By Charlie Haigh

Your service manual doesn't recommend regular coolant changes on your SeriesLand Rover. It is, however, a very good thing to do. As your coolant wears, it becomes acidic and begins to sediment out the silicates used to prevent corrosion. These, combined with minerals from the water, can partially block the radiator and heater core, causing engine over heating.

The best maintenance schedules advise changing the coolant every other year or 30,000 miles. Land Rover is recommending every other year on their newer products. When you change the antifreeze you should be sure to use phosphate free or aluminum safe antifreeze and distilled water. The distilled water won't have the minerals to deposit into the cooling system and is Ph neutral.

Mix this 50% with antifreeze to put into the cooling system. Any more than60% antifreeze will not cool the engine as well as a 50% mixture. This is adequate for all climates giving protection down to -37ûF and complete boil over protection. Regular coolant changes with distilled water and proper coolant will extend the life of everything in the cooling system and make your Land Rover much more reliable.

If the coolant is dirty (rusty looking or brown) you should flush the system. Just a plain water flush is usually enough for this, though sometimes a commercial flush is needed. The best type of flush is anon-caustic type so that it won't attack the aluminum in the system or damage the thermostat. This is also a good time to inspect the hoses and clamps. Check the hoses for hard or soft spots then for leakage around the clamps. Any hoses with cracks at the ends or within consistencies should be renewed.

When you have the hoses off, check the clamps for corrosion also. You can extend the working life of a clamp by putting a small amount of grease on the band so that it is pulled into the head of the clamp as you move it. Be careful not to cut the hose if you are using an after market clamp. These are open through the thread and can be over tightened enough to cut the hose.