Freelander 1 Heater not getting hot

They've got expensive since TD4 owners have been buying them. I paid about £8 for one from my local motorfactors.

Well it arrived yesterday and I am off work tomorrow - so I will get it fitted in the morning and see how it goes.

Hi everyone td4 2005 freelander, HELP !
OK TODAY I FITTED THE IN LINE THEMOSTAT HOUSING FROM SPECIALIST COMPONENTS, oops Sorry for shouting, fitting it was a breeze, took it for a run and 20 miles down the road I was well cooked ,so I turned of the heater blower and within a couple of minutes the temp gauge shot up , I pulled into the hard shoulder turned engine of but put the blower back on ,steam was belting out the expansion bottle which was gurgling at me, I let it cool for ten minutes, I thought the fans would have kicked in but NO, anyhoo I started to drive again and the temp stayed at 12, got home and checked stat hose,,hot at engine little cooler after stat but bottom hose was cold cold, question is WHAT HAPPENED !

Did you put the thermostat the correct way round? The sensing bulb needs to be on the engine end of the thermostat housing.

Yep, ieven called John at specialist component and he put me right

When it was hot and I checked the hoses the engine side was hot and the rad side was hot but before I left the house the engine side was hot and rad side cold,,, I had let it tick over for 10 minutes with rad cap off before going a run

Is it possible the thermostat has gone wrong?

Airlock? Did you bleed the system after fitting it? Just a thought?

He told me this side faces the radiator

How do I bleed it ?

Shakari said:

He told me this side faces the radiator

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Shakari said:

View attachment 144095

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That's the sensing bulb side. That MUST face the engine or it can't sense the heat from the engine.

Shakari said:

How do I bleed it ?

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Leaving the hose clip loose enough for coolant to leak out is the only way to bleed that stat. It doesn't have a tiny bleeder hole, so you'll need to use the more crude method above.

Nodge68 said:

That's the sensing bulb side. That MUST face the engine or it can't sense the heat from the engine.


Leaving the hose clip loose enough for coolant to leak out is the only way to bleed that stat. It doesn't have a tiny bleeder hole, so you'll need to use the more crude method above.

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Thanks Nodge68 I’ve been racking my 2 brain cells over this as I’ve done the usual, so start the engine and whilst ticking over loosen the engine side hose on the replacement stat and fill the expansion bottle ? Or do I leave the expansion cap on and only fill when it’s low ?

Nodge68 said:

That's the sensing bulb side. That MUST face the engine or it can't sense the heat from the engine.


Leaving the hose clip loose enough for coolant to leak out is the only way to bleed that stat. It doesn't have a tiny bleeder hole, so you'll need to use the more crude method above.

Click to expand...

Also could I put a bleed nipple on the stat ?

Turn the stat around first, then fill the coolant tank. Cap off is best initially, with the clip to the stat on the engine side loose. You may need to deform the hose at the stat end to allow the air out. Once the sensing bulb is in the coolant, it can sense the heat and open the stat. When the stat opens, any remaining air will migrate to the tank and coolant will replace it. The system will slowly self bleed over the next few days, so keep topping up as needed.

Does that not mean that I’ll need to turn the stat back the right way and that will cause the same problem again? It seems to have settled today and my fbh is working again, (maybe because I pulled the fuse out) I done the bleed screw this morning but only water came out.
After the engine was hot I check the radiator side top hose (after the stat)and it was hot, the bottom pipe was cold.

If it’s easier to talk I can send you my number

Just read the first post you sent, I thought the same about the direction of the stat but JOHN said no, I’ll change it round and let you know how I get on ,,, thanks and I really appreciate your help

Hi John, Ash from Glasgow here, I need your help again. Does this end point towards the engine when fitting on a td4 manual 2005 year?
Thank you in advance
Pic as above

He answered ,,,,,
that is the radiator end not the engine side ,,,,
I’ve just spoken to him again and he still says that side goes towards the rad and that the side with the spring goes to the engine side. He was like and I got the impression not to call him back.
So I apologise Nodge 68 if I’m being a pain.

I've not fitted that sort of stat. However when the Renaut 4/5 stat is fitted, the sensing bulb must be on the engine side of the hose. If it's not, it can't sense the engine temperature and so won't open. This will cause the temperature to go into the red, unless the heat is being taken out of the system by the heater.
But if this guy says the bulb faces the rad, then he must know what he's selling. I don't know how it's supposed to know how hot the coolant in the engine is when it's in the rad pipes, but I'm just applying logic to the problem based on your initial problem.