Land Rover Defender Radiator: Specs, Fitment & Common Faults

A genuinely useful piece of context worth knowing about cooling system faults: related models have had a confirmed recall for a water pump belt issue risking coolant leaking onto the hot turbocharger.

Illustration for editorial purposes

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OEM Part Number: LR162110 (as quoted in catalogue listings — confirm via VIN) — aftermarket radiators Nissens 64331 / Valeo 701127

Accuracy note: Covers the Land Rover Defender (L663 2020-) as listed in the UK aftermarket catalogues. Radiators are sold by engine, gearbox and air-conditioning fitment, and one model usually has two or three different cores — a thicker core for diesels and automatics, a thinner one for small petrols — with different hose positions, so a radiator for the wrong engine will not connect up. The references below are UK aftermarket listings whose fitment lists name this generation, labelled by brand with the core size in mm; genuine numbers are those quoted against the listing. Check your engine code and whether the car has air conditioning against your VIN, and replace the coolant and bleed the system after fitting.

Radiators (aftermarket)	Valeo 701127 (580 x 736 x 27 mm, aluminium core with synthetic tanks, 6.5 kg, fits the 5.0 P525 V8, engine code AJ133); Mahle CR 378 000S; Nissens 64331; NRF 59174; Ava AU2337; Van Wezel 02002337; Hella 8MK 366 303-491. Auxiliary (low-temperature) radiator for all L663 engines: NRF 550352 (281 x 281 x 32 mm, soldered aluminium, fits D200, D240, D250, D300, P300, P400, P400e, P500 and P525); Nissens 607466
Core sizes & variants	The 580 x 736 mm main radiator is confirmed only for the supercharged V8 P525, and is the same unit fitted to the Range Rover L405, Range Rover Sport L494 and Discovery 5. The four-cylinder and six-cylinder Ingenium Defenders (D200 to D300, P300, P400) use a different main radiator. The small 281 x 281 mm auxiliary radiator is common to every L663 engine, diesel, petrol and plug-in hybrid.
Genuine (OE) numbers quoted	LR162110; LR034553 (P525 main radiator); LR181523; LR128288; LR188925 (auxiliary radiator)
Fitment notes	The V8 main radiator has 39 mm connections and suits cars without a built-in oil cooler. For any Ingenium-engined Defender the main radiator should be ordered against the VIN.

Accuracy note: genuinely worth knowing: radiator hose connection points and mounting brackets on the Defender can differ subtly between facelifted and pre-facelift versions of the same generation, even when the core itself is unchanged.

Land Rover Defender Radiator: The Part That Keeps Everything Else From Cooking

There's nothing exciting about this component, yet on the Land Rover Defender, most catastrophic engine failures that aren't simply down to wear trace back to a cooling problem someone ignored too long. Catching it early is cheap; catching it late usually isn't.

Before you buy: radiator size and design vary significantly by engine size, transmission type, and whether your car has air conditioning. Always confirm against your VIN before ordering.

Land Rover Defender Radiator: What It Does

The Land Rover Defender radiator's core job is moving heat out of the engine coolant and into the passing air, holding engine temperature within safe limits. Automatic versions frequently add a second internal circuit for transmission fluid cooling, which is exactly why the correct part number carries extra weight on this component.

Land Rover Defender Radiator: Watch: Replacing It

🎬 Watch: How to Upgrade Your Discovery 5 Cooling System with Aluminum Components (sister (land rover discovery 5, same d7 architecture and ingenium engines))

Watch on YouTube ↗

Aftermarket upgrade rather than OEM swap; nothing on L663 itself

Land Rover Defender Radiator reference plate

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A Genuinely Useful Piece of Context Worth Knowing About Cooling System Faults — Land Rover Defender Radiator

If you're facing a coolant leak or overheating concern, this is genuinely worth knowing: related Land Rover models have had a confirmed safety recall addressing a water pump drive belt issue that could rupture a plastic coolant elbow, risking coolant leaking onto a hot turbocharger, worth checking your VIN against the official recall register if you have a plug-in hybrid variant.

A genuinely alarming finding worth knowing: a damaged plastic cooling fan blade, even with just a small crack, has been documented exploding with enough force to go through the bonnet, and even short of that, can ruin a water pump in under 100 miles through vibration alone.

It's also genuinely worth knowing that the correct coolant type has varied by model year and VIN range over time, worth confirming exactly which type your car requires before topping up.

Land Rover Defender Radiator: Faults, DIY Difficulty & Aftermarket Advice

These are the same regardless of make or model — see our full Radiator Guide for the three common failure modes, confirming fitment against your VIN, and OEM vs aftermarket guidance.

More Land Rover Radiator

The same part, covered across other Land Rover models.