[Rover3232]

Hey there, I was driving my 2008 Range Rover for about 20 minutes when I noticed there was no heat. I found this odd then all of a sudden I lost power pulled over, popped the hood noticed it was smoking from the from of the engine near the coolant tank and then I noticed it had overheated on the dash. As I sat there waiting for a tow truck my battery died and my cell phone died and it was 2 hours before a tow came because the first tow company cancelled after 60 minutes.

In any event almost every time I start the car the check coolant warning comes on for a few seconds then goes off, and Ive never had low coolant except the shop is saying its low now.

They said they are having trouble getting it to overheat while they are driving just when its stopped and that they added coolant.

I told them it could be the thermostat or the heat pump from what Ive read, and reminded them about it not having heat right before it overheated and they are checking it now.

Any advice or opinions is appreciated!

 

[RRToadHall]

It was most likely steam, not smoke. So standard or SC engine?

Very common when you have coolant leak. There is not enough coolant to circulate through engine, radiator and heater core. Heater core drops out first because it the highest point in circulation. Was your coolant reservoir empty or leaking? The coolant had to have gone somewhere. A separating seam or crack in the coolant reservoir would be spraying hot coolant or steam.

Thermostat would not cause a coolant leak unless you had a damaged or loose hose. Heat pump?

 

[Rover3232]

Thanks for the response!

It's a standard engine I believe, and I hadn't checked the coolant for a few months because the coolant warning always comes on at the start then goes off so the levels could have been low, which is what the shop said and they did seem a bit low when I pulled over but definitely not empty just below the cold weather line so it didn't feel as though I ran out of coolant like I've done before, but the tank was always empty.

I think it could have been smoke/steam coming out the front of the engine. Didn't seem like the coolant tank but out of the side next to it.

 

[brad s1]

In addition to a leak when you keep topping off an empty res, you can potentially introduce air into the system... which can lock up flow and cause an overheat.

 

[Ant-i-am!]

Hi, I’ve just had a very similar fault with my 4.4 although my temp gauge was reading normal not hot and power is fine. Steam was definitely coming from the reservoir and it took loads to top back up but there is no sign of where the water is going.
Local specialist was quite dismissive over the phone and immediately assumed head gasket but there is no issue with oil colour or exhaust smoke.
Rover3232 i’d suggest the battery issue is unrelated (and I mean on the car, not the phone ).

 

[leftlanetruckin]

Put your location.....
As Carl said, the no heat from the heater core is clue one to low coolant level. Run any aluminum motor with low coolant at your own peril.
It went somewhere, so that needs addressing before anything.
A simple pressure test of the coolant system will pinpoint the leaking part with no additional coolant loss.

Martin

Martin

 

[QatarRR]

The header tanks are prone to cracking where the 'spot' is on the side of the tank. Its just enough to loose pressure and coolant when hot. I replaced 2 in the past , poor design

 

[RRToadHall]

not empty just below the cold weather line so it didn't feel as though I ran out of coolant like I've done before,

There is no such thing as a cold weather line. that is a cold engine line. Sadly you have done this to yourself. Ignoring the low coolant warning every morning? That warning is telling you that your coolant is low. Would that not register that you should add coolant?

Since you are in Boulder, CO at appx 5400 elevation don't you think you should have the proper coolant at the correct level to avoid freezing your engine?

 

[Rover3232]

This post is a little late, but actually there was just some kind of malfunction with the sensor and every times I checked it was at the max so that is why it through me off from checking it because so many times it cried wolf.