The saga of my 98 Discovery...
- Thread starter ExpoScout
- Start date
Storz
Explorer
I was just about to pull the trigger on a set for my D1 when someone offered a trade so I went that route instead. I did a TON of reseach though both on this forum and others and everyone that had the Treadwrights absolutely loved them, I would have no issues using them :smiley_drive:
ExpoScout
Explorer
So here's what I decided on for tires:
The 255/85s currently on the Disco will come off the Nato wheels and go onto another set of black steelies and then the combo will go onto my Traveler. It's got better gearing for the larger tires. The Traveler currently has 32" swampers/eagle alloys on it...they came on the other scout II I have. They will go back to that scout. I'll source some 235/85 ATs (whether new BFGs or TreadWright's I'm not sure yet) for the Disco.
The 255/85s currently on the Disco will come off the Nato wheels and go onto another set of black steelies and then the combo will go onto my Traveler. It's got better gearing for the larger tires. The Traveler currently has 32" swampers/eagle alloys on it...they came on the other scout II I have. They will go back to that scout. I'll source some 235/85 ATs (whether new BFGs or TreadWright's I'm not sure yet) for the Disco.
Storz
Explorer
Sounds like a good plan!
ExpoScout
Explorer
Soooo...
I got to working on the Disco tonight. Took the skids and diff covers off, they are getting powdercoated next week. Finally got a flexible attachment for my grease gun so I got to grease up the driveshafts/u-joints. Drained the radiator and removed the old hoses. Took the thermostat housing off only to find NO THERMOSTAT. :Wow1:
After looking inside the radiator it looks like there is definitely some gunk in there. I'm gonna take it out and flush it. Might just take it to a radiator shop if I can find a decent one nearby.
The waterpump appears to be in good shape...no play, no leaks, etc. Anyway that would have been pretty apparent if it was the issue.
The fan clutch is still a possibility, but I'm really leaning towards the radiator being the problem. Since the engine oil does run through the radiator I'm thinking its possible this might have something to do with the oil light coming on and the temp gauge going up at the same time.
Don't really want to have to spring for a new radiator, but depending on how it looks I'll make a determination.
If things are still the same after that I guess I'll be looking at the fan clutch...after that I don't know.
I got to working on the Disco tonight. Took the skids and diff covers off, they are getting powdercoated next week. Finally got a flexible attachment for my grease gun so I got to grease up the driveshafts/u-joints. Drained the radiator and removed the old hoses. Took the thermostat housing off only to find NO THERMOSTAT. :Wow1:
After looking inside the radiator it looks like there is definitely some gunk in there. I'm gonna take it out and flush it. Might just take it to a radiator shop if I can find a decent one nearby.
The waterpump appears to be in good shape...no play, no leaks, etc. Anyway that would have been pretty apparent if it was the issue.
The fan clutch is still a possibility, but I'm really leaning towards the radiator being the problem. Since the engine oil does run through the radiator I'm thinking its possible this might have something to do with the oil light coming on and the temp gauge going up at the same time.
Don't really want to have to spring for a new radiator, but depending on how it looks I'll make a determination.
If things are still the same after that I guess I'll be looking at the fan clutch...after that I don't know.
barnstormer
Wanderer
It's actually not uncommon for vehicles to run hot with no thermostat installed. It sounds counter-intuitive, but especially at high engine speeds (prolonged highway) the coolant is flowing so fast through the engine that it does not have time to absorb any of the heat from the block. The thermostat, by restricting some of the flow (even when fully open) allows the system to work as designed. Plenty of redneck engineers take out the thermostat, thinking it will make an engine run cooler, (and it may, in situations where engine speeds are low), but it often times has the opposite effect.
ExpoScout
Explorer
Yeah, I encountered this issue about 5 years ago in a blazer or bronco or something....took us forever to figure the problem. But yeah you are right...and it is very counter-intuitive.
And as far as the radiator goes....found a local shop that will take off the end tanks, clean it out, put it all together, and pressure test it...all for about $75. Will update as I can...
ExpoScout
Explorer
Are you referring to the fill plug on the top of the radiator? If so, yes, I've got the brass plug from EE ready to go in. I'm at work now, but when I get home this morning I'm gonna be pulling the radiator the rest of the way out and taking it to the radiator shop.
ExpoScout
Explorer
So the radiator shop called back...he said that he didn't feel comfortable pulling off the end tanks to rod the core. But he did say after hot-tanking it, the flow rate was almost doubled. He said that he couldn't tell for sure, but it may be cleaned out pretty much completely.
Anyway, I'll be picking that up today. For $45 it seemed like I should try it before opting for a brand new radiator or a re-core of the current one.
Also, I dropped the skids and diff guards off at the powdercoaters yesterday. They were pretty nasty, and in the mean time, I've got to change a bunch of fluids and such, so they needed to be off anyway.
It's an early day for me, but I'm headed out to the shop now to replace some hoses, clean some diff breathers, change diff fluid, install new magnetic drain plugs, etc...
At around 8 or 9 I'll be picking up the radiator...hope to have the disco back on the roads by this evening.
I'll do some more updates later...and some new pics would probably be a good idea as well.
Anyway, I'll be picking that up today. For $45 it seemed like I should try it before opting for a brand new radiator or a re-core of the current one.
Also, I dropped the skids and diff guards off at the powdercoaters yesterday. They were pretty nasty, and in the mean time, I've got to change a bunch of fluids and such, so they needed to be off anyway.
It's an early day for me, but I'm headed out to the shop now to replace some hoses, clean some diff breathers, change diff fluid, install new magnetic drain plugs, etc...
At around 8 or 9 I'll be picking up the radiator...hope to have the disco back on the roads by this evening.
I'll do some more updates later...and some new pics would probably be a good idea as well.
fishEH
Explorer
What's that supposed to mean? Does he not feel comfortable enough in his ability to do so or does he think the radiator isn't in good enough condition to do so?
I talked to one rad. shop and the guy looked at me like I had three heads when I mentioned a recore. I didn't take it there.
The other shop knew exactly what I was talking about and sounded very confident. He was very inpressed with how stout the D1 radiator was. When it comes to my engine, I won't do business with someone that I have to explain things to.
ExpoScout
Explorer
Dont forget to make space in the rear for that new air compressor
Just got the 5 gal tank back from powdercoating today...pics inbound in a bit
ExpoScout
Explorer
What's that supposed to mean? Does he not feel comfortable enough in his ability to do so or does he think the radiator isn't in good enough condition to do so?
I talked to one rad. shop and the guy looked at me like I had three heads when I mentioned a recore. I didn't take it there.
The other shop knew exactly what I was talking about and sounded very confident. He was very inpressed with how stout the D1 radiator was. When it comes to my engine, I won't do business with someone that I have to explain things to.
Well, basically after picking it up and talking to him some of the fins had "rotted" out. The tank overall is in pretty decent shape though...no leaks, all the tubes are fine, etc. Basically he just said that he didn't want to make matters worse by pulling it apart being that there were some issues already. He said that if I wanted to recore then it was a non-issue, but that would cost as much as a new radiator. The cleaning process took a TON of crap out of the inside. The flow rate was doubled. Being that it was only 45 bucks I'm going to try it out and see what happens. I'm real close to getting some new trans and oil lines made, running them to external coolers, and having a custom aluminum radiator made. Wouldnt be much more than a stock radiator and would perform much better.