2.5 overheating.viscous fan?radiator?

hiya lads,i,ve a daily drive of 130miles for a week soon so i,m fairly keen to sort out my overheating issues on my 96dse.here we go then.i can drive the car all day long in any temp and the gauge sits at 12 o,clock,but a couple of times after the car has been underload or sat in traffic the temp as crept up to past the 1 o,clock markbut when traffic starts flowing again it drops?top of rad is hot,bottom of rad is only cold/warm.i can stop the viscous fan with my wifes fingerswhen the car has reached full temp.i was edging towards a new viscous but then i,ve read that the viscous operates from the temp coming from the rad so if the rads only half hot is the rad at fault and the viscous ok,where do i start.i know its time to spend a few squids on the old girl but don,t want to throw money at things that don,t need changing,or shall i just change the fooking lot and take back the misses fur coat.any ideas

Water pumps are known to fail as are radiators. I would start with the pump and thermostat and check the Rad centre baffle is in place. The viscous fan is also a possibility.

From experience with my 99 2.5DT buy a genuine stat as the replacement from the motorfactor was rubbish and opened 10deg hotter plus it had no bleed valve. Get two new O rings too, one for the stat and one for the pipe you have to remove to get the stat out. I did buy new stat hosing bolts too to be on the safe side. Do this first as it is the cheapest thing. Good luck

cheers lads,ill strip it down tommorow and inspect.thermostat will be replaced,i take it has long as the waterpumps in one piece and free its a goodun?forgot to mention i can take expansion tank cap off when the temps at 12,0,clock.theres no pressure and very small air bubbles in there.is this right?

Mine has pressure when I undo it and the water wants to boil out. My temp is always 12 oclock fully loaded summer or winter. Are your hoses hard when at 12?

bart2181 said:

cheers lads,ill strip it down tommorow and inspect.thermostat will be replaced,i take it has long as the waterpumps in one piece and free its a goodun?forgot to mention i can take expansion tank cap off when the temps at 12,0,clock.theres no pressure and very small air bubbles in there.is this right?

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I would expect the bubbles when you remove the cap but also some pressure, so before you change anything else, change the pressure cap because it sounds like its not holding pressure.

The water pumps shed blades if they are plastic. If you need to replace it, try to get a metal bladed one.

it's the rad.
take it on out for a drive and when you get it to go 1 o'clock, pull over and stop the car quickly open the bonnet. if the fan has stoped then there's nothing wrong with the viscous fan, if it slows down and is still spinning then it's not locking. the viscous fan will only lock when hot and spinning fast. you should be able to stop it at idle and warm it's not an indication that it's not working.

If the rad is cooler at the bottom then the water is not going around the rad. they are prone to blocking due to the way the pipes run through the radiator.

anyone had any experiences with these rad flush products,whilst the systems empty i may aswell give it a good flushing to see if that improves.

you want to flush the crap in the bottom of the radiator around your cooling system????
If the rad is cooler at the bottom it would suggest that there is alot of build up in there and as the pipes run up and down rather that side to side there is no option except replace the rad.

ladyranger said:

you want to flush the crap in the bottom of the radiator around your cooling system????
If the rad is cooler at the bottom it would suggest that there is alot of build up in there and as the pipes run up and down rather that side to side there is no option except replace the rad.

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very good point ladyranger,i,m wrestling with the viscous fan at the moment it won,t budge.

bart2181 said:

very good point ladyranger,i,m wrestling with the viscous fan at the moment it won,t budge.

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Hi pal i had same problems your havin,1st off dont forget viscous fan is left hand thread,and 2nd mine turned out to be thermo was shot and the water pump had a broke impeller the rad was good as new.I did all the work on mine after owning car for 2 days never had rangie before but all went ok hope this helps.

hi mine was exactly the same for months but when i was in traffic it woul overheat i even drove to stonehenge from nottingham with no problems so i jammed my viscous fan with a nail and drove it and it never overheated again so i brought a new fan and its fine

bart2181 said:

cheers lads,ill strip it down tommorow and inspect.thermostat will be replaced,i take it has long as the waterpumps in one piece and free its a goodun?forgot to mention i can take expansion tank cap off when the temps at 12,0,clock.theres no pressure and very small air bubbles in there.is this right?

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ive had and still got the same problem, ive mentiond it on here in the past, off roadin no probs, drivin fast no probs, doin anythin no probs... but if i tow my trailer with it goin up hill at 3000rpm she starts to over heat, if i slow down she cools down... had new rad and new fan still the same, and ive got the same teeny weeny bubbles in the tank, and i mean the smallest ever, not enuf to say its the head gasket,

Mike v.t.s said:

ive had and still got the same problem, ive mentiond it on here in the past, off roadin no probs, drivin fast no probs, doin anythin no probs... but if i tow my trailer with it goin up hill at 3000rpm she starts to over heat, if i slow down she cools down... had new rad and new fan still the same, and ive got the same teeny weeny bubbles in the tank, and i mean the smallest ever, not enuf to say its the head gasket,

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Mine did same it was water pump impellers had gone regards Jeff

the viscus fan thread is reversed rotate clockwise to undo long 32 mm spanner and hit it with a hammer to shock it also your water pump might feel ok but the impellar can looosen and turn on the shaft

Mike v.t.s said:

ive had and still got the same problem, ive mentiond it on here in the past, off roadin no probs, drivin fast no probs, doin anythin no probs... but if i tow my trailer with it goin up hill at 3000rpm she starts to over heat, if i slow down she cools down... had new rad and new fan still the same, and ive got the same teeny weeny bubbles in the tank, and i mean the smallest ever, not enuf to say its the head gasket,

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If you have aircon, add a thermostat to bring the electric fans on to imprve cooling. Simple mod cost less than £20, PM me if you want details