Yes, everything is 100% perfectly normal.
It runs cooler in 3rd gear because the engine fan is pulling more air past the radiator.
You are fine, if it ain't broke don't fix it.
You are not actually overheating until you reach about 235*F.

 

sweet! as to reference to something I read from Savanna Buzz about thermostats and weep holes... I tested my gigglers or whatever they are in the OEM thermostat by squeezing on the upper radiator hose going across fan shroud when engine is cold and can hear the little gigglers a gigglin' ;-) that tells me only that the gigglin gigglers are gigglin and allowing bypass flow! ;-)

 

See, I dont think about it that much, engine temps are fine, thats as far as my thoughts go.

 

well Im learning :-) Im a newbie to land rover but not to european imports and when I first bought it I didnt know of this site at least didnt know I needed to do as much research... when I forst got it, I made the dealer replace a faulty coil and wires... but it still idled rough and i figured ah no biggy well 500$ later I know otherwise.. but have systematically cleaned it all up mostly, was so many SMALl things except burned up A/C compresor and smoke first week after owning and reading horror stories about them... then started my 65K major tuneup which im finishing up... also changing to green stuff and flushing DEXCOOL OUT.. it was defiantly in the 230 range but I stopped driving it until I could flush radiator which I did and ne thermostat and it all settled down... seafoamed in the tank as I still dont have a place I can do that full job yet... now no misses or codes except 430 and a slight bobble here and there on idle between pretty smooth idling.. and I can still hear the new dang S/C compressor slightly rough ... lol

 

If anyone is looking to pick up the parts, I posted the entire setup for sale. I sold my truck before I got to use it.

 

I have now tested

180 with no holes
180 with one 1/8 hole
180 with two 1/8 holes
190 with no holes
190 with one hole

Here is my conclusion, the 180 with one 1/8 hole is the way to go and here is why.
I have found out that no matter what temp the stat opens at, the coolant coming back in to the engine is cooled at around 175-177 degrees. So having it open as close to that temp as possible will keep your temps steady once warm. And having the hole has nothing to do with bleeding the system, in fact it makes it harder, but has a lot to do with how high the temp gets before it opens for the first time. With the hole my opens about 200-204 and then is very consistent at 177-184 once warm, and very rarely getting near 190. I have noticed very little if any lag in the warm up time.

I know you are saying "this is what the original write up said, why didn't you just listen." I could not be sure if he had tested any other options so I had to do it for myself. Based on my findings he did or he is just one of those guys that these things come easy to.

Here are my finding on the other stats.
(180 with no holes) works great once it is warm and stats with no holes make bleeding the system much easier. However it will get up to 220 sometimes before opening for the first time. If you are ok with that high of a temp at first cycle, I would go with this one. Warm up is great, better then stock set up.
(180 with two 1/8 holes) This stat had a real hard time warming up and would throw P0126 code almost every other time I drove it, really only if I drove off before it had reached 130 degrees or better.
(190 with one 1/8 hole) Is the one I thought would be for me but here is why I have changed my mind. it would open first time around 215-220 witch was fine but once warm it would open between 198 -204 and then drop to 175-177 then back up to around 198 in a very short time on the highway and from 177-193 at idle. My concern was that the 25-30 degree drop was to much of difference for our aluminum blocks, and It would never get to a steady temp in the 190's it was all over the board, every time the stat opened it would drop to 177 at a minimum. I do still believe that my truck runs better it that 190 range only because with the stock setup my truck ran between 193-198 until I really got on it and it would climb to 215 or so. But I can not be sure because I never got it to stay there. (I will be monitoring my mileage to see if I notice any difference in MPG at 180's)

(190 with no holes) was just way to hot at first cycle, it would sometimes open at 220 but sometimes it would not open by 225 or so, so I would pull over and let it cool down. when it did open it was very consistent with the 190 with one 1/8 hole.

I hope this helps anyone considering this mod. It is nice to not have to worry about temps jumping all over the place or getting to high because they are very stable at 180's no matter how hard you get on it.

But I think it was Disco mike that said all those that do this mod are doing is lowering the operating temps buy 10-15 degrees or so. And he is right my temps were pretty consistent with the stock system in the high 190's except if I really got on to it or was sitting in traffic for a long time. I have never towed with my truck so no advice there.

 

Couple things I wanted to clarify. my rig is a 04 DII with 106,000 miles on it. And I reinstalled the clutch fan to make sure I was getting results that anyone could duplicate,(previously I was running an electric fan that was controlled buy the temp in the radiator.)

Just thought I should point this out.

 

Seems like a good idea, since Rover sets 185 as the default value to use if the coolant temp sensor is off line. Let the forum know what your mpgs are running, and if you noticed any big negative change.

 

Will do (Savannah Buzz,)

Also a few more things to mention, All stats tested were "Stant" Thermostats (purchased at Advance Auto Parts)

I am running a 50/50 mix of Amsoil Coolant and Water.

And my stock system was running fine before the mod.

 

First off, thanks to Jaydog101 for giving so much quality info, data, and pics about his inline stat mod. Installing an inline thermostat is on my short list and the responses to this thread will be a great help.

I've also been seriously considering replacing my fan clutch with an electric fan mod. (Primarily to improve cooling).

Jaydog101... could you please give some more info (and pics) about your clutch fan replacement / electric fan mod setup?

what brand and model is your fan?

blade/fan size?

pusher or puller? / where and how did you mount it?

cfm, rpm, voltage and amps?

After you installed your electric fan, and prior to your inline stat mod, did you noticed any decrease or increase in cooling performance and/or MPG etc?

After testing your inline stat mod with both electric fan and fan clutch setups... did you keep your electric fan mod or revert to the original fan clutchsetup? Why?

Could you share any tips, thoughts, opinions, recommendations, suggestions, warnings, etc... for anyone considering replacing their viscous fan with an electric fan?

BTW, While cooling fan performance is somewhat related to the topic of the original post about inline thermostat mods, the specifics/details about replacing a fan clutch with an electric fan might be bit off topic.
I thought about creating a new/separate thread for this post, but I decided not to because my questions were directly related to previous posts within this thread. Please feel free to start a new thread in response to this post etc if you consider it appropriate etc.

Cheers,

Thomas