skirky dave Posted January 25, 2018 Share Posted January 25, 2018 Hi guys, First post on Defender site, usually on Series but here goes. My son, Nick, has bought his first Land Rover, an ex military 110 tithonus with 2ooTDI. Followed in his Dad's footsteps but with a newer model Landy. Questions are as follows,.... Which antifreeze ? The reason i ask is because in the Haynes 90 110 Defender Manual, it merely states...Ethylene Glycol, BUT..which one. The colour in his expansion tank at the moment is almost Orange, ... In my Series 2A i use Ethylene Glycol,.. BLUE. I know that Antifreeze should not be mixed, that's a no no, but just which Antifreeze to use on his Defender is a little ambiguous. ..................................................................................................... The previous owner had fitted a brand new intercooler, which is huge, to aid the Turbo, which probably has nothing to do with it, (I'm not into Turbo's, mapping etc etc, mines a straight 2.5 N/A Diesel). Nick's motor, when driving to work, ( motorway ), sits quite low on the temp gauge but around town sits on the normal level. I'm of the opinion that, maybe his thermostat needs replacing, because it's quite cool in winter on the motorway for him. I would have thought and expected, that the motor would have been warmer inside with the heaters on full. ( I have driven it at weekends and it is cool inside). The Land Rover was really well looked after by the previous owner with everything replaced with new parts, fantastic condition and certainly the best i've seen at the price. But,.. which Antifreeze to use, and a decent one at that, does the colour indicate the type. There's Red, Blue Green, but which Ethylene Glycol, it doesn't state in the manual. Any help would be much appreciated guys. Cheers Dave. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Snagger Posted January 25, 2018 Share Posted January 25, 2018 Use the pink stuff. I think the orange colour is from the pink degrading a little and being contaminated with the usual engine muck like a little scale and rust. It does sound like the engine is getting hotter around town, Which reading, motorway or town, is "happy" depends on whether the gauge and sender are electrically matched. I suspect the gauge is from a 12j powered vehicle and that the sender in the head has not been replaced to suit. In turn, it could mean that an open thermostat is overcooling when on a fast run, or that the engine is getting a bit warm around town because the fan isn't coping, the rad has an problem or the big intercooler is blocking the rad airflow. The bottom hose should not be to hot to hold with the engine showing upper temperature, so if it is, then you know whether the gauge is correct, under or over-reading. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skirky dave Posted January 25, 2018 Author Share Posted January 25, 2018 Hi Nick, Nice to hear from you again mate,hope you had a great Xmas, my god were almost into February !!!. Erm, right, ..From what i know!, it was a DIesel in it's past life in the military as there's an engine stop or choke pull cable still in situ but not connected to anything. I see what you mean regarding the gauge and sender being electrically matched, ( i had forgot about that one ). The viscous fan had been removed by the previous owner and a Kenlowe Fan in it's place which can be run on fully auto and / or / manual at the flick of a switch. Which by the way, is well out of harms way so can not come into contact accidentally by hitting it with your knee for example. As for the bottom hose being too hot....I shall have to feel this when he come to visit me on his way back for the weekend. He's working away at Blackpool at the moment. Or...if he goes out somewhere i could ask him to check that for himself. With this being his first Landy, he has a lot to learn......just like his Dad. The engine is FAR FAR quieter than mine and pulls like a train, amazing engine. I would fit one myself if i had a stronger gearbox, I went through 2 gearboxes when i had the 3.5 v8 fitted years ago, and that was driving really steady.so i don't want to go through that again, but it is a fantastic engine. The difference in power is something else. So.. back to the Pink stuff Nick, am i to take it , that, this is for Aluminium head on these engines. I shall also order a different sender unit if i can find out which one it is , plus a new thermostat, 82c i believe. Cheers mate. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Retroanaconda Posted January 25, 2018 Share Posted January 25, 2018 Colour is not always an indication of type - but blue tends to be the old Ethylene glycol stuff and pink tends to be the newer OAT stuff. Often 1998 is seen as the cut-off year between them but of course it varies with engine. The 200Tdi just needs the older type, go into the motor factors and ask for a 5l bottle of ethylene glycol based coolant and you'll be fine. The flush the system well with water to ensure you only have one type in. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mo Murphy Posted January 25, 2018 Share Posted January 25, 2018 ... and the correct thermostat for a 200 Tdi is 88°C. I would once have said buy only a genuine thermostat, but a recent 88° thermostat from a main dealer kept my 200 at a toasty 98°C. Mo Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
