auf_wiedersehen_pet Posted July 12, 2008 Share Posted July 12, 2008 Just fitted a Kenlowe fan to my 300Tdi Auto. Kenlowe say the gauge should read 2/3 before the new fan kicks in. On a hot day, with no viscous fan and Kenlowe off, engine drive hard and then ticking over for 30mins - the gauge never goes over it's usual 1/3. Like this, the fan will be redundant. Started it from cold this morning and the thermostat does not allow pump to pass anything through rad for ten minutes. Drive it round the block to reach 1/3 temp and the stat allows water to flow around the rad. Can I get a stat in a hotter grade? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JimAttrill Posted July 13, 2008 Share Posted July 13, 2008 Remember that the LR gauges are deliberately manufactured to lie, so your engine may be hotter than you think. You can check it with an IR meter or better fit a good gauge like a VDO and its matching sender. The only 300tdi thermostat I know opens (so it says on the tin) at 88° C. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BogMonster Posted July 13, 2008 Share Posted July 13, 2008 The fan is there because when you stick 3 tons on the back and tow it up a hill the normally over-cooled 300Tdi which works fine on ram airflow through the rad for most normal driving, needs some assistance. In many cases the only time this happens is in heavy conditions off road or when towing a heavy load. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete Attryde Posted July 13, 2008 Share Posted July 13, 2008 The fan is there because when you stick 3 tons on the back and tow it up a hill the normally over-cooled 300Tdi which works fine on ram airflow through the rad for most normal driving, needs some assistance. In many cases the only time this happens is in heavy conditions off road or when towing a heavy load. I also have a kenlowe fan (although switched using an X-fan switch from X-eng) on a 300TDi auto and the only time I have had the fan cut in under normal every day driving conditions was when the radiator had lost most of it's fins and was not cooling correctly. The gauge never moved above the 'normal' position. It was the fact that the fan was cutting in that led me to investigate the cooling system and fix it before I completely melted the engine. So as Bogmonster says most of the time they are over-cooled and you shouldn't be able to get the fan to cut in. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
auf_wiedersehen_pet Posted July 13, 2008 Author Share Posted July 13, 2008 The fan is there because when you stick 3 tons on the back and tow it up a hill the normally over-cooled 300Tdi which works fine on ram airflow through the rad for most normal driving, needs some assistance. In many cases the only time this happens is in heavy conditions off road or when towing a heavy load. But this is without the viscous fan which has been removed. Kenlowe say 2/3 is the correct point to start the fan - anything earlier and the warranty is void. At the moment, I've set the fan to kick in at 1/3 (plus 2 notches on the dial). Ive got no idea if this is too high or too low. My next step is to change the stat - might help - might not. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
First_Fleet Posted July 14, 2008 Share Posted July 14, 2008 Fwiw, an opinion from down under. I went into this some weeks ago & being our Winter, removed the viscous fan, & found the vehicle runs warmer ie. just below 1/2, (never has been there before) performs better as the engine is getting more to it's design temperature, idles better on start up etc etc. Generally a better vehicle to drive. Don't know about fuel consumption yet but reasonably expect it to be improved because 1. not driving the viscous fan & 2. having a hotter engine. Davies - Craig here (Kenlowe equivalent) say apx. 8% improvement but I am yet to be convinced eventually. Following on from that, I was talking to a bloke that supposedly knows about these things today, & his advice is that Land Rovers are overcooled normally (as mentioned above ^ ^ ) & to block off the rad with a triangular piece of heavy cardboard from top left to bottom right so 50% is restricted. The reason to do it this way he claims, is to get a good average temperature instead of blocking just the left, right or centre. Makes sense to me. (I think ) He claims because of the inherent 'over cooling' it will simulate in Winter, a 33 -ish c Aussie Summer day. The engine thermostat is where the work is done & the fan simply looks after any excess overheating brought about by heavy use & crawling work. He claims that if I find I do need a fan, then don't fit the electric thermostat but run the fan continuously when the ignition is on. I'm not 100% sure I agree with him on that point, as it could still possibly cool the engine too much again. I don't know about that yet. Suck it & see I suppose, while keeping a close eye on temperature monitoring. