Missus called this morning to say the P38 was overheating on the dual carriageway, said the gauge was round at "H", but cooled down once she got into town. Her commute is only 5 miles.

The radiator has been a bit weepy since i've had it, but it seems to have started leaking a bit more and i'd noticed a small puddle at the shops one day last week when it wasnt parked on gravel, last few outings i've had to top it up, and unfortunately i didnt check the coolant level this morning before she left, so wishful thinking is that the level has just gone a bit low. Or its all signs of the usual dreaded gasket/block issues. Or worse, it WAS just a leaking radiator, and now shes smoked the head gaskets! :(

Shes going to see how much water it takes at lunch time.

Or the hole in the rad has just opened up a bit and lost a bit more coolant. Might not have cooked the engine!
Going to have to put a new rad in it anyway, so may as well get one ordered now
Now your chance to stick that nice aluminium rad in that you've always secretly wanted!
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/55MM-ALUMINIUM-ALLOY-SPORT-RADIATOR-FOR-LAND-RANGE-ROVER-P38-4-0-4-6-V8-94-99/120848748462?
I think this is the right Nissens one for the GEMS, but better check
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/TO-CLEAR-NEW-NISSENS-RADIATOR-64302/352066509199?

i was looking at used ones for £40ish, but that nissens link is perfect and dirt cheap, cheers for that, ordered :)

And yeh fingers crossed, but my current vehicular luck seems to be ensuring its the block or something.

In the last month, my A4 has had a siezed front caliper (yet unresolved, i cleaned it up and it started working again), a dodgy handbrake mechanism on a rear caliper (again unresolved), the alternator failed, and that highlighted that that battery was also completely knackered as it barely drove 10miles with everything turned off after the alternator died. Fixed the alternator and battery and next trip out the PAS rack sprung a leak. Oh an an ABS sensor has failed as well in amongst all of that. The P38 has its coolant leak and also has a slightly sticky rear caliper so i need to fix that as well!

Yes, but apart from that, all's good with the fleet :)
You did check that Nissens part number was correct for GEMS didn't you? It looked like the one I remember, but that was a couple of years ago.

Sortof, the Merc works but has a range of about 65miles in this weather. A4 is broken until i can get the rack reconditioned. And now the rangerover is trying to boil itself.

yeh i checked a few places, seemed to be 94-98 fitment so should be good :)

If you get stuck for transport Aragorn, there's a lovely Classic ambulance for sale on ebay that Orangebean showed us! lol

Not sure buying another old car would please the wife much :P

She put almost 4L of water into it at lunch time. Took 2L to fill the expansion tank back up, then as soon as she started it the water vanished, and it took another 2L to fill it up properly.

So i imagine the leak has got a lot worse if its lost 4L of coolant in 15miles.

She also said the level seemed to have dropped a bit between lunchtime and home time, so its maybe even leaking while just parked.

Coolant gauge stayed in the middle on the drive home, but she did say she drove a bit slower on the way home just incase (60 rather than 70).

I'll go check the level after once its cooled down and see how much its lost driving home.

Well, fitted the new radiator today (from the above link).

And the fkn thing is leaking from a crack in the lower end tank.

The world is clearly out to get me!

Aragorn wrote:

Well, fitted the new radiator today (from the above link).

And the fkn thing is leaking from a crack in the lower end tank.

The world is clearly out to get me!

I had this on my MGTF - New alloy rad, manifold gasket etc - turned out to be minuscule cracks in the expansion tank! I guess plastic that gets really hot don't last forever.

Oh its not the expansion tank, its the actual end tank on the new radiator thats cracked!!

Its obviously been a return or something. Box was all bashed up, and the radiator itself had been spraypainted black?!

Another new one arrived today, fingers crossed this time!

Aragorn wrote:

Oh its not the expansion tank, its the actual end tank on the new radiator thats cracked!!

Its obviously been a return or something. Box was all bashed up, and the radiator itself had been spraypainted black?!

Another new one arrived today, fingers crossed this time!

Holy crap - that's awful! Mind you my new alloy rad on my TF leaks as it's such a pile of crap - so has to be replaced - so I know how you feel!

New new radiator in yesterday afternoon, filled up with coolant and gave it a short drive and it seems ok. Need to give it a longer run at the weekend to be 100% sure its all healthy, but its no longer pissing out coolant :) The level seemed to keep creeping down a small amount after it had been sitting, so it might need some extra topping up, its taken a good 9 Litres of coolant though, plus whatever was left in the block/pipes, so it cant be far away.

One thing i did notice that i'd like to fix, is the two PAS lines that run along the bottom of the radiator are sort of dangling loose as the plastic clips that support them have snapped. The lines themselves are quite rusty too, but i suspect those will be very expensive, so at the very least i'd like new plastic clips.

http://www.island-4x4.co.uk/clamp-power-steering-hose-anr1359-p-26763.html
or "borrow them from a breakers next time you're passing!

ive had broken clips before, a cable tie pulls them onto there clips and stops them moving,, think I drilled a hole, not sure !

I was trying to figure out how they worked as the rearmost pipe didnt seem to have anywhere to go. Then after doing the rad i'd disturbed the front most pipe and popped it out one of its clips. Tried to push it back in and the clip exploded leaving a plastic stump, which is presumable what happened to the other side at some point in the past!

They're only a couple quid so i'll just get some new ones ordered. I need a rear caliper too so i'll get that at the same time.

Did 80miles in it today and it all seems fine on the radiator front. Just need to reinstall the viscous fan and top cowling now :)