Another 200 tdi Overheating thread

[Ironstrike]

Hi,

I know there are loads of threads on this but I have read all of them and I just want to confirm my theory.

My 90 with a replacement engine 12l code which I thought was a original defender engine but it turns out it is a disco engine as I found out when I ordered a water pump.

Anyway, temp gauge went in to the red the other day so I did the following:

Water pump needed replacing anyway so I replaced it.
New Thermostat.
Checked oil - no water
Checked water - no oil
Removed thermostat again
Flushed cooling system
No excess exhaust smoke after initial start up
Even with gauge in the red water was not near boiling

Gauge still in the red after 3 or 4 minutes

I checked and the engine was warm not hot, same for rad hoses top and bottom
No excess pressure in hoses
Manually ran the electric fan on the radiator until air blew cold

Gauge still near the red so I decided it was a faulty sender.

I had ordered one but it was the wrong thread so I tried connecting it to the cable (not screwed in to thermo housing) and just earthing it with a wire.

Even though the sender had no direct heat source it was still rising rapidly, but obviously it was the wrong sender so it is possible that it might read wrong.

I am at the point where I am pretty sure it is either the sender or some other electrical fault (I had been wiring up all sorts of stuff the week before).

Oh yes, another thing that is probably relevant is that I had a bulb melt the back light bulb housing in the temp gauge a couple of weeks ago too.

Before I drive it for 40 minutes to work I would like to be certain that it is not over heating so my question is has anybody ever had an electrical issue that caused the gauge show over heating when it is not?

 

[Hicap phill]

There is a difference between a defender/disco temp sender.
Yes the disco 1 reads higher. (Mine did)
As long as the pipes are not hot to touch you should be fine.
I don't have a fan on

 

[Kev12]

Its uncommon for a 200tdi to get hot, its usually harder to get them up to temp. How hot is your heater?

 

[lynall]

I smiled when I read ANOTHER 200 over heating and thought ho ho, many if not most 200 owners would wish for more heat in the winter.

The onlly way to be really sure is to fit a capilliary gauge and sender, Tim is the make 35 quid from ebay, Ive had two fitted for about 7/8 yrs now with no issues at all.

 

[Flossie]

Steve Parker used to sell the correct sender for disco engine in 90/110 so the gauge reads correctly, I've got one in mine.
There was a thread about this not long ago and I think sp doesn't do them anymore? Not sure on that.
There are other work around too also on that thread.
You could also fit a sender and gauge combo which will read more accurately (apparently) .

 

[Ironstrike]

Its uncommon for a 200tdi to get hot, its usually harder to get them up to temp. How hot is your heater?

It has the usual 90 heater, I sometimes get a feeling like an asthmatic squirrel is breathing on my shins when I put the heater on but that's it.

 

[Ironstrike]

I smiled when I read ANOTHER 200 over heating and thought ho ho, many if not most 200 owners would wish for more heat in the winter.

The onlly way to be really sure is to fit a capilliary gauge and sender, Tim is the make 35 quid from ebay, Ive had two fitted for about 7/8 yrs now with no issues at all.

Thanks, they certainly look cheaper than replacing the original gauge but the thread doesn't look right. Its a Disco 1 engine in mine, it uses the fine thread

 

[Ironstrike]

Steve Parker used to sell the correct sender for disco engine in 90/110 so the gauge reads correctly, I've got one in mine.
There was a thread about this not long ago and I think sp doesn't do them anymore? Not sure on that.
There are other work around too also on that thread.
You could also fit a sender and gauge combo which will read more accurately (apparently) .

The funny thing is it was working perfectly until last week

 

[My Old Landy]

Steve Parker used to sell the correct sender for disco engine in 90/110 so the gauge reads correctly, I've got one in mine.
There was a thread about this not long ago and I think sp doesn't do them anymore? Not sure on that.

I think he still does, I am ordering one for mine once I work out which thread

 

[My Old Landy]

The funny thing is it was working perfectly until last week

Mine reads hot sometimes and other times it reads low to normal.... I tend to ignore it. If the heater starts working well, I will worry!!

 

[flat]

Get a capaillary gauge for total peace of mind, that’s wht I did. So accurate you can even see when the thermostat opens.

A 200 had to be in really bad shape to overheat, on mine the fan seized, I went off roading and it still didn’t over heat.

 

[Flossie]

The funny thing is it was working perfectly until last week

I think he still does, I am ordering one for mine once I work out which thread
View attachment 163371

Cool
From memory, you have to count the threads on your old one and then I gave them a call to confirm which one to get.
I didn't have the internet when I did my conversion so everything I did was by phone back then .

 

[Ironstrike]

Thanks for all the replies.

I think I will go with a capaillary gauge. To those who have fitted one does the gauge fit in the dash/clock surround where the original temp gauge is?

 

[Hicap phill]

Yes

 

[Ironstrike]

Yes

Thanks

 

[lynall]

Yes it fits, but remember the capilliaru pipe cannot be split, so you have to thread it through the dash gauge hole, leave a little slack behind the dash then run the pipe through the bulkhead and then down to the stat housing, try and do it neat as its an arse to unpumb the thing afterwards to reroute the pipe.

As mentioned above you can see the stat open on the gauge and when running light in sub zero conditions you can see the engine getting colder and colder, lowest I ever saw was 70 degs c and at this low temp the heater is utter carp.

 

[zeaphod]

I've found it's easier to fit an electric gauge. Of course if it's an early disco engine you will need a M16 fine to 1/8 nptf adapter, which can be hard to find - it's a 16 by 1mm thread. As for the overheating, with the thermostat open at 80 degrees you will just be able to hold your hand on the top hose - it will feel properly hot, but you can just keep your hand on it. At anything close to 100 degrees I have found the engine will actually smell of hot oil.

 

[My Old Landy]

I was thinking of getting one of these and putting it the top hose line

 

[lynall]

I was thinking of getting one of these and putting it the top hose line
View attachment 163552

Problem with the 200 is quite often you can get situations where the top hose is empty.
Why I dotn know, but I have seen it more than once now, and of course no coolant means the sensor in the hose has nothing to read.

 

[My Old Landy]

Problem with the 200 is quite often you can get situations where the top hose is empty.
Why I dotn know, but I have seen it more than once now, and of course no coolant means the sensor in the hose has nothing to read.

I didn't know that, thanks for the heads up.
Where is the best place to site the sensor?
Cheers