Series 3 Temperature gauge reading hot

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Highlander in Yorkshire

Active Member
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85
Location
Yorkshire
Hi there, my first question as a new Series 3 owner and as a new member. I have just bought a 1972 S3 and going to try my best to breathe some new life into the old girl. However, I believe it has a early Landrover 90 engine, from what I have been told was a crossover period..... the garage told me it’s a ‘rare beast’ (a Series engine modified for early defenders perhaps)?. Apparently, the gauge has always read hot so was disconnected years and years ago. I think (through advice etc), that the Defenders run hotter than S3. So, if my S3 temp gauge is S3 but getting reading from a Defender temperature sender, would that cause the problem and cause the gauge to read hot? I am currently thinking either....
A. Swap out the S3 temperature gauge for a Defender gauge or
B. Put in something called an aftermarket temperature gauge and ignore original gauge.
Any advice gladly received but.... I am a complete novice just keen to learn.
Many Thanks.
 
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petrol or diesel?
Early 110's had 2.25 engines but I think 90's started off with 2.5 n/a's, series never had 2.5's fitted from the factory as far as I know.
You're right about the sender and the gauge not matching though and reading wrong.
Get a 90/110 gauge and mount it on the dash somewhere is the easiest way round it cos the sender will have different threads to deal with.
 
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You could search for a series temp sender, it may fit but I recon an aftermarket capillary gauge [ read in actual no's degrees] would be a more accurate job and there would be no problems with any old wiring. The only thing to power up would be the lamp. Defender gauges themselves are nothing special.
 
petrol or diesel?
Early 110's had 2.25 engines but I think 90's started off with 2.5 n/a's, series never had 2.5's fitted from the factory as far as I know.
You're right about the sender and the gauge not matching though and reading wrong.
Get a 90/110 gauge and mount it on the dash somewhere is the easiest way round it cos the sender will have different threads to deal with.
Hi there and thanks for the reply. It’s a 2 and a quarter petrol. Now I actually have my landrover (it arrived this afternoon) I will get in about it and have a look, but reckon I will go try the defender gauge. I like the idea of an actual temperature gauge (after market) but will wait to see what people say about that.
 
You could search for a series temp sender, it may fit but I recon an aftermarket capillary gauge [ read in actual no's degrees] would be a more accurate job and there would be no problems with any old wiring. The only thing to power up would be the lamp. Defender gauges themselves are nothing special.
Any recommendations on a capillary gauge?..... quite like the idea of getting actual temperature readings.
 
http://www.glencoyne.co.uk/engno.htm

Welcome , pics are always nice to see, there’s some guidance on engine codes/ types to check what you have
Then you can see if you have the correct sender for the series 3
Are you sure you don’t have the correct sender and the high readings is due to something else
Ie running hot , faulty sender , voltage issues
 
http://www.glencoyne.co.uk/engno.htm

Welcome , pics are always nice to see, there’s some guidance on engine codes/ types to check what you have
Then you can see if you have the correct sender for the series 3
Are you sure you don’t have the correct sender and the high readings is due to something else
Ie running hot , faulty sender , voltage issues
Hi there, not sure is the short answer. The garage has stated that it’s not running hot and seems to idle nicely. They have definitely installed a defender sender and I know that the gauge is a S3 gauge. Not checked voltage etc yet, will wait to get some fuel in to see if fuel level indicator is duff too which might suggest bad voltage or earth etc.
 
The only difference between the 2.25 engines was 3 and 5 main bearings, if I'm not mistaken?
The rest was about the same?
Don't confuse a 90 with a defender, they are different models
 
Late series 3 and early 90 had the same 5 bearing engine as Kermit_rr says although some of the nuts and bolts may be metric. Landrover didn't suddenly change from imperial to metric, they carried on using imperial until the stock ran out so many vehicles of the period had a mixture. I think you would be wise to assume it's running hot and investigate that. A thorough engine/rad flush and new thermostat should be your first move. You can buy a laser temperature measure pretty cheap to monitor the temp of the engine, rad and hoses.

Col
 
I have a 2.5n/a in my series 3 and the temp sender works fine with the original gauge. It could indeed be that its not wired through the voltage stabiliser, that would cause it to pretty much go straight to the high setting as soon as you turn it on.
If you take the 2 screws out that hold the binacle in, pull it forwards a bit and look for the green wire that comes from the temp gauge it should go to a metal unit the size of your thumb with 4 terminals on it.
Thats the stabilizer.
 
Yes but if the gauge isn't wired to it then instead of 10 ish volts it's getting the full 12+ and will read wrong
 
Late series 3 and early 90 had the same 5 bearing engine as Kermit_rr says although some of the nuts and bolts may be metric. Landrover didn't suddenly change from imperial to metric, they carried on using imperial until the stock ran out so many vehicles of the period had a mixture. I think you would be wise to assume it's running hot and investigate that. A thorough engine/rad flush and new thermostat should be your first move. You can buy a laser temperature measure pretty cheap to monitor the temp of the engine, rad and hoses.

Col
Cheers Col, new rad plus 2 new thermostats (stat was our first suspect and though we might have a dodgy one from the shelf). I like the idea of a laser temp doodah though.... gonna look into that. I will get in behind the gauge and have a look for that stabiliser next week. May try and get hold of a cheap 90 gauge just to discount that if nowt else.
 
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