance.

john
 

Blue

Well-known member
Mar 26, 2004
10,043
856
AZ
Mine needs some coolant as well, I smelled the sweet, old Land Rover burning coolant smell yesterday and my dash told me coolant was low this morning. Have to find out if I have a leak or what. Just called the local LR dealer and they have the LR-labelled stuff in stock. The parts guy has no idea what it is (Castol SF, GM Dex-Cool, etc.) but it says Land Rover on the jug so it will be the proper stuff. LOL, thanks.
 

discostew

Well-known member
Sep 14, 2010
7,706
1,015
Northern Illinois
Mine needs some coolant as well, I smelled the sweet, old Land Rover burning coolant smell yesterday and my dash told me coolant was low this morning. Have to find out if I have a leak or what. Just called the local LR dealer and they have the LR-labelled stuff in stock. The parts guy has no idea what it is (Castol SF, GM Dex-Cool, etc.) but it says Land Rover on the jug so it will be the proper stuff. LOL, thanks.
oh boy. First thing to look at is just to the drivers side of the water pump. If it's leaking the pully will sling it onto the heel of the serp belt tensioner. Then the next place I look is above the vacuum pump at the lower front edge of the oil pan. If coolant gets to the ledge above that pump it just about has to be the coolant outlet pipe that goes into the block right behind the throttle. Then to finish out the trifecta the cylinder head outlet on the back of the engine. Some people call it a cross over. But its the coolant outlet for the cylinder heads. Both those outlets are plastic pipes, so most if not all extended warranties wont pay for them.
 

Blue

Well-known member
Mar 26, 2004
10,043
856
AZ
I’ll bet it’s the water pump leaking....smell was accompanied by a belt squeal. Just got home with the coolant and will top it up. Will take it in for service Monday. I had already assumed I’d be doing the plastic coolant pipes and then at my 75k service last month my mechanic noted that it has an aftermarket water pump so we agreed to replace at next service.

This is definitely a genuine Land Rover!
 

discostew

Well-known member
Sep 14, 2010
7,706
1,015
Northern Illinois
I’ll bet it’s the water pump leaking....smell was accompanied by a belt squeal. Just got home with the coolant and will top it up. Will take it in for service Monday. I had already assumed I’d be doing the plastic coolant pipes and then at my 75k service last month my mechanic noted that it has an aftermarket water pump so we agreed to replace at next service.

This is definitely a genuine Land Rover!
Make sure you get the new design water pumps. I'm sure there's a ton of old stock out there for cheap.
 

Blue

Well-known member
Mar 26, 2004
10,043
856
AZ
We’ll renew the whole cooling system short of a radiator unless there’s a compelling reason for the radiator. I assumed having this work done before summer here in PHX as a cost of purchasing this thing.
 

Blue

Well-known member
Mar 26, 2004
10,043
856
AZ
Here’s a quick look underneath.
 

Attachments

  • 4169D209-B1AD-4E54-8AEB-F41292F7F113.jpeg
    4169D209-B1AD-4E54-8AEB-F41292F7F113.jpeg
    156.2 KB · Views: 10

discostew

Well-known member
Sep 14, 2010
7,706
1,015
Northern Illinois
Here’s a quick look underneath.
Maybe Jymmie will chime in here, but that's almost always the block outlet. It's too far back to come out of the water pump. I say almost always because I've seen a couple oil coolers under the intaake manifold leak, ends up in the same place. But I'm talking 2 trucks in 11 yrs of this fine engine.
 

Blue

Well-known member
Mar 26, 2004
10,043
856
AZ
Thanks for the input, will let you know what my mechanic finds. Thankfully this happened here at home and not deep in the desert or mountains.
 

Blue

Well-known member
Mar 26, 2004
10,043
856
AZ
Diagnosis was leaking water pump and front manifold coolant pipe. Replacing water pump and front & rear pipes today.
 

Blue

Well-known member
Mar 26, 2004
10,043
856
AZ
Got the LR4 back. Actually came in less than I expected at $1638. $764 parts and 6.5 hr labor at $812.

