range rover 2.5dt p38 cooling issues

hi everyone!
ive bought a p38 dt, love it great 4x4 but its developed a cooling issue, when driving along engine is fine runs in the cold cause ive removed the thermostat. when you stop temp slowly goes up, so i changed the vicous fan still the same there is no shroud so im thinking its not getting the air drawn through the rad drawing it from engine bay. not sure, not losing water, no water oil or oil in water so head gasket is fine i think. its doing my head in!
is it the head cracked surely it would leak water if that was the case?

heellllpppp!

A diesel with overheating issues? Surely not. The cooling systems seem to get tired as they age, a little wear on the water pump impellor, slightly clogged rad etc. I am afraid there is no simple answer other than to give the whole system a service. If it was mine I would replace the rad and pump to start with.

I would do as rewmer says!
I had heating problems on my p38 dse with 150 k...changed everything an now perfect! i would start with radiator and water pump! check all the system is a must!
Hope you luck!
werw I live 20 ºC and over of temperature...and the temp gauge is spot on 12 oclock no matter load ore uphill,etc.
regards
Adal

sorry meant to say changed rad and water pump already!

any other ideas?

many thanks

Most diesels run with gauge about 12o clock is yours going higher ? is there any pressure in rad when engine cold ? if there is then could be head gasket or cracked head.

Hi, first thing I would do is to fit the fan cowl (shroud) back on if it is missing. The main point of the fan cowl is to prevent hot air recirculation at low speed / stop. Without the cowl the fan draws in hot air from around the engine bay rather than pulling cool air through the rad. Might explain why you only have an issue when stopped...

Don't overlook the expansion bottle cap- replace for what it costs. Good advice on the cowl for sure.

i have exactly the same problem and keep the heating on all the time, i then lent it to a mate who turned the heating off and cracked the top of the rad. I am going to replace the waterpump and rad, and will keep you posted. nearly everyone i have spoke to has come up with the same answer - blocked radiator!!!!

will keep you all posted.....

thanks everyone!

appreciate all your help im going for fan cowl first for def, cant see why it could be cracked head of head gasket cause at speed engine under load its in the cold. if it was head gasket or cracked head with a the compression ratio in a diesel being high it would overheat surely? the theroy about drawing air from engine bay cause there isnt alot of room in there as it is sounds a good theroy.
will let you all know what happens! and change the expansion cap never thought about that, thats a good one and a easy fix.

many thanks aaron