running cold

ive a 200 tdi discovery, which does have a knackerd radiator, the temp normally runs about half way or just under, ive noticed now the temp isnt geting much above the first line on the dash temp gage and it has also got a rather annoying wuring sound, other than this its running fine, any ideas?????

have i killed it????

Check your coolant level - if it's too low it may not be reaching tha gauge sender.
The whirring sound could be your water pump on it's way out.
It's very important not to overheat the engine!

wot he said...

if your coolant is OK then possibly the thermostat stuck open but that wouldn't explain the whirring sound

how do i check if the thermostat is stuck open???

one step at a time - we'll come to that later.

Treworgey 90 said:

one step at a time - we'll come to that later.

Click to expand...

ok whats my firt check??????



ile get my coat

a stuck open thermostsat aint gonna kill yer injun.
overheating due to low coolant or a gubbed water pump will!

Treworgey 90 said:

a stuck open thermostsat aint gonna kill yer injun.
overheating due to low coolant or a gubbed water pump will!

Click to expand...

am all yours whats me first check?????

assuming you haven't been anywhere yet and the engine is cold open the bonnet and locate the coolant expansion bottle.. black on mine and front drivers side of the engine bay.. undo the cap and have a look inside.. you are checking:


level - should be up near the full mark (in mine that is a sticking up thing in the middle but other cars have lines drawn marked min and max)

colour - it should be coolant coloured, usually blue or green.. anything else let us know about and we can help you diagnose it..

condition - are there bits floating in it, is there any foam on it or lining the sides of the bottle..

let us know what you find and we'll help out

coolant level

coolant level nr top, and green in colour, no crap in it

if you are sure the noise and running cold started at the same time might be worth trying to locate the source of the noise.. run engine and carefully get your head in above the engine bay - watch out for the fan and belts... seriously they hurt a lot... and try and work out where the noise is coming from.. would you agree trewey?

stuck my head in when on tick over it doesnt have the sound, when on higher rev the sound seems ta b comeing from round the area where all the belts era does this make sence???

Hmm, you now need to take the fan belt off and have a good feel of the water pump bearings. Do you reckon you can do that?

Treworgey 90 said:

Hmm, you now need to take the fan belt off and have a good feel of the water pump bearings. Do you reckon you can do that?

Click to expand...

lol.......do i cut it with a stanly trewy,



ile give this a go ya know what am gonna ask tho.........how do i get the fan belt off

ok sounds like the water pump as trewey suggested... if it were mine I would be running it to get the engine warmed up and the thermostat opened and seeing if I could detect water movement - will cause the rad pipes to go hard and a ripple in the expansion bottle.. but I would be ready to pay out for a new pump..

scrap all that, go straight to it as Trewey suggests.. gonna shut up now and learn from your experience but good luck with it...

mjltigger said:

ok sounds like the water pump as trewey suggested... if it were mine I would be running it to get the engine warmed up and the thermostat opened and seeing if I could detect water movement - will cause the rad pipes to go hard and a ripple in the expansion bottle.. but I would be ready to pay out for a new pump..

scrap all that, go straight to it as Trewey suggests.. gonna shut up now and learn from your experience but good luck with it...

Click to expand...

shall i leave it running and then check me pipes????

You need to loosen the 3 bolts that hold the altenator in place and push the altenator inwards, towards the engine block. That should loosen the belt enough so that you can lift it off the pulley - no need to remove it completely though.

mrs bucket said:

shall i leave it running and then check me pipes????

Click to expand...

You can do, but don't let it get too hot!

I tend to take the step by step approach and I wouldn't want to take anything apart unless I was sure... so I would be checking to see if the water pump is having any effect - you need to do that with it running...

Trewey is more knowledgeable than I am so you might be better going with his advice but if (like me) you don't want to be pulling it apart then checking the pipes etc is a way of proving to yourself that the water pump isn't pumping water as it should..