godzilla84 Posted February 2, 2012 Share Posted February 2, 2012 Hi guys. Im back for more wisdom. Is there any way of getting a disco to heat up faster than the 10 minutes it takes mine to? I have a 15 minute commute in the morning and by the time my heater is up to temperature im nearly at work. Aside from the fact that it doesnt even thaw my fingers in the 5 minutes that it is warm, it must be having a big impact on my fuel consumption. I am planning to replace my viscous fan with a kenlowe type one in the future but thats outside of my current budget so if anybody has any sugestions id be very grateful. Yours (frozen) Godzilla Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stuck Posted February 2, 2012 Share Posted February 2, 2012 Unless you are interested in the name alone forget Kenlowe. Grab a tape measure & head down to your local scrappy or look on Fleabay, something like twin fans from a Mondeo is ideal & can be made to fit a Defender with ease. Not sure about a Disco hence the tape measure. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
moose Posted February 2, 2012 Share Posted February 2, 2012 yep drive faster with your foot flat the floor, or tow another car to work..... you find it will warm up a bit quicker Have you checked your thermostats ok? and not locked open. I know some people remove the fan in winter and then there are other options like aux/night heaters etc... But to be honest with the way 300's are i would rather see it running cold then the alternative you should try a new ultra fugal 70+mpg diesel they take much, much longer to warm up... Sorry not much help... but then i live on the tropical south cost i am sure some one from cold far north will be along with more useful ideas Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Les Henson Posted February 2, 2012 Share Posted February 2, 2012 Viscous fan on this engine, so I doubt that fitting an electric fan would make much difference. The blower takes heat from engine water, which is controlled by the thermostat, so I would look at that (if there's actually one in there ) Les. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
matt bristol Posted February 6, 2012 Share Posted February 6, 2012 eberspacher heater? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trevorevans Posted February 6, 2012 Share Posted February 6, 2012 As suggested above try a thermostat, I had one that came in a blue box and it took forever to come up to temp then only gave me mildly warm heaters for a short space of time, I took out the said stat and replaced it with a Bearmach one, still only cost about £3:50, now I get warm heaters in about 5 mins they actually warm up quicker than my 2.8 v6 Audi A4 and they now stay warm too. That said the heaters may warm up sooner but the interior of the Audi still reaches a comfortable temperature more quickly simply because the disco is a barn of a thing to heat and probably less well sealed too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
woody46 Posted February 7, 2012 Share Posted February 7, 2012 i would remove the viscous fan, tdi's are generally overcooled in the mild british climate. i beleive that old transits radiator fans should fit... I cant remember for certain. or another investment could be a radiator muff? all that does is ristrict air flow through the radiator so should help it heat up faster. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ratty43 Posted February 8, 2012 Share Posted February 8, 2012 If the viscous fan is working properly then it shouldn't make much difference as they are meant to only lock-up once the engine is warm. You can check if it is by trying to stop it with a rolled up newspaper when the engine is cold. A radiator muff will reduce air flow through the engine bay and thus make a bit of difference but the radiator is bypassed until the thermostat opens anyway. My 300 takes about 5 minutes to produce warm air on a fast(ish) road but on country lanes it's more like 20 minutes. I would start by replacing the thermostat as the most likely candidate. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChrisB Posted February 8, 2012 Share Posted February 8, 2012 I haven't had any fan cooling on my 300tdi auto discovery for about 3 years. Never had a problem with overheating, although it's rarely used for anything more strenuous than taking me to work (5 miles) nowdays. I did check the thermostat worked ok before removing the fan, probably worth changing yours first too. (Changing is worthwhile as they're so cheap.) Chris Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
