Heater working intermintantly

[davide]

I'm new to this forum. i thought you guys may be a ble to help me. I have an 04 Discovery with 35000 mi. Takes a long time to warm up.. The temp gauge reads a little hot and cold air is coming out at this time then the temp gauge reads back down to normal and puts out warm air. This goes on back and forth the whole time you are driving it. Thought it had a bad T-stat. I changed it out and it's doing the same thing it was doing prior to the T-stat change. Is this a symptom of an air lock? There is also a smell of antifreeze most of the time. Any help would be appreciated.

 

[Disco Mike]

You first need to start checking your fluids. When cold fill the coolant bottle all the way to the lid, at this point you are running low on coolant and have alot of air in the system that needs to be bled out possibly from a coolant leak.
How mechanical are you, when were all the fluids changed as part of a major service?

 

[davide]

Heating problem

I added some coolant recently but not all the way to the top when cool. There is a smell of antifreeze but I never see any leaks.
And thanks for the reply.
I guess on a scale 1-10 my machanical ability is about a strong 7. I've built some engines but haven't messed around with the newer stuff very much.

 

[Disco Mike]

Before you over heat your engine because of this slow leak, you better find the leak and fix it or let your mechanic do it cause our engines will melt down if you allow the coolant to drop to low.

 

[davide]

i ran it and everything works but there is a smell of coolant. I'll keep an eye on it. Thanks Disco. I appreciate your help.

I do have another question. i didn't know anything about land Rovers when I bout this one.
Are there good years and bad years for Discoveries? Are there any things I should be aware of in our 04????

 

[rjwil90]

There is a coolant system bleed screw on the upper radiator hose "T" connection. Crack the bleed screw, run the engine and bleed the air out. I have been having the same problems. Thought they were fixed for about a month, but back again. There must be a small leak somewhere, but I cant find it.

 

[Disco Mike]

You don't open the bleed screw with the engine running. If the system needs to be bled, do it with a cold engine, not running, open the bleed screw, poor coolant into the coolant recovery bottle til a steady stream comes from the bleed screw, then replace the screw and the cap. Recheck it again, the next morning, when cold, adding to the level bring it right back to the cap not the 2 lines on you bottle.
If you continue to smell coolant, have your mechanic pressure test the coolant system to find and fix the leak.