Land Rover Repair: Coolant, empty tank, engine failures

Question
Hi John!

We own a 2004 Land Rover Disclvery.  Yesterday it over heated on the dashboard. We went to turn on the heat and it was cool air for a bit the nothing coming out. We checked the coolant and saw a very empty tank.

What is the best coolant to use? In case there's existing coolant in there, what's the saftest bet if we are unable to drain it?

Basically we just need to get it to our mechanic in CT. We are in NYC and 40-50 miles away.

Appreciate your help!!

Mike

Answer
Use a tow truck.    The correct coolant is DexCool but the 2004 trucks are notorious for engine failures that stem from cooling system problems.  I have written a number of articles that discuss this extensively.

Here is one from 2006:  http://www.robisonservice.com/articles/RonR_march2006.asp

Here is a recent update:  http://robisonservice.blogspot.com/2009/10/all-you-ever-wanted-to-know-about-lan

And finally  http://robisonservice.blogspot.com/2010/04/last-word-on-land-rover-liner-failure

Our company is two hours north of NY city