I notice some of you have Range Rovers in addition to
your Series. One of the really annoying things about
the Range Rover, at least the US-spec classic version,
is that there is no radiator drain as there is on a Series.
The factory service manual instructions for draining the
radiator are to remove the lower radiator hose. As you
probably know, it's critical that the Rover V-8 (or any aluminum
engine) have the correct ratio of anti-freeze, and that it
be in good condition. If left unchanged for a few years, old
coolant will actually start to dissolve the block from the
inside (so I was told by the factory manager at Land Rover's
Solihull plant in the early '90s). So it's important to change
the coolant in a Rover V-8 at least once a year if you're
interested in getting the longest life possible out of the engine.
Pulling off the lower radiator hose makes an amazing mess as
the coolant splashes all over the place, most of it missing the
bucket you put under there. After doing this five or six times
and watching toxic anti-freeze escape down the driveway (it will
kill almost any animal that licks it up), I started
siphoning the coolant out with a long length of clear plastic tubing.
This gets about two gallons out, the capacity of the radiator. It
doesn't drain the block, but there's not enough in there to worry about.
The comments on draining a Series gas tank reminded me of this
technique that works well on the Range Rover radiator. Why they
didn't include a simple drain on the Range Rover's radiator is beyond
me. You wouldn't think it would increase the cost of the thing
THAT much.
___________________________
C. Marin Faure
(original owner)
1973 Land Rover Series III-88
1991 Range Rover Vogue SE
Seattle
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