MikeV8SE

MikeV8SE

New Member
OK, I’ve seen more Defenders on the road over the last 2 days than ever before – 7 last night and 4 this morning! :D

One this morning intrigued me though – he had some kind of leather cover over the radiator grille at the front, I assume to help get the engine up to temperature quicker. Would this have the same effect on my RRC? My journey to work is around 20 minutes, and it’s at least 15 minutes before the temp gauge is up to temperature – and I know the V8’s are not economical until they get warmed up (or even when they are, really!). Would it be an idea to put something over the radiator to help it heat up a bit quicker? I imagine a big wedge of cardboard would do the trick! Or best just to leave it as it is?

[FONT=&quot]Cheers![/FONT]
 
That's a long time for the gauge to hit normal, my bog standard 3.5efi will be there in about 5 mins driving. Maybe a silly question but when was the last time you changed the thermostat?
 
Check the stat and get rid of the bloody great engine driven fan. Fit an electric or if you have condensor fans fit a stat to operate them from engine temp. Super fast warm up and fuel saving too.
 
norseman said:
That's a long time for the gauge to hit normal, my bog standard 3.5efi will be there in about 5 mins driving. Maybe a silly question but when was the last time you changed the thermostat?
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Pass - only owned it for 4 weeks and sat still for 4 years prior to that! Gave it a coolant change as soon as I bought it (the old stuff was sludgy and brown!) and haven't touched anything else since!

Datatek said:
Check the stat and get rid of the bloody great engine driven fan. Fit an electric or if you have condensor fans fit a stat to operate them from engine temp. Super fast warm up and fuel saving too.
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Excuse my ignorance, but what's the stat?? And how/why would I get rid of the engine driven fan - does it really sap that much power?! I take it if it is engine driven then it is going all the time, not just when the engine gets hot?
 
MikeV8SE said:
Pass - only owned it for 4 weeks and sat still for 4 years prior to that! Gave it a coolant change as soon as I bought it (the old stuff was sludgy and brown!) and haven't touched anything else since!



Excuse my ignorance, but what's the stat?? And how/why would I get rid of the engine driven fan - does it really sap that much power?! I take it if it is engine driven then it is going all the time, not just when the engine gets hot?
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Oh my word...:clock:
 
MikeV8SE said:
Pass - only owned it for 4 weeks and sat still for 4 years prior to that! Gave it a coolant change as soon as I bought it (the old stuff was sludgy and brown!) and haven't touched anything else since!



Excuse my ignorance, but what's the stat?? And how/why would I get rid of the engine driven fan - does it really sap that much power?! I take it if it is engine driven then it is going all the time, not just when the engine gets hot?
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Stat is the thermostat. With the fan you have now, its cooling the rad all the time, so when its cold its cooling water thats already cold. Takes alot longer for engine to reach running temp, with an electric fan it only comes on when the engine reaches a certain temp so you reach running temp much quicker.
 
fortgrange said:
Stat is the thermostat. With the fan you have now, its cooling the rad all the time, so when its cold its cooling water thats already cold. Takes alot longer for engine to reach running temp, with an electric fan it only comes on when the engine reaches a certain temp so you reach running temp much quicker.
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Stat = thermostat - should've guessed! I'm new to RR's so thought it might be short for something completely different.

Fan idea makes perfect sense - is it a popular mod to make? Is there a simple kit that can be purchased to swap the engine driven fan for an electric one then? And where does it take its temperature feed from, the thermostat?

Back to my original query, why do people tend to put cardboard over the radiator then - to help the engine warm up quicker?
 
With the weather this cold it will take a bit of time for the gauge to move. I have leccy fans on mine and it is taking a few miles for the gauge to move but you should still get a bit of heat out of the heater within a short time.

I would not recommend covering your radiator. Even in low temperatures like now, standing in traffic with reduced air flow will still risk overheating, V8's don't like getting hot, gauge should sit just below half way, if it goes up then you need to investigate pronto.
 
Thanks Kev. Gauge sat just below halfway before changing the coolant, now it's a bit lower - somewhere between 1/4 and 1/3 up from cold?

I may block off half the radiator because at the moment the engine takes ages to warm up, and it also means the heater isn't being particuarly efficient either. It's OK, just takes a little while! What ya reckon, 1.2 blocked off OK whilst we have sub zero temperatures to contend with?

As for electric fans - the kit from Rimmer Bros is £250, so much more than I want to spend right now!
 
