1998 Land Rover Discovery Radiator Repair Question

Tiny
MIZCALAMITY
  • MEMBER
  • 1998 LAND ROVER DISCOVERY
  • V8
  • AWD
  • AUTOMATIC
  • 105,000 MILES
Greetings from Memphis, TN! This site is so cool! Ok.3 related questions, and thanx in advance for your patience.I'm a girl! :-) Okay, my boyfriend's 1998 LR Discovery got pulled over on the way to the lake house by a policeman who told him he was losing liquid. When he got to the house the car "died" and then wouldn't start up again. Boyfriend had it towed to the nearest LR dealer who said a broken thermostat caused the radiator to burst/break at the bottom and both now need to be replaced to the tune of 1600.00. YIKES! Now, I was thinking of asking my highly skilledl GM-mechanic guru friend to ride down there with me to fix it "in the front yard". So question 1 is. If the dealer's assessment sounds correct about the repairs. Is this something that can be done in the front yard as opposed to a shop? My second question is. Aside from the radiator and thermostat what other parts should be purchased and replaced no matter if the old ones were broken or not? (Examples, fittings, plugs, hoses). Last question, does this type of repair require any Land Rover specific tools or will regular mechanics tools be sufficient? And if you know what special LR tools are required or any common/vital hints to pass along to my mechanic about replacing a LR radiator in this model, that would be great. Thanx a million!

Blessings from Memphis, TN!
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Friday, April 24th, 2009 AT 11:55 PM

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Tiny
2CARPRO JACK
  • MECHANIC
  • 11,533 POSTS
The radiator only pays 1.9 hours of labor in the labor guide so it cant be that difficullt and Mitchell doesnt say anything about evacuating the A/C so you should be able to DIY in the yard. At 105k you may want to invest in afew new radiator hoses while they are off depending on thier condition. New t-stat and gasket, LR recommended coolant, and obviously the radiator. You can go aftermarket with the radiator, like a Modine or the such, it may still be a little expensive but nothing like LR will charge for theirs and it is perfectly ok to not use a LR radiator no matter what they tell you. If your friend is the guru you say, he shouldnt have aproblem with doing it, but he will wonder why it was designed in a such an odd fashion. Lol
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Saturday, April 25th, 2009 AT 7:42 AM

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