I have a D1 V8I and I have had real problems with the engine bay and drive train tunnel becoming unbearably hot in summer (Australia). The temp gauage doesn't move from normal which is the odd thing but I've had the radiator pulled appart and cleaned out, replaced the belt and the fan and water pump checked out OK. The firewall transfers unbearable heat to the inside and the shift (auto) stick & shift consul is too hot to even touch, the drive train tunnel also radiates too much heat. Any suggestions to fix this would make my day, the last trip I did into the outback cost me 5kg in weight after sitting in 50/60 (celcius) degree heat for three weeks.
Cheers,
Johnsy
[:@]

 

Is your engine running cool when this is happening, did this happen after you had all this work done on the truck? Do you have the drive belt running the engine fan backwards???? Pushing the air back thru the radiator instead of sucking it into the engine compartment?
Mike

 

Hi Mike,
As far as I can tell the engine is running cool/normal, the temp gauage does'nt show up anything abnormal but if you lift the bonnet the engine bay & engine seems to be hotter than it ought to be particularly on a hot day 35+ degrees. In winter (15 to 20 degrees) the temp inside the car and in the engine bay seems to be OK. I had all that work done after I had the overheating problems and still the work didn't make any difference.
How can I tell if the fan is running backwards?
Another thing that may help in diagnosing the problem is that when I start the car after a few days sitting I can hear a few faint bubbling noises for a few seconds and then it's back to normal but I have had the engine and radiator reverse flushed and cleaned twice and fluid changed three times and it still does this so I'm not convinced I have bubbles/air locks in the fluid in addition, I don't have any fluid leaks any where either. Could there be a possibility that a hose fitting some where is allowing air in rather than fluid out? Any suggestions would be greatfully accepted.
Cheers,
Johnsy

 

If the belt were on wrong, you would feel hot air blowing thru the radiator towards the front of the truck.
If air were trapped in the engine, your heater will blow cold/cool at an idle and warm up as you increase the RPM's, but even that won't cause the engine compartment to over heat, just the engine.
You may need to find some one with a hand help temp sensor that can check out the temp of you engine and coolant system from different paces, something has to show up. I am stumped, I don't know where else to point you.
Mike

 

I had the truck dyno tuned and this did make a bit of difference but it's still hot! Could it be the temp sensor gauge or would it be worth replacing it anyway?

 

Have you verified that both the engine fan and the electric fans are working?
Mike

 

Yup I have Mike all 3 of them are running fine. What now? It's coming into summer and I'm loosing waight fast!

 

Oh... by the way I had the thermistat replaced when I had it dyno'd.

 

Well if this is causing you to loose weight fast, I would like to trade trucks with you for awhile.
Do you know anyone who has a hand held temp reader that you could use to scan your engine compartment, maybe compare your heat to another Rover??
Mike

 

It would seem to me, coming from africa with very similar conditions to yours, that there is no problem whatsoever with you vehicle. I often have customers complaining of this condition in hot weather. It is simply the heat output from your engine permeating the insulation. It is very similar, although oppisite to getting to the permafrost layer in cold climates...

I assume your aircon is working???? Also, you could try fitting more thermal insulation on the firewall. Look for insulation that has a shiny foil layer to help reflect the heat and make sure all the plugs are in the firewall. Also you could try to make heatshieds fo the exhaust, especially where the header pipes get close to the firewall..

keith