Discostew I'd appreciate your input here - I had a PPI done at LR San Diego and the only thing they noted was dirty brake fluid and starter sounding funny. They said brakes were great, brand new. Turns out this thing had cheap shit aftermarket rotors and the fronts warped after a few months, made the truck practically undriveable. It also had an aftermarket water pump that just shit the bed. Wouldn't cheap aftermarket parts be something to note on a PPI? Starting to wonder if the $372 paid to LR San Diego was worth anything.
 

ERover82

Well-known member
Nov 26, 2011
3,899
450
Darien Gap
Got the LR4 back. Actually came in less than I expected at $1638. $764 parts and 6.5 hr labor at $812.

Discostew I'd appreciate your input here - I had a PPI done at LR San Diego and the only thing they noted was dirty brake fluid and starter sounding funny. They said brakes were great, brand new. Turns out this thing had cheap shit aftermarket rotors and the fronts warped after a few months, made the truck practically undriveable. It also had an aftermarket water pump that just shit the bed. Wouldn't cheap aftermarket parts be something to note on a PPI? Starting to wonder if the $372 paid to LR San Diego was worth anything.

A lot of aftermarket parts look fine. It's the details that matter, and they're often not visible to the eye.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Howski

Blue

Well-known member
Mar 26, 2004
10,043
856
AZ
Sure, I understand that they can't magically know that a water pump will start leaking soon or that brake rotors will warp, but wouldn't it be important to note that the subject vehicle has cheap shit china parts as opposed to OEM? It would have made a difference to me while shopping trucks.
 

discostew

Well-known member
Sep 14, 2010
7,706
1,015
Northern Illinois
Sure, I understand that they can't magically know that a water pump will start leaking soon or that brake rotors will warp, but wouldn't it be important to note that the subject vehicle has cheap shit china parts as opposed to OEM? It would have made a difference to me while shopping trucks.
I always say that when you take a vehicle to a dealership you are dealing with an individual, not Land Rover itself. All techs are not created equal. Some guys care a lot about the quality of the work they put out, some guys only care about the quantity and the money. I have both types. Every used car pre purchase inspection is only as good as the tech working on the car.

The brake issue you had can be caused by the brake pad being too hard and causing the rotor to warp. Rover calls it judder, I'm sure when you leaned into the brake pedal at highway speed the steering wheel started shaking and bad.
 

Blue

Well-known member
Mar 26, 2004
10,043
856
AZ
It juddered anywhere from 10 mph up to highway speeds, nearly uncontrollable at highway speeds. Had OEM put on.
 

DiscoHasBeen

Well-known member
Aug 7, 2016
1,171
262
Indy
>I always say that when you take a vehicle to a dealership you are dealing with an individual, not Land Rover itself. All techs are not created equal. Some guys care a lot about the quality of the work they put out, some guys only care about the quantity and the money. I have both types. Every used car pre purchase inspection is only as good as the tech working on the car. <

I would never take my vehicle to a dealership or chain shop like PepBoys. I prefer a place where the owner is there every day and preferably in the shop working alongside his employees. In my line of work I've had a lot of equipment in a lot of shops. So much so I made it behind the counter and into the garage. There are some unhappy motherfuckers out there. They don't like what they're paid, the conditions they are made to work in, who their boss is, and they could care less about your rig.
 

discostew

Well-known member
Sep 14, 2010
7,706
1,015
Northern Illinois
Well. There are some unhappy motherfuckers out there, but the good ones will do the job right. There’s a lot more guys in shops who for whatever reason don’t care at all. But I assure you I, and a bunch of mechanics I know aren’t going to do shitty work because the boss has pissed them off. Every single transaction I make is between the customer and myself. If I leave this shop I’ll be taking my customers with me.
 

discostew

Well-known member
Sep 14, 2010
7,706
1,015
Northern Illinois
It juddered anywhere from 10 mph up to highway speeds, nearly uncontrollable at highway speeds. Had OEM put on.
There was a crazy bulletin to address what your describing.
There’s a bunch of things that contribute to all the violence. Control arm bushings, inner tie rod ends, some of them got steering racks and believe it or not a $1000 leather steering wheel that was weighted at the bottom of the wheel.
But they pulled that document down from the website once they figured out how stupid and expensive it was. I did it one time and they threw it out during an audit.
It really comes down to everything in the steering being tight, including the wheel bearings. Then getting the right pad and rotor combination. Never underestimate how critical the metallurgy between the pad and rotor is.