Keeping cool - on the inside

Land Rover Daddy

Well-known member
Apr 12, 2019
54
3
Crystal River FL
So,
the air con in a series 1 Discovery is not so effective. Does anyone have any suggestions relating to tuneup or upgrades on the A/C?
Any suggestions to keep engine and sun heat out of the passenger compartment?
 

Flyfish

Well-known member
Oct 29, 2004
1,402
212
52
St. Louis
Have you tried recharging the system with like A/C Pro or similar from the auto store?

Window tint or shades might help with the sunshine.
 

Gordo

Well-known member
I charged mine at about 1500-2000 rpm and that seemed to help a lot as I put more coolant in than at idle readings. Prior to that it blew cooler on one side. Tint also helps but ours works well now and we’re in south Florida
 

rover4x4

Well-known member
Apr 21, 2004
5,228
45
41
North Carolina, Raleigh
Window tinting is extremely effective at keeping your interior cool. There are many levels of "tint", I have a 3M tint that blocks almost all the heat installed on my dailys. I will never own another car that doesnt have the windows tinted, it makes a huge difference..
 
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jvarnadoe

Active member
Oct 12, 2020
40
21
Erie, CO
Buy a cheap reflective bubble shade from Walmart, cut it to the shape of your sunroofs and cover them up. Made a huge difference in my truck. You can see the silver reflective shade between the pretty useless retractable shades below.

PXL_20210318_191415728 (1).jpg
 

Land Rover Daddy

Well-known member
Apr 12, 2019
54
3
Crystal River FL
Reflective bubble shade is a fantastic idea. I cut two for the sunroofs and two for the Safari windows. They won’t be installed permanently, only when it gets too hot. I also picked up a couple of extra sunroof glass panels and filmed them with exterior reflective film, just need to swap them with the original glass (it looks like I will need to lower the headliner to access the glass retaining screws). I also blocked off the front floor vents entirely so when floor is selected all of that air goes through the center console ducts and to the back seat. I’m considering having my local A/C shop train and recharge the freon. Also considering energy blocking window film…

has anyone added a valve at the heater core hose in the engine bay to prevent hot coolant from flowing through the heater core when it is not in use?
 

Blue

Well-known member
Mar 26, 2004
10,043
856
AZ
Back when I had Discos I used to put black posterboard (the stuff you use for kid's art projects) up in the alpine windows every summer. You can cut it to the general shape and then slide it behind the plastic interior trim finishes. You don't even notice it's there....it's just blacked out. Thankfully I never had a Disco with a sunroof. Now in my LR4 I've cut white posterboard, spray-glued black felt fabric on the underside, and installed it above the useless sunshades in all 3 sunroofs.
 

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_ExpeditionMan

Well-known member
Dec 11, 2017
295
34
Texas
Buy a cheap reflective bubble shade from Walmart, cut it to the shape of your sunroofs and cover them up. Made a huge difference in my truck. You can see the silver reflective shade between the pretty useless retractable shades below.

View attachment 61149

This is a tremendous idea. Are they installed loose and sitting on the existing screens or did you fasten them in someway?
 

Steve M

Well-known member
Mar 11, 2005
107
2
I had my roof painted Chawton white in 2009, helped in the desert, also have a full length ARB flat rack with poultry flooring what doubles as a kind of safari roof.