Heater/Engine Temperature

Hey guys. Driving around in the snow today I noticed that it took about 20 minutes for the engine to get warm, and even then the needle was only just off of cold. Is there any way of making it heat up more quickly? I seem to remember having something done to the thermostat on my old 110 a few years ago to make it run warmer, but I'm not sure? Is there anythingI can do to warm things up a bit more quickly? It's a 300Tdi.

Ditch the viscous fan - you don't need it.

improvise a rad muff

Sean said:

improvise a rad muff

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Just make sure your system is full with fluid and hold an eye on the temperature guage...I put a rad-muff on and was unlucky, my thermostat failed and as a result after 30 miles the rad blew, the head gasket went and the head itself cracked...be warned...

Check the stat and fit the higher temped version.

I can't remember the numbers, but I did it to the Disco, it's got one thats 8° C hotter than the one that was in it.

I put a 92 degree thermostat in instead of the 81 degree that was originally in. It's an old series with a 2.5 N/A engine and it made an appreciable difference to warm up time and heater temp..

Do you have an egr valve because ditching them increases the temperature

treestump said:

Do you have an egr valve because ditching them increases the temperature

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Do I have a what now? I have no idea! What's one of them? I'll check the thermostat and change it. I was sure I had that done to my old one but it was that long ago I though it may have been wishful thinking!

I just phoned the main dealer. They say there's only one thermostat available for the 300Tdi? Cardboard it is then!

njc110381 said:

I just phoned the main dealer. They say there's only one thermostat available for the 300Tdi? Cardboard it is then!

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Make sure you wrap it in something then cos its a bugger when it gets wet and disintegrates into the radiator, the engine, the air filter...

Dealers will go by their little computer. Phone craddocks, or simmonites.

NEVER fit a radiator muff or blind.
The inevitable outcome will be overheating.

The best way to improve the heater and the engine efficiency by the way, is to fit a hotter thermostat. and I suggest you get one that LOOKS identical to the one you have in the car, BUT is rated to open at 92°C.

The stat will stay shut till it reaches about 90°C, during which time the coolant circulates through the by-pass and the HEATER, and heats up quickly.

As soon as the coolant reaches about 90-92°C the thermostat opens and sends some VERY VERY HOT coolant to the radiator thus dispacing the same volume of cool water into the engine.

If you have the radiator blanked off, it will take only 2 to 10 minutes to overheat the engine depending on driving conditions at the time. The worst case would be up a long steep hill in a low gear towing a big heavy trailer.

CharlesY

My TD5 90 also takes forever to warm up. The dealer changed the "Air Control Valve" and it seems to have made a difference, they are a common fault apparently. I made a cardboard muff when it was very cold and that certainly improved it, but I'm very wary of blocking off the oil cooler. The dealer said it was quite normal for the vehicle to take 5 to 8 miles to warm up.

I've got an old E300TD Merc and that warms up in about 2 miles and the rad on that is twice the size of the one in the 90. I think they just wanted the TD5 to run cold. Also the dealer laughed at me when i asked them to put a new thermostat in "We've NEVER had to replace one of those on a Defender".

Like I said watch out for the oil cooler...

I don't get it. My L200 used to warm up within a mile of my house and it felt like an oven by the time I got to work. This Defender only gets warm enough to get the frost off of the window by the time I'm at work, and I'm sure half the warmth in the cab is from me not the heater! It's just daft, I'm not going to be towing a 3.5 ton trailer across the Sahara any time soon so there should be some way of calming the cooling system down! I'll ring some of the suppliers mentioned and see what they come up with.

Cheers for the advice.