If the thermostat has never been changed it's probably given up the ghost. While you're at it you might want to also change the coolant hoses.

 

Answers so far:

The MAP needs replaced it is unrelated to the overheating issue. I have it in the garage. We nailed that one down.

First place to start is the thermostat. = 20 – 50 for the part. 10mm and 8mm bolts and nuts – I do not think this is it because it runs fine with the AC off. ( Today I found this was not true with a Live view of the temps with my Code reader) Replacing it looks like a pain in the --- for me anyway, but not near as bad as aa fan!

I decided to explore a little further.

Sitting in drive with no ac hit 248 gauge started to go up from middle of the gauge. Highest I went was 250. Then I went for a drive with the ac off at 30mph it dropped to 230. Back down to 213 driving approx. 4 Mi. Got back home idling with no AC and it went to 240 and was going up. I shut it off radiator fan was running on high for a few minutes then kicked into low for a few minutes. Fan was cycling