godzilla84 Posted February 10, 2012 Author Share Posted February 10, 2012 Thanks guys, I have ordered a new thermostat off eblag and will let you know how i get on when i have fitted it. Its one of a million and one things on my to do list on my disco. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davyd8899 Posted February 10, 2012 Share Posted February 10, 2012 start it 10 mins before you leave the house and leave to tickover??? i know thats not possible if you leve in town with lots of theaving scotes around!! if you can though, 10 minutes of tickover will very mildly warm it so when you start putting the engine under load it will come up to temp quicker!! also reccomended to leave a diesel to idle for 10 mins before use anyway............................ like we all do that!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fozsug Posted February 10, 2012 Share Posted February 10, 2012 start it 10 mins before you leave the house and leave to tickover??? also reccomended to leave a diesel to idle for 10 mins before use anyway............................ Dont know where you heard that but leaving a diesel on idle for prolonged periods will glaze the bores Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davyd8899 Posted February 10, 2012 Share Posted February 10, 2012 Dont know where you heard that but leaving a diesel on idle for prolonged periods will glaze the bores supposed to have warm engine oil going through the turbo so you dont fry it!!! heard that before but i've never idled my disco unless its seriously bloody cold and want do defrost it a bit and aint fried the turbo yet!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coachman Posted February 14, 2012 Share Posted February 14, 2012 Hi guys. Im back for more wisdom. Is there any way of getting a disco to heat up faster than the 10 minutes it takes mine to? I have a 15 minute commute in the morning and by the time my heater is up to temperature im nearly at work. Aside from the fact that it doesnt even thaw my fingers in the 5 minutes that it is warm, it must be having a big impact on my fuel consumption. I am planning to replace my viscous fan with a kenlowe type one in the future but thats outside of my current budget so if anybody has any sugestions id be very grateful. Yours (frozen) Godzilla Hello Godzilla (and unfortunately I have met a few while wearing my bear goggles ,) You do sir seem to have an easily sorted problem ,First check your thermostat , no ,sod it buy a new one froma good sourceanddonotbe fobbedh `do you want a summer or winter one ` fit the new one with a new gasket and goo, secondly you could remove the viscous fan and run with a `half radiator blind ( but watch the temperature ) if the temp rises too much then dispense with the blind . thirdly ,when budgets permit fit an electric fan , if your not `handy` then fit a kenlowe as there will be all the bits ,or go to a reckers and buy a used one (from a choice of many vehicles ) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Igol Posted February 17, 2012 Share Posted February 17, 2012 Anyone care to guess why my heater has started working? I've had the normal years of waiting til temp gauge reached halfway before anything reached slightly warm and since the start of the new year within about 2 mins warm air is coming from the vents...its worrying to say the least, aircon isnt on and you dont expect things to work. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davyd8899 Posted February 17, 2012 Share Posted February 17, 2012 Anyone care to guess why my heater has started working? I've had the normal years of waiting til temp gauge reached halfway before anything reached slightly warm and since the start of the new year within about 2 mins warm air is coming from the vents...its worrying to say the least, aircon isnt on and you dont expect things to work. devine insperation??? check coolant levals as a precautionary but cant think of a single reason why it should suddenly become more efficient!! as you know its water circulation as well as water temp to blow warm air Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fozsug Posted February 17, 2012 Share Posted February 17, 2012 Anyone care to guess why my heater has started working? I've had the normal years of waiting til temp gauge reached halfway before anything reached slightly warm and since the start of the new year within about 2 mins warm air is coming from the vents...its worrying to say the least, aircon isnt on and you dont expect things to work. airlock Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davyd8899 Posted February 18, 2012 Share Posted February 18, 2012 airlock wouldnt of thought an airlock would last years as he suggested thats how long it wasnt working for Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Igol Posted February 20, 2012 Share Posted February 20, 2012 Checked the coolent yesterday and everything else that I could think of, in the weather we've been having the last thing I'd expect is for the thing to get hot when its meant too??!! Ever since I had it I expected at least 6-10 miles before the engine had warmed up enough to share a tiny bit of heat in the cab, thankfully the gale that blows in from the doors keeps things from getting to warm and uncomfortable Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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