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete Attryde Posted July 14, 2008 Share Posted July 14, 2008 But this is without the viscous fan which has been removed.Kenlowe say 2/3 is the correct point to start the fan - anything earlier and the warranty is void. At the moment, I've set the fan to kick in at 1/3 (plus 2 notches on the dial). Ive got no idea if this is too high or too low. My next step is to change the stat - might help - might not. From personal experience the adjustable stat from kenlowe is almost totally useless as they have a habit of corroding up and then not working when you need them too. Also I never managed to get a good seal on the radiator hose where the capillary goes in. This is why when I fitted the fan to this Discovery I threw it away and went for the X-fan switch which fits in to the radiator hose in a proper fitting using a sealed intermotor switch, this makes for a reliable system even if you go wading/ mud plugging. As Jim said the standard gauge is really inaccurate they are sort dead around the middle of the gauge so you can go from normal running temperature to fatal over heating and the gauge will barely move. This obviously makes setting the fan switch up quite difficult. Changing the stat will potentially make the engine run warmer but I suspect that you will find that the gauge barely changes it's normal position. I strongly recommend getting something like the X-fan switch (I am nothing to do with the company just a satisfied customer) and fit that and then forget about the system as it will work just fine. Mine is a 300TDI Auto without the viscous fan and normal daily commuting with the engine up to operating temperature (93C measured at the cylinder head with a thermocouple in the water way) see about a +/- 12 degree C change depending on how fast I am going/ not going and the fan which is set to come on at 92C never switches on (it does work as if I do a load of offroading or a really long steep up hill it will cut in for a minute or two) as the stat is controling the temperature using the airflow through the rad whilst the vehicle is moving. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jimmy_neutron Posted July 14, 2008 Share Posted July 14, 2008 Just fitted a Kenlowe fan to my 300Tdi Auto. Kenlowe say the gauge should read 2/3 before the new fan kicks in. On a hot day, with no viscous fan and Kenlowe off, engine drive hard and then ticking over for 30mins - the gauge never goes over it's usual 1/3. Like this, the fan will be redundant. Started it from cold this morning and the thermostat does not allow pump to pass anything through rad for ten minutes. Drive it round the block to reach 1/3 temp and the stat allows water to flow around the rad. Can I get a stat in a hotter grade? Take the stat out, boil it in a pan with a thermometer and see what temperature it opens at. IIRC ERR3291 is for your car. Again IIRC its temp is 88'. Chances are you may have an 80 or 82' stat. Easy to check in the pan though. Remember not to have the thermometer on the bottom of the pan. Thermostat is ok on the bottom of the pan though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JimAttrill Posted July 14, 2008 Share Posted July 14, 2008 Hello Mr First Feet, I also removed my vicious fan the other day as it got down to max 13 deg C which is cold for us. On my daily commute of 20kms the engine does not fully warm up. Roll on September Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gardener_44 Posted July 14, 2008 Share Posted July 14, 2008 I'm looking to fit a kenlowe to my 200TDI, I was wondering what fan has you guys fitted a push or pull? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stageonesimmo Posted July 14, 2008 Share Posted July 14, 2008 I recently renewed the rad in my 300TDi as it had absolutely NO fins at all in it - it was overheating with the roof rack/roof tent etc on in Europe last summer. Guess what - no change what so ever to the gauge. I also ran mine most of last year with no fan and again, no change at all to the gauge. Bes t test for me was taking my 300TDi WOLF company car to Iraq a couple of years back - it was summer at the time and guess what, yet again, no change in the gauge from back in UK! All thats telling me is that theres enough reserve capacity in the standard rad to not need a fan at all but if you tow or thrash it off-road then fit a kenlow or such (a scrappies derived set-up such as the twin set-ups from Pug vans would be better to my mind as its cheaper) but have it switchable and make sure you use it every couple of weeks regardless of needing to or not just so you give the motor a run out and make sure the circuit is good for if it ever is needed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
auf_wiedersehen_pet Posted July 16, 2008 Author Share Posted July 16, 2008 Take the stat out, boil it in a pan with a thermometer and see what temperature it opens at.IIRC ERR3291 is for your car. Again IIRC its temp is 88'. Chances are you may have an 80 or 82' stat. Easy to check in the pan though. Remember not to have the thermometer on the bottom of the pan. Thermostat is ok on the bottom of the pan though. I took the easy route and bought a new one of Ebay - £4. I'm hopefully fitting it this weekend. I'm looking to fit a kenlowe to my 200TDI, I was wondering what fan has you guys fitted a push or pull? I used a pull as the air con is located on the front. The fan I got was reversible and could be used as push or pull. Best test for me was taking my 300TDi WOLF company car to Iraq a couple of years back - it was summer at the time and guess what, yet again, no change in the gauge from back in UK! Respect. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
First_Fleet Posted July 18, 2008 Share Posted July 18, 2008 Went to the big smoke today & while negotiating a multi story car park at low speed, I noticed the AC fans came on while the temp. gauge showed 1/2 way. The highest I have seen it yet. "Great, at least I know that works ok". I know this normally is wired to happen & as I have the viscous fan still out, does anyone know what that screw in stat in the water pump elbow is set for? P/N PRC3505 or 3505A I can find plenty of references to it, but cannot seem to find the off/on temp. setting. The WM does not appear to have it, & if it does, it must be well hidden. Thanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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