Coolant system modifications
 

I've been looking at some posts from a year or so ago talking about modifying the coolant system to make it more efficient...and run cooler.

They speak about (and show pics) of inline thermostats (Chevy 180 degrees) in the upper rad hose. They completely remove the stock enclosed t-stat and make a new system including an inline temp sensor adapter.

Looks awesome...They say the engines are running around 190 degrees all the time...no problem with ECM, etc.

Is this still a good thing and what are some opinions?!

After a year, are they still ok?

In theory the lower temp might impact fuel economy as ECU will try to run rich, but I think that is more for low temps like 160. I run a 180 in mine, but the D1 has different most everything. Before taking a wrench to it look through all the parts of the RAVE and be sure you understand how the existing plumbing works, during warm up, etc.

Why do you want to mess with your cooling system, are you having problems, if so what.
A number of people have tried out guessing Rover but come the cool season and many of them can't get their trucks out of open loop so they run rich, burn way to much fuel and contaminate the oil real quick.
If you want to read some good information on this go into the rave and read the 2 pages on the cooling system especially the t/sat, then leave well enough alone.

Thank you...

I'm not really having any trouble with my cooling system...as far as I can tell.

It would be great if there was a consistant answer on subjects as crucial as they appear to be. All everyone talks about is how devastating things can be if you don't "do this" or "don't do that!" "Say good bye to your engine" kind of stuff!

My goodness...

If you keep your truck serviced, change the coolant and t/stat every 2 years and only use distilled water in the system, the chances of a problem happening are slim.
So many of the people who have issues, do not address them the day they find a leak or problem and then they get into trouble.

And you are correct when you say you are not having any trouble as far as you can tell. Because the instruments in the Rover are designed for peace of mind. The temp sensor is monitored by the ECM, and for a range of temperatures, it shows "normal". If you are running at the high end of the acceptable range, and then exceed that and start moving above normal, most drivers think it is getting a little warm. But in fact, you are a lot hotter than you think, and don't take action to protect your engine. Rovers have a good number of HG problems. And more than a few of those might have been prevented by good instruments.

Before deciding on cooling system changes, which could run from adding a bottle of water wetter, to the more obscure... you should plug in your data reading scanner and get to know what the real coolant temp is doing. I thought mine was normal, and it was over 230 degrees....

And the experience of a new or low miles owner will be different from those who buy a $2000 and under 125K+ Rover, with the idea we can get it back decent in a couple of weeks... Previous owners are a strange lot.

curious, what should the temps read idle or cruising around town in stock thermo form?

I was getting 195 to 207. Gauge did not change even when it went up to 237 on scanner. Spike has been posting about the Ulta gauge, which plugs into the code scanner socket, one of the many things displayed is coolant temp.

I tried no stat (135 - 145), 160 stat, 180 high flow (did not like the spikes in temp), and I have a generic 180 at the moment (178-184). I also changed fan clutch to an HD one from salvage yard (2000 era Chevy), and tried a couple of Chevy fans cut down to fit. Latest one came from a Blazer, deeper, moves a lot more air, saw a 6 degree change with that. Of course, my rodded out radiator is not a brand new one. But i figure it needs all the help it can get on 100 degree days. Now that the chill is in the air, will see if I am over cooling, have kept stock clutch and fan just in case.

Coolant every two years, factory thermostat, no problems. The factory thermostat from the dealer is like 2x the cost of an aftermarket one but I don't want to chance it on these flaky cooling systems. My temps, 194 on the road 207 at idle. Pretty much reliable as rain.

I have to say that I am quite impressed with the modifications with the inline temp sensor and inline t-stat. If you have a 180 in there and it works and nothing is affected except for the better operating temp of 190 or so...why wouldn't one do the modification?!

It seems that the biggest complaint with the engine in these things is overheating and, being aluminum, engine destruction!

The other problem is oil pressure...

Land Rover clearly (in a few areas) dropped the ball in engineering and production quality...

I've never seen such an odd configuration for a t-stat that is apparently "pressure" operated! Not like the old fashioned way...

I think that any modification that seems as efficient as the ones that have been done, is a good thing...Maybe there should be a "kit" available to folks to have the conversion done.

(I mean for heaven's sake...look at the front driveshaft "plan" that came from the factory...A/C water splashing on the thing and it being heated up with a screeming cat-converter...then lets go and smashes the transmission...Holy Moly!!)

I think too that if you order a new front driveshaft from LR, for $1200 you get the same ridiculous un-servicable part?!

Folks have solved this problem by inovation and common sense...!

...Just saying!