Mew Posted April 1, 2016 Share Posted April 1, 2016 Hi All, Facelift Freelander, TD4, 2004. After a few months of trying to find the reasons for poor performance and blue smoke etc, I decided to buy a OBD2 dongle and downloaded Torque Pro to my phone. Looking through the forums to see what I should expect in readings everything seemed within limits except for coolant temperature which would not go above 60 deg c. Knowing what a pain the original thermostat can be to change I fitted an 88 deg c inline stat in the top hose and took it for a quick drive last night. To say the difference in the feel of the engine was amazing is an understatement. Up to temp in 3 miles, 88 deg on the OBD reading and car temp gauge sitting in the middle of the range. Buoyed with excitement that I had resolved the problems I took it for a longer drive this morning. All well when it got to 88 deg on the phone reading but kept on rising and at one point reached 105 deg. Fluctuating between 98 and 104 depending on what sort of driving I was doing, mostly flat, but speeds up to 55 took it higher and sitting in traffic below 100 again. I did stop and check there were no leaks and there was coolant in the tank. When I stopped the engine fan was running, never heard it start up before! Question is, do I need to worry about 105 deg and what should I expect it to sit at normally? During all this the temp gauge in the car sat in the middle and showed no sign of overheating. Sorry for long post but wanted to give all the information, by the way it has the modified PCV and a new coolant temp sender. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ejparrott Posted April 1, 2016 Share Posted April 1, 2016 Depending on the pressure rating of the cap the coolant won't boil at 104, it'll be more like 120 because it's a pressurized system. That said, the temperature should really be sitting just above the temperature rating of the stat, and should not fluctuate that much. My 200 has no fan, that sit's at about 95 C no matter how hard I push it up the motorway, even towing. Now I know the TDi's are well known for being overcooled and the FL being a more modern car will be designed more around an efficient rad and less spare capacity, but other conventional car's I've driven which are built on the same kind of system, do not fluctuate that much. The fact that the temperature gauge on the dash didn't move however makes me wonder...... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mew Posted April 1, 2016 Author Share Posted April 1, 2016 Just wondered if there is a possibility of an air lock in the system? I did pour the coolant in slowly but it now has an extra restriction in the system? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bowie69 Posted April 1, 2016 Share Posted April 1, 2016 Quite possible, but two thermostats themselves may just be too much for it. If in the top hose, you won't see the engine temperature easily, only the water temperature reaching the top hose, which may be a good few degrees colder than the engine block temperature. It sounds a nasty bodge, being blunt, replace the proper thermostat with a genuine item and go from there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mew Posted April 2, 2016 Author Share Posted April 2, 2016 Left things to cool down overnight and went for a run today. The engine got up to temperature and sat at 90 deg for a while. Then went up to 105 deg for a few minutes and dropped back to 88 to 95 deg and sat there for the rest of the trip. No leaks or loss of fluid and engine seems better with only a very slight misfire. So I'm assuming that a misfire that I have read about in other forums and posts could be related to engine temperature. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ejparrott Posted April 3, 2016 Share Posted April 3, 2016 If it's dropped back down to 88/95, it sounds like you have had an airlock. Keep an eye on it, monitor it for the next few trips. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bowie69 Posted April 3, 2016 Share Posted April 3, 2016 *la la la la la la* Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FridgeFreezer Posted April 4, 2016 Share Posted April 4, 2016 What Bowie said. Don't fart about, fit a proper genuine stat and remove the bodge. 104+ might well be normal, modern motors do all sorts in the name of emissions, it could be ramping up the heat occasionally under certain running conditions to burn deposits out of the cat/DPF or somesuch. The fact the dash needle sits at "normal" suggests the ECU is happy enough with what's going on. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
qwakers Posted April 5, 2016 Share Posted April 5, 2016 or it could have a failing waterpump. i had to do a top end rebuild due to similar symptoms on my dads car... didnt find the issue until the pulley sheared off, the problem is the water pump is run from the cambelt....... bang...... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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