anbran - swing over to the tech sticky area under D1 and you will find the how to on prop shaft rebuild and a number of other topics. While the vehicles have short comings, most vehicles sold in the world could not power their way out a pile of Rover excrement, much less a real mud hole. What makes sense to engineers may be theoretical but impractical to maintain.

 

Thanks...I've already done the propshaft! I've looked at the tech stickies...they're very helpful. I have two Volvos as well and have spent a lot of time on the Volvo forums...Saved me a lot of time and $$ for sure...

I think I will pick up the inline temp thing and see how it goes with a new gauge.

Question: Does the Land Rover stock thermostats come in different temps ?

 

180 start opening temp -

see Duralast/Thermostat (44080) | 2001 Land Rover Discovery II 8 Cylinders 2 4.0L MFI OHV | AutoZone.com

 

i went with stock thermo, but i switched to amsoil coolant and its versions of watter wetter. expensive, but people seem to love it in other motors, especially the high service diesel croud (same people that love rotella haha). i was considering putting in an bypass filter too but i never got around to it. there are a few companies i found that make them for ford/chevy/dodge motors but they really arent specific other then the mounting plates... im sure if you just found a good place to stick it any of them would work. i saw some of thier own advertising pics aswell as some user post pics on the forums back when and its amazing how much grit and **** they got out (saving the wear n tear on the water pump impellers and obviously all the jackets and gaskets). its in my plan i think for next time i change it out, i just did the waterpump/thermo/belt/headgaset thing a few months ago so its not worth it just yet!

 

Speaking of fan clutches, Savannah, I remember you saying that different fans were ALWAYS running instead of backing off when the temp. got lower. Just out of curiosity, did you find one that works properly if so, is it the one you mention here? The one out of the Blazer?

 

The jury is still out. Now that it has gotten 60 degrees cooler I need to repeat tests. At the moment I have Chevy "deep" fan, and clutch from same, extra air flow is providing more cooling, question will be how much mpg impact, and if during cooler weather it goes too far. I am prepared to switch fan/clutch for winter/summer if needed. But that's just me, I want a cooler engine with very good oil PSI. A slight penalty in mpg is offset by reduced engine rebuilding, IMHO.

 

I like this idea!

 

for those inclined, see Coolant Filter Retrofit for water filter, might be good for rental fleets where you never know waht people will put in there. Disoc with AL block and AL rad (D2) = not so much rust.

Pix of what high miles water pump looks like with poor cooling system service (170K D1 on left, 115 K on right (D2- same pump). So scale can buildup, not sure how it would travel. Wobbly pump scores front cover.

On my 180 stat, today I ran 178-180 at 55 mph, 52 F outside. 174 idle in traffic after 20 mile trip to Tractor Supply. 15.7 mpg on today's fill up.

 

Wow, really?
The DII cooling system sucks, the modification that the original poster wants to do is a good one in my opinion, it simplifies the system and makes it equal to a DI cooling system in design.
If you need to add snake oil to anything you have a problem and need to correct that problem.
If your cooling system is in good working order there is nothing you need to do other than change the coolant every 2 years.
I have a 195*F t-stat, guess what, my truck runs right at 195.8*F all day long, sitting in traffic it warms up alittle, put it in park and let it idle for 10 min and it actually cools off below 195*F.
Now granted the DI has a 3 row radiator and the DII only has a 2 row radiator so a 180*F t-stat would be a better idea as you need the extra wiggle room.
I agree that 230*F is to hot.
All OEM temp gauges on all cars that have them are set up as idiot lights, they show normal 99% of the time because they dont want the car in the shop everytime the owner sits in the drive thu with the a/c on for 10 min and the temp climbs.
Do the mod if you want, or dont, its your call.
All of the "doom and gloom" is nonsense, take care of your truck, pay attention to what it is telling you and take care of things before they become big problems and you will be fine.

And as for the quality issues, you can thank Ford for that, they were looking for quick profits and not repeat customers. (Ford owned Jag and Rover in the mid to late '00's)

 

I think Spike also touches on the critical issue that is ignored -scheduled coolant flush and replace. The same guy that owned my truck probably didn't change the oil very often, and never changed coolant, and topped it up with "hard" well water. I know he added quantities of stop leak because it coated the inside of everything. I don't think you are going to find a lot of sand in a cooling system that is closed, and filled with distilled water, so I don't know about a water filter. But if you can't get the cooling you want, you have to change what you can. Stats are cheap, some mods are better than others. I'd like to have a larger radiator, but haven't really found one yet (a Buick Station wagon had a short, but wider one...), my jumbo fan is just a way to get a little more cooling out of the rodded out one I have - please note that while rodding out is not uncommon for leaky "rows" to be pinched off and soldered shut, removing the leak, but also decreasing square inches of cooling surfaces, so a modified rad may be quite a bit different from a new one).

I also agree that the D2 plumbing is quite a contraption. The jump from brass/copper to AL radiator was probably to have less weight and cost. Lots of Fords and Chevys with 1 row AL radiators, perhaps as a means to sell HD or trailer towing upgrades, my F250 (5.8 liter) would get too warm, so I put in a two row. Most likely 1 row rad just shows up problems from poor service history faster than a two row, etc. Less room for gunk to build up before it is noticed.

As for running temp. haven't noticed big mpg change up or down. Obviously, if you run no stat you'll have problems at both cold and hot ends of the range; takes long time for ECU to stop making it "rich", can't shift into overdrive, and when hot the coolant is not spending enough time in radiator to cool off. 160 probably low, as D1 wants some engine warmth to engage 4th gear (D2 may do this as well, but it takes more computer modules discussing things).

I've never had cooling problems with vehicles I bought new, but the older "projects" bought cheap seem to always need something.