Thread: Top radiator hose sliced by top engine cover

4bee, I agree completely. It's not the engineer's fault, they do their best with the budget they got, but in the end, design flaws WILL happen.
One bloke swapping a section of hose for stainless tubing is ok, but the manufacturer doing that to 1million cars is prohibitively expensive (I don't think they even use stainless 304 on the car at all, the material IS expensive), so I understand.

And it's tiny stuff like these mods, improvements and tinkering that really help us make these cars OURS. The LR4 isn't that friendly to user-performed mods, but it's not impossible, and some awesome cars in this forum are a proof of that.

Anyways, decided to get my hands dirty and see if I can get this over and done with.

Removed the hose, which was fairly easy, only two pressure clips holding it in place:
P5170001.jpg

Also the engine bay was surprisingly clean for a 10 year old car. Only the expected ammount of dust and diesel grime, nothing out of the ordinary, but I've seen newer cars with FILTHY engine bays.

The damage to the hose:
P5170009.jpg

Yeah, it was VERY close to rupturing.

Cut it off, comparing with the steel bend:
P5170008.jpg

I will enlongate this bend by welding some stainless tubing. Got two different sizes. One slightly smaller and a thicker one. I'll test the hose fitment on both once I eat my lunch.
The tubing:
P5170010.jpg
The smaller one has a much thicker wall, which I think I'll have to thin out on the lathe. The thicker one got the ideal wall thickness IMO, but if the hose doesn't fit around it, at least I can go with the smaller one.

Also, there was this tiny little hose with a weird plug on it hanging around in the engine bay. It was held by a clip that was attached (very tightly I might add) to the coolant hose.
If anyone can tell me what it does, I would love to know.
Here is a pic of it:
P5170003.jpg

EDIT

Well, I'm back with some news. Used the thinner, thick-walled piping, welded the bend together and machined some grooves to make sure no hose would even dream about slipping off.

Here is the bend section after the welds and machining:
P5170001.jpg

End result after cutting the hose and connecting everything:
P5170003.jpgP5170004.jpg

And the bad boy installed in the car:
P5170006.jpg

Decided against cutting the engine cover since the bend made it all pretty safe. The plastic can rub against the steel all it wants now:
P5170007.jpgP5170008.jpg

Tested everything, ran the engine until it reached working temp, then went out for a spin. No signs of leaks or anything of the sort.
Seems like a success.

Diff breather tube?

replacement front diff breather Disco 3 and 4

It's for bleeding the cooling system , as well as the bleeder on the expansion tank. Necessary after say .....replacing the top hose.

No it’s not the diff breather tube. The tube in question is the coolant bleed screw fo when you have to refill the coolant. It’s the same as the one on the coolant tank and at the back of the engine.

I will enlongate this bend by welding some stainless tubing. Got two different sizes. One slightly smaller and a thicker one. I'll test the hose fitment on both once I eat my lunch.

Come on, do tell what you had for lunch, some exotic Brazilian dish I suppose, my mind is wandering?

Originally Posted by 4bee

Come on, do tell what you had for lunch, some exotic Brazilian dish I suppose, my mind is wandering?

Nah, it was just the brazillian staple of beans, rice, beef, fries and salad on the side, looks like this:

Simple, tasty and keeps a man up through his day (lots of carbs in it though)

Anyways, thanks Discovery and DiscoJeff for the clarification, so it`s basically the seal for a vent on the cooling system. Good to know. I'll check how one flushes the cooling system and refills the fluid when I have time.

So, sort of a "Morning Tea/Snack" thing?

Looks good to me, & thanks.

and keeps a man up through his day

I reckon some of us here could use that.

Originally Posted by Willi Tom

P5170007.jpgP5170008.jpg

Tested everything, ran the engine until it reached working temp, then went out for a spin. No signs of leaks or anything of the sort.
Seems like a success.

The only thing I would be concerned about is the cover rubbing against the worm clip on the top left side. Maybe spin the clip around a bit so it doesn't touch?