trying to test freelander thermostat...but I don't understand how it works??

I took the thermostat out of my freelander....and decided to test it...and I also bought a new thermostat...but it's confusing!... It has four water ports..one large one goes down into the motor.....if I look inside this hole I see what appears to be a closed thermostat on my old one....and a open thermostat on my new one. This is opposite of what I expected....if I put both in hot water...the new thermostat closes...and nothing changes on the old one.....so I am assuming there is something that I am not understanding...the new one is probably working....if so it closes the large home when hot and opens it when cold. WHY??...Does the thermostat closes this hole so circulation can occur in the other ports??..I don't get it..hoping some one can shed some light on how the thermostat works

If there's 4 holes and you're looking down 1 - is it not diverting water to another hole?

Well the large hole. That goes vertically down in the engine...seems open on the new thermostat when cold and closes when I put it into hot water...opposite of what I would have expected....on my old thermostat which I thought might be defective...the hole is closed hot or cold.

Really I don't understand the path the coolant takes through the thermostat when the engine has reached normal operating temperature

The KV6 stat is slightly different from the norm.
Here's some illustrations for the system. And the description from the manual. Hope this helps.

Great info Nodge68..THANKS!...what is the normal operating temperature of a freelander?...I was thinking it should be 195 F...but the information sheet says the thermostat starts to open at 190 F....and is not fully open till 216 F.......I was measuring the temperature of the fluid in the expansion tank at 213....

Engine operating temperature is subject to many variables, mostly ambient air temperature and engine load. The temperature gauge is calibrated to compensate for a wide temperature range, showing normal when the coolant is between 167°F (75°C) and 239°F (115°C).
In the UK, the KV6 normally runs at around 211°F (99°C) at highway speeds.

The cooling fans start on slow speed at 122.8°F (106°C) and increase speed in unison with temperature as it climbs towards the max fan speed at 233.6°F (112°C).

Once the coolant reaches 241°F (116°C) the fans remain on high speed, the gauge shows high and the over temperature light will be on.
If you want to read coolant temperature, then you are best using the live engine data, as the tank temperature will be incorrect.

Thanks Nodge..that is great info!!... And much needed....is there a way to put a real temperature gauge on the kv6?...most engine blocks have a place to put an auxiliary gauge sensor somewhere....where could I put one on the kv6 block??

ericwest said:

Thanks Nodge..that is great info!!... And much needed....is there a way to put a real temperature gauge on the kv6?...most engine blocks have a place to put an auxiliary gauge sensor somewhere....where could I put one on the kv6 block??

Click to expand...

Yes there is. There's a blanking plate to the right of the front exhaust manifold (header in the U.S. ). It's on the transmission side of the head. It's just visible in this image. It is thick enough to be drilled and tapped to take a temperature sensor.

A coolant level sensor is more useful in the KV6 however.

How do you do a coolant level sensor? In the expansion tank somehow?

ericwest said:

How do you do a coolant level sensor? In the expansion tank somehow?

Click to expand...

Yes in the expansion tank. You can use a cheap float switch that puts a light on or better still a starts sounder. Hippo on here did a write up on it, so do a search.