First off, if the coolant you drained out was sludgy, I would change the engine thermostat, it may be stuck open. If the car has air conditioning, it will already have one or more electric cooling fans for the aircon condensor, these can be adapted to cool the engine for the cost of about £15. Alternatively you can buy a Kenlowe kit.
 
Datatek said:
First off, if the coolant you drained out was sludgy, I would change the engine thermostat, it may be stuck open. If the car has air conditioning, it will already have one or more electric cooling fans for the aircon condensor, these can be adapted to cool the engine for the cost of about £15. Alternatively you can buy a Kenlowe kit.
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Air con fans are O.K. most of the time but won't cope in a hot summer in traffic or crawling along when laning. Kenlowe is good but expensive.
 
MikeV8SE said:
Thanks Kev. Gauge sat just below halfway before changing the coolant, now it's a bit lower - somewhere between 1/4 and 1/3 up from cold?

I may block off half the radiator because at the moment the engine takes ages to warm up, and it also means the heater isn't being particuarly efficient either. It's OK, just takes a little while! What ya reckon, 1.2 blocked off OK whilst we have sub zero temperatures to contend with?

As for electric fans - the kit from Rimmer Bros is £250, so much more than I want to spend right now!
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Gauge sounds similar to mine at the moment so reasonably good. (no my stat isn't stuck) Even if the gauge doesn't move much you should notice heat from heater within say 2 - 3 miles but it won't be scalding hot (they seldom are!) Don't block your rad you are tempting fate.

Leccy fans, numerous posts on that subject but strongly recommend a good controller (about £75.00).
 
classic kev said:
Air con fans are O.K. most of the time but won't cope in a hot summer in traffic or crawling along when laning. Kenlowe is good but expensive.
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OK I stand corrected, on the P38 diesel they are more than adequate even in 35C pulling a caravan up a mountain:D
They ought to cope in traffic though as they will push more air through than the engine fan when the engine is idling.
 
classic kev said:
Gauge sounds similar to mine at the moment so reasonably good. (no my stat isn't stuck) Even if the gauge doesn't move much you should notice heat from heater within say 2 - 3 miles but it won't be scalding hot (they seldom are!) Don't block your rad you are tempting fate.

Leccy fans, numerous posts on that subject but strongly recommend a good controller (about £75.00).
Click to expand...

A good controller? You can buy a thermostat not much different to the Kenlowe one for about £15, you just have to fit it into a box:D
 
Change of thermostat would be my first job, not a great time of year to be forking out for kenlowe fans, save your pennies and get em in the summer, there's bound to be one hot day :D

Try putting your heater controls on recirculate and turn the heat to cold on your controls too and see if this heats up the beast any quicker.

Mines sits just below half way when running at temp and takes bout 5-10 mins to warm up depending what speed I do from set off.

Good luck :)
 
Just to add my bit...I have a 2.5 Ford Transit and it takes about 4 to 5 miles before its temp gauge goes half way......I also have a TD5 Discovery 2.5 and that also takes about 4 to 5 miles for the gauge to sit just under half way..My dashboard red and blue dials always set to midway between blue bit and the red bit as i cant stand being hot in a vehicle loop warm does me....
 
Thanks guys. I could change the thermostat, but not sure I need to - from the sounds of it my car is pretty normal? I start to get warm air through the heaters 3-4 minutes after starting, although its not "hot" by that point - that's a good 15 minutes from starting I think! But the engine does get up to temp OK, so would the thermostat really need changing?
 
It doesn't hurt to change a thermostat every 4 years or so as the springs get weak so they open sooner so keeping the car cooler - or too cool for maximum efficiency (fuel consumption etc).
Cars are designed to run surprisingly warm - something like 92 degrees - its just keeping it there and not going any higher without proper control.
Lots of old cars run too cool but of course no one wants one too hot!

I think a stat change is probably in order for mine next year.

Nice trip in this morning - first snow experience in the rangie. No traction issues but a couple of 4 wheel slides into corners - its a big old beast.
 
Yep, my first go in the Rangie in the snow this morning - it's great! Only a few cm here, but on top of compacted ice made for hazardous conditions, Main roads were fine, but where's the fun in that? Back roads all the way, and being in the Chilterns there were some fairly steep ascents and descents but took it all in it's stride!

One thing about the engine fan - is it not a viscous-coupling type fan? So whilst it will be turning constantly from the engine belt, surely it won't be at full chat all the time, so shouldn't be cooling it too much when the engine is cold...?
 
Mike,
That's my understanding of the viscous fan. As it gets warmer it spins more freely (less viscous) so cools more but when cold it doesn't move that much.
Only ever had electric ones.
 
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