sammyb Posted April 22, 2014 Share Posted April 22, 2014 Right here is the low down, my defender a little while ago had the head gasket go on the M62 whilst towing Anyway long story short it was all fixed (properly lol). After not being to happy with land rovers carp temp gauges put a TIM capillary gauge in, now this is where it gets interesting.....when tootling along the temp is quite happy to stay between 70-80'c but when your going down a duel carriageway or decent A road or give it some greif, it sits well over 80'c. comes closer to 90'.. Is this me being a bit over cautious or is the viscous not working as it should? Or should I bin the viscous and get a decent Spal or like of fan? Oh just to mention it has a full width intercooler on it. Any help would be lovely Sam Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Diff Posted April 22, 2014 Share Posted April 22, 2014 Those temps don't seem bad to me. The thermostat on a 200tdi is set to be open at 88 degrees centigrade. Regards, Diff. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mmgemini Posted April 23, 2014 Share Posted April 23, 2014 Yep sounds like a coolant problem. Don't be over cautious with a 300 Tdi. They overheat very, very quickly. I'm pleased to see you have fitted a proper temperature gauge. The full width intercooler doesn't help on the 300Tdi When the radiator was filled, did you follow the correct filling procedure ? How old is the radiator ? Any 300Tdi radiator over three years old should be treated with suspision as they tend to silt up at the bottom. Is the viscous fan working correctly. A viscous if not working properly can and does stop the air flowing through the radiator. To check, Take the viscous off and drive normally. There should be no overheating. I had no fan on my 300Tdi 110 SW and it didn't overheat even when towing. Mine runs at 86.4 Deg C most of the time. Creeping to 90 Deg c when pushing hard. The temperature warning light is set at 94 Deg C I also suggest you find and fit a coolant loss sensor. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Reiny Posted April 23, 2014 Share Posted April 23, 2014 I'm in the same boat myself. I had fitted a TIM gauge (albeit an electric one not a capillary one - the capillary sender units i found on the local market did not match the thread in the head). My temperature sits at around 80-85 degrees most of the time but hovers around the 90 mark when pushing hard. I'm not overly happy with this but I have owned the vehicle for 11 years and it has always behaved this way. I guess that we're just not happy looking at a gauge that sits past the half way mark. Truth be told, what temperature is the half way mark on an original Land Rover temperature gauge? Nobody seems to know. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mmgemini Posted April 23, 2014 Share Posted April 23, 2014 I can tell you that with the fitted Land Rover Defender water temperature gauge that with the needle in the center, the temperature could be 86 Deg C BUT it could also be 90 Deg C. Without the needle moving. If the needle moves on the original gauge, You could have overheated the engine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sammyb Posted April 23, 2014 Author Share Posted April 23, 2014 Oh just to put some more info in, rad is 12months old along with new Alisport hoses, water pump and stat. Also put silicone hoses on for the heater matrix when the head went. So almost all of it's new! Except the viscous fan.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mmgemini Posted April 23, 2014 Share Posted April 23, 2014 Oh just to put some more info in, rad is 12months old along with new Alisport hoses, water pump and stat. Also put silicone hoses on for the heater matrix when the head went. So almost all of it's new! Except the viscous fan.. Well you seem to have covered everything. EXCEPT, as you say, the viscous fan. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Diesel_90 Posted April 23, 2014 Share Posted April 23, 2014 I have a TIM electric temp gauge fitted on my 300tdi and it normally runs at 80 degrees and up to 95 degrees when worked hard or winching up a steep hill with a muddy radiator. It's fitted with a denso electric fan that come in at 92 degrees. The best improvement I found on mine was fitting a 82degree thermostat that has a bigger valve so it allows more coolant to flow through. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ejparrott Posted April 23, 2014 Share Posted April 23, 2014 Ok it's a 200, but mine usually sits at about 90. I have an electric gauge on mine. I also don't have a fan of any sort.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sammyb Posted April 23, 2014 Author Share Posted April 23, 2014 Link to the stat please fella?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Diesel_90 Posted April 23, 2014 Share Posted April 23, 2014 I also forgot to mention mine is running a MD engineering 4 core rad. This made a huge difference from the tempory plastic sided one (britpart). Also do you have a Britpart radiator? I found 2 major faults with the one I fitted. I looked on the internet and found a 300tdi hi-flow 82degree stat advertised by a company in Australia but it was a lot of money and even more with shipping. In the end I spend a few hours searching through thermostat cross reference books online (sad I know, espisally on Boxing Day) and I found one that was almost ideal by the measurements. The only difference was the dual valve shut off plate was a few mm smaller but I looked at the thermostat housing and decided it would work. This part number is for a gates TH24782G1 The thermostat is from a ford ranger and you have to squeeze the two side plates in to get it to fit. Mine has been in for over 12mths now with no issues but before you decide to fit one of these to you're own engine please be aware of the possible consequences if it goes wrong!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tanuki Posted April 23, 2014 Share Posted April 23, 2014 I find the worrying about 80 or 88 degrees somewhat odd: I was always taught that a hot engine is a healthy/efficient/long-lived engine - if you're running a decent level of pressurisation [14PSI] you can let the bulk coolant temperature get up to 105 Centigrade without problems - even if you're running pure water as coolant. A 50/50 Glycol/Water mix can run happily at 112 Centigrade even without pressurisation, and with a high-pressure cap [1.5 Bar] 125 Centigrade is just fine. That's what our big turbodiesel generators expect - they run like this continuously at 85% of rated maximum-engine-power for months without attention. Bulk-oil temperatures up to 140 Centigrade with synthetic oils are good for optimum oil-life. Keep 'em hot and happy! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mo Murphy Posted April 23, 2014 Share Posted April 23, 2014 Surely 90 degs is not hot for a Tdi ? The full cooling circuit doesn't even open until 88 degs. Mo 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sammyb Posted April 23, 2014 Author Share Posted April 23, 2014 Ahh right ok, it's just made me over cautious I guess with the head going!! An no in not using a ****part rad!! Never use their products on anything Important, ever!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rick Posted April 25, 2014 Share Posted April 25, 2014 Those temps are well under what a Tdi will tolerate. Here where ambients exceed 40*C I've seen 110* coolant temp and not cooked an engine/head. These are temps from a mechanical VDO gauge. And FWIW, way back in another lifetime when I built Formula Ford 1600 engines, we found best power made was at least 95* coolant temp. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Reiny Posted April 25, 2014 Share Posted April 25, 2014 Thanks for the heads-up rick. I've owned my 300tdi for 11 years and still get uncomfortable as soon as I see the needle creep towards 90 degrees! Maybe I should start to learn to relax a little. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mmgemini Posted April 25, 2014 Share Posted April 25, 2014 With the 300Tdi it's not so much the actual temperature as the very, very quick coolant loss that kills the engine. If the gauge moves up with a coolant loss it's generally to late. That's why I recomend a coolant loss sensor for any 300Tdi. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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