Range rover p38 strange overheating

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Russ1

New Member
Posts
17
Morning,

Bit of a strange one for you lot,

Me dad bought a 2001 4.6 vogue a few years back ( even after me telling him not to touch a 4.6 )
He got it back and it had a tapping on the engine, so after the told you that you would have problems banter he just ran the car,
He must have done in excess 20,000 miles with no problems, yes it was losing water but just about the same as my disco 2 v8 ( topping up the tank every month or so )
About 3 month ago I got a phone call saying the temp had started to go up and he had pulled over, told him to let it cool and check the water and top it up bleed it etc.
After this it was fine and he has done another 5000 or so miles
Now he's gave me the rr, and on heading to silerstone last weekend I had done around 200 miles of speeds around 80 I stopped to fill up with gas set off again with in 5 miles temp shot up pulled over rad top hose was solid, let it cool and had to put upwards of 6L of water in, started it up temp was fine so headed on to sliverstone at a slower speed with heaters on max etc. Not a problem getting there,
Next day when it was 100% cold I bleed the system but if I start the car with the header tank cap off after a few seconds it bubbles over, had a quick smell and can't smell any exhaust gas etc,

Set off home on sunday never dropped below 80 and a few bits i was in 3 figure speeds and the gauge never moved!

On talking to me dad he had the same problem leaving the cap off when it overheated with him.
Going to do a comp test sometime this week, there's no water in oil etc,
Rovacom shows no faults

Any ideas?

I have a 4.0 rpi v8 in the garage but it's on gems, are the blocks heads etc the same? Trying to come up with ideas, could I use the 4.0 block and heads and change the crack rods, pistons intake sensors etc? Is it a different cam?

Any ideas would be great!

Thanks
Russ
 
Morning,

Bit of a strange one for you lot,

Me dad bought a 2001 4.6 vogue a few years back ( even after me telling him not to touch a 4.6 )
He got it back and it had a tapping on the engine, so after the told you that you would have problems banter he just ran the car,
He must have done in excess 20,000 miles with no problems, yes it was losing water but just about the same as my disco 2 v8 ( topping up the tank every month or so )
About 3 month ago I got a phone call saying the temp had started to go up and he had pulled over, told him to let it cool and check the water and top it up bleed it etc.
After this it was fine and he has done another 5000 or so miles
Now he's gave me the rr, and on heading to silerstone last weekend I had done around 200 miles of speeds around 80 I stopped to fill up with gas set off again with in 5 miles temp shot up pulled over rad top hose was solid, let it cool and had to put upwards of 6L of water in, started it up temp was fine so headed on to sliverstone at a slower speed with heaters on max etc. Not a problem getting there,
Next day when it was 100% cold I bleed the system but if I start the car with the header tank cap off after a few seconds it bubbles over, had a quick smell and can't smell any exhaust gas etc,

Set off home on sunday never dropped below 80 and a few bits i was in 3 figure speeds and the gauge never moved!

On talking to me dad he had the same problem leaving the cap off when it overheated with him.
Going to do a comp test sometime this week, there's no water in oil etc,
Rovacom shows no faults

Any ideas?

I have a 4.0 rpi v8 in the garage but it's on gems, are the blocks heads etc the same? Trying to come up with ideas, could I use the 4.0 block and heads and change the crack rods, pistons intake sensors etc? Is it a different cam?

Any ideas would be great!

Thanks
Russ

If driving at 50/60 mph does not cause it to over heat but driving at 80 does. The speed limit is 70 by the way. Two things, you either have a water flow problem or a air flow problem through the rad. Or a combination of both. Also check the pressure cap. If it is letting pressure out too early that will cause water loss at high temps. ANY form of pressure loss in the system (leak) will cause the coolant to boil early and be ejected past a weak cap. The coolant system MUST be capable of holding up to 15 PSI constantly, with no drop. Have it static pressure tested.
 
Look for damp carpets in drivers foot well (heater o rings gone) may be a blocked rad or blocked top feeder pipe on the rad to the expansion tank. Bleed with the heater on full.
 
i have th same problem my Rang Rover p38 2001 Overheating at 70 mph it ok at 60 mph
I Did have a leak on the o ring but fix tham / new radiatol fitted
help help
 
As stated earlier, cheapest quick fix generally is keep speed down, but pressure caps are nearly always the prob. Slightest leak on the seal or a weak spring will cause a boil up at speed.
If you change the cap, check the fitting on the tank, any raised edge / or burr will stop it sealing properly. Good luck with it :)
 
Ty for the advice it Overheat when radiatol leak. i was on the motorway at 70 mph it went to the red light. 2 weeks ago today was the first time on motorway. could it be thermosht someone told me it could have melted
 
I have extensive experience of overheating and have found a few things out as said the cap could be weak and yes it is worth buying the proper one the aftermarkets are pretty useless. If air can get into the system it will overheat I had several small leaks on hoses but only when under pressure and when hot so of course notell tale signs used dye in the end changed the hoses which were cheap - I had rebuilt the engine and blown the head gaskets again before finding this . I also changed the heater matrix the as it had a slight weep but as Wammers says best to get the system pressure tested then you will know. Also do a sniff test mine was leaking exhaust into coolant and yet the comp test stood up it was only when it was under load at speed .
I also had an issue with the vapouriser for the lpg where the seals were leaking didnt help
Good luck but start with the pressure test or you will waste a load of cash.
 
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