reb78 Posted January 25, 2018 Share Posted January 25, 2018 As above, I would use good old simple Ethylene Glycol antifreeze. None of the OAT stuff etc. There was a great long thread on it here: http://www.thelandroverowner.com/forum.lro.com/viewtopicedcf.html?f=18&t=59554 The orange/pink stuff often tends to be OAT Just flush the system thoroughly before changing it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skirky dave Posted January 25, 2018 Author Share Posted January 25, 2018 Many thanks for all the reply's guys, it's very much appreciated. So... the old Ethylene Glycol it is, the same as my old 1960 Diesel and an 88c thermostat to boot. I shall also be ordering the new water temp sender as advised by Snagger/Nick. The only reason i asked about the Antifreeze was because i overheard a couple of guys talking about it in Halfords, which, started to make me think. They were discusssing the problems with their land rover aluminium heads so i checked the book of lies regarding the type required but as usual, to not much help. Once again, thanks Dave. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ianmayco68 Posted January 25, 2018 Share Posted January 25, 2018 If you try these they do the waxstat theremostat which people say is the best one http://www.shop4autoparts.net/Vehicle-Type/Defender/cooling-heating-defender/err2803g-thermostat-tdi200/ and a lot of places say you can't get anymore . Interesting read about the coolants/antifreeze Richard , were we live I'm just as concerned about the water as it's very hard and contains a lot of limescale , our kettle is not a pretty sight after being used for a while and I wouldn't like to see what happens inside the galleries in the engine . cheers Ian Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skirky dave Posted January 25, 2018 Author Share Posted January 25, 2018 Very interesting read was that Richard, Thanks for the link. Ianmayco68.. cheers for that link also, much appreciated. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DC_ Posted January 29, 2018 Share Posted January 29, 2018 I did water pump last year along with timing belt. Gave it a nice fresh glug of blue ethylene glycol with no alcohol in it as I read it was bad for Ali components. Also on the thermostat subject. With advice on here I described my landy exactly like you did on your sons, cool on longer drives and heats up to just below half way on the gauge in town. Changed the thermostat ( oh that was fun if you seen my thread on thermostat change 😂😂) it defo makes a difference to the engine warming up much much quicker. Heats the cab up in no time now. Mines is an 82 thermostat for my 2.5na 👍 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skirky dave Posted February 6, 2018 Author Share Posted February 6, 2018 DC_ Cheers for that mate, and sorry, i've only just picked up your post. At the moment , my son is STILL working away so i haven't had chance to touch his motor. It's ok working away for a living but it creates it's own problems with family....and sorting out your Landy's. Cheers Dave. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Troll Hunter Posted February 7, 2018 Share Posted February 7, 2018 Regarding using hard water in your engine, have you considered boiling the water before you use it? Boiling it will remove most of the hardness. That's why your kettle is in a mess. Mike Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skirky dave Posted February 7, 2018 Author Share Posted February 7, 2018 TROLL HUNTER. Hi Mike, Interesting point you make there, although i have to say the water in our neck of the woods seems to be pretty clear of limescale and the kettle still performs as new. No limescale there also. However, having said that, my partner who lives in Doncaster, has terrible problems with limescale, even AFTER the kettle has been boiled. I only emptied it for her last week, so i don't quite understand how boiling the water removes the limescale. How does boiling the water remove calcium / magnesium salts, which is what i was told by a washing machine engineer, causes them to break down. In fact, if i recall correctly, his advice was to use more detergent in the wash, as the water softeners was added to the detergent to help prevent this very problem. Apart from that,..i think my sons thermostat is in need of replacing. He was supposed to be coming home the other week but work got in the way,..again!!!. Cheers Dave. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Troll Hunter Posted February 8, 2018 Share Posted February 8, 2018 I'm not up to date with the exact chemistry, having had my last chemistry lesson some 50+ years ago, but from memory it has to do with releasing the gases dissolved in the water. This changes the pH and causes precipitation of the dissolved salts. every time the kettle is refilled and boiled more material is deposited. you'll also notice that boiled water has a very different taste from "fresh" water. Of course, my memory could be failing me totally, so perhaps someone more up to date with the chemistry can put you right. Mike Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skirky dave Posted February 8, 2018 Author Share Posted February 8, 2018 Hi again Mike' Chemistry was never my strong suit i admit and like you it's been many many years since i left school. You may have a point in what you say, however, there must be many owners who live in hard water areas who have never mentioned this problem before. . Very interesting point though Mike, and and it does make you stop and think. As soon as he comes home i'll change his thermostat and take things from there. Cheers Mike Dave. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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