Reef Inmate Posted January 18, 2009 Share Posted January 18, 2009 Hi guys. thanks for a great forum. Ive already found a weal of information on the site. I own a 1996 110 Defender 300 Tdi. Its is currently on 330000 km. I have not been able to find out if the engine has ever been overhauled. I recently fitted a brand new cylinder head and while the head was off I had the radiator checked out. The vehicle runs fine now. I can drive around town all day and the temp gauge doesn't move. As soon as I go out on the freeway and cruise at 100/110 km h the temp goes up towards the red on the gauge on up hills and then comes down on the flat or downhill sections. It generally runs hotter (above halfway on the gauge) when cruising on the freeway. In and around town it runs on 1/3 on the gauge. Is this normal and if not what would cause this? The engine is not using water and the expansion bottle is not cracked/leaking. Could it be the thermostat or maybe the engine is due for overhaul? Some guys say its the viscous coupling on the fan. They say I should drive the vehicle and then when its hot switch it off then start it and hold the fan - if I can hold the fan the coupling is US. This sounds a bit dangerous to me - is there an alternate way of checking the coupling without risking injury. Any advice greatly appreciated. Regards Leigh (reef Inmate) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JimAttrill Posted January 18, 2009 Share Posted January 18, 2009 I would suggest you throw away the useless LR temp gauge and fit a VDO gauge and sender. These are available from Diesel Electric in Wynberg Jhb or you could get one from Landyonline.co.za The fact that you can drive around all day without the temp gauge moving is because it is designed to read 'in the middle' from 40° to 100+°C. The VDO gauge will move up and down all the time to show you an exact temperature. There is no real way of testing a 300Tdi viscous fan, though the chances are that yours has had it after 330k kms. Look at the front of the viscous unit where the coiled spring is. If there is oil, or oil covered in dust or dirt there, it is time to get a new one. For spares I would suggest CCA in Alberton or Kya Sands Randburg, or Dover in Selby depending on where you live. Other tips are to fit a Coolant Level Detector (if you don't have one) and to get rid of the black tank if it hasn't split already. The white replacement tanks never split. Best of luck Jim Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Reef Inmate Posted January 18, 2009 Author Share Posted January 18, 2009 Hi Jim. Thanks for the advice. I am In Durban North, KZN. Where can I source one of those white coolant tanks. Thanks again. Leigh Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
western Posted January 18, 2009 Share Posted January 18, 2009 Welcome Leigh, good to see a SA mate for Jim on here Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GBMUD Posted January 18, 2009 Share Posted January 18, 2009 I know you say you had the radiator checked out, but what did they check? My old 200Tdi, at about the same age as yours I guess, had just the same symptom. It turned out to be the radiator. Not blocked or reduced flow, but damage to the cooling fins between the water channels. As you looked from the outside the radiator looked just fine, but as soon as you looked closer with a torch then it was obvious that there was no fins inside the radiator - in other words, where the spray paint applied during manufacture was not protecting the copper and the copper had corroded away to nothing. Also worth checking is the thermostat. Take it out and put it in a pan of hot (70 degree) water then bring to the boil. The thermostat should open all the way before the water boils. I once had a 'stat that only opened part way, enough to cool when I was not making much heat but not when the engine was running hard. IMHO you can discount the fan hub. It only plays a part in town traffic, when moving very slowly off-road or when hauling heavy trailers up steep hills. All the time the car is driving normally there is ample air to cool it, even in warmer climes, without the fan running. The fan only promotes air flow when there is little or none, you have ample on fast roads. In the UK it is quite possible to go without a fan even during summer when on the road. Chris Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Reef Inmate Posted January 18, 2009 Author Share Posted January 18, 2009 HI Chris. I took the radiator out and sent it a specialist radiator shop that checked it for leaks and other problems. They told me it checked out just fine. I will have a look at the thermostat. Thanks. Leigh Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JimAttrill Posted January 18, 2009 Share Posted January 18, 2009 Leigh, there may be spares places in Durbs, but none that I know of from up here. CCA in Kya Sands will post one to you, speak to Ruan on 011 708 0326 he will have stock. Also all bits for the 300Tdi cooling system like hoses, water pump, thermostat etc. His prices are reasonable (especially if you compare the stealers™) Chris, I can assure you that you can't drive a Tdi in Durban in the summer with no viscous fan - its warm down there at the coast even in the winter. Tdis are undercooled for this climate. This does not just apply to LRs, so we get used to it. The cooling fin damage you talk about is (I reckon) caused by salt on the roads in the UK and is not a problem here. But radiators do rust from the inside if the antifreeze % is not kept to 40% or more. Oh, and a word of warning - NEVER run a Tdi without a thermostat as the coolant will not get to the radiator with dire results. This is because of the way the thermostat works on these engines. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave.Pretorius Posted January 18, 2009 Share Posted January 18, 2009 I would suggest you throw away the useless LR temp gauge and fit a VDO gauge and sender. These are available from Diesel Electric in Wynberg Jhb or you could get one from Landyonline.co.zaThe fact that you can drive around all day without the temp gauge moving is because it is designed to read 'in the middle' from 40° to 100+°C. The VDO gauge will move up and down all the time to show you an exact temperature. There is no real way of testing a 300Tdi viscous fan, though the chances are that yours has had it after 330k kms. Look at the front of the viscous unit where the coiled spring is. If there is oil, or oil covered in dust or dirt there, it is time to get a new one. For spares I would suggest CCA in Alberton or Kya Sands Randburg, or Dover in Selby depending on where you live. Other tips are to fit a Coolant Level Detector (if you don't have one) and to get rid of the black tank if it hasn't split already. The white replacement tanks never split. Best of luck Jim Hi Jim Is this not a case for the "Tropical Conversion" ? Regards Dave Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JimAttrill Posted January 18, 2009 Share Posted January 18, 2009 Hello PretDave, nice to see you here.... I'm not quite sure what you mean by the "Tropical Conversion"?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Les Henson Posted January 18, 2009 Share Posted January 18, 2009 Newbie from South Africa Groan - not another one! Les Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
headhunter Posted January 18, 2009 Share Posted January 18, 2009 How manys that Les, are you counting John Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave.Pretorius Posted January 19, 2009 Share Posted January 19, 2009 Hello PretDave, nice to see you here.... I'm not quite sure what you mean by the "Tropical Conversion"?? Hi Jim Closure of the bypass hole between the top and bottom of the radiator ? Cheers Dave Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
suveer Posted January 19, 2009 Share Posted January 19, 2009 Hi guys. thanks for a great forum. Ive already found a weal of information on the site. I own a 1996 110 Defender 300 Tdi. Its is currently on 330000 km. I have not been able to find out if the engine has ever been overhauled. I recently fitted a brand new cylinder head and while the head was off I had the radiator checked out. The vehicle runs fine now. I can drive around town all day and the temp gauge doesn't move. As soon as I go out on the freeway and cruise at 100/110 km h the temp goes up towards the red on the gauge on up hills and then comes down on the flat or downhill sections. It generally runs hotter (above halfway on the gauge) when cruising on the freeway. In and around town it runs on 1/3 on the gauge. Is this normal and if not what would cause this? The engine is not using water and the expansion bottle is not cracked/leaking. Could it be the thermostat or maybe the engine is due for overhaul? Some guys say its the viscous coupling on the fan. They say I should drive the vehicle and then when its hot switch it off then start it and hold the fan - if I can hold the fan the coupling is US. This sounds a bit dangerous to me - is there an alternate way of checking the coupling without risking injury. Any advice greatly appreciated. Regards Leigh (reef Inmate) Hi there the white coolant expansion tank can be obtained from Landy parts for Africa in pinetown. I bought mine there. 031 7010262 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JimAttrill Posted January 20, 2009 Share Posted January 20, 2009 Hi JimClosure of the bypass hole between the top and bottom of the radiator ? Cheers Dave Sorry, forgot about that modification. Worth doing if you have the radiator out for any other reason. I have never had my radiator out in 275k kms so I have not had it done. What I DO do, is keep the antifreeze strength at 40% (no higher as it cuts efficiency) and check the PH every so often. If your PH is < 8.5 your coolant is becoming acidic and should be changed. I have changed mine a few times now. Unfortunately your swimming pool tester doesn't have the right range - we use an electronic PH meter. Acidic coolant lets the whole cooling system act as a battery and will corrode holes in everything very fast. It is worth googling on this to get the real story. I also have put in one bottle of Redline 'Water Wetter' which is supposed to reduce temps by improving heat conductivity though I can't say I noticed a lot of difference. It does increase the corrosion resistance of the coolant so may be worth it just for that. In the workshop we see horrendously corroded Tdis and TD5s because either there has been a leak and the owner just tops up with water, or they deliberately don't use antifreeze as 'it doesn't freeze here'. Water alone becomes acidic very quickly. In theory you can use a lower % of antifreeze, say 10%, and Water Wetter for the best heat conductivity of the coolant. I have no connection with RedLine oils apart from using their gearbox oil and the WaterWetter. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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