CM project 2002 Range Rover Vogue 4.4 V8
Project Range Rover 4.4 V8
PART SEVEN: Yet more cooling woes – Sam Skelton’s Range Rover is in dock once more.
The Range Rover’s incontinence has become a recurring theme in this project, and this instalment is no different. When I left you last time, I had a large coolant leak develop on my way home from Avenger 4x4’s work on my brakes.
And it was properly big. The thirty-fourmile journey back to Avenger 4x4 from my house was one I perhaps foolishly chose to attempt to do without the aid of a low-loader. It took 35 litres of water even with the expansion cap off, most of which was coming out almost before it went in. I’m hopeful it hasn’t led to any lasting damage, but we will have to see...
When it let go this time I was at a loss as to why, with members of Facebook groups advising that my water pump had had it (no obvious leak), that various coolant hoses were to blame, and that – in one case – it could be the valley pan gasket. The frequency of the water pump suggestion meant I ordered one anyway – while I doubted it, I have been known to be fallible before and it’s an easily accessed part to check. Unfortunately, we had to try again. Avenger 4x4’s Dave Day had initially thought that it was one of the metal coolant pipes that sit in the V, as these have been known to corrode and spray water before. However, one person from the forums got it right in the end – it was found that the valley pan gasket was the culprit.
BMW’s V8s have coolant channels in the V cast into the block, with a sealing panel bolted to the top which contains castings to guide the water around the top of the block. It is the gasket between the block and this panel that had let go, and it is apparently a known failure point for BMW V8 engines – so if you have an unexplained coolant leak in your BMW E38 or E39 this is a sensible place to look. The downside is that it requires the stripping down of the top half of the engine, and is therefore a long and costly process.
Overtime
Initially, the time booked was only sufficient for a water pump change, and it was clear that there would be much more stripping down required. This was set to be such a large job that Avenger asked if they could do it over the course of a few days, in part because when the stripdown began none of us knew exactly what we were going to find. So, in terms of the majority of the images, this time I leave you in Dave’s excellent hands, and I have pieced together the jobs carried out based upon what is depicted in the images and a verbal description of the process. I hope that I haven’t missed any crucial steps, but if there are any errors please contact the magazine and we will print a correction.
VALLEY PAN GASKET DIAGNOSIS & CHANGE
1 Preparations for the 34-mile journey to Avenger 4x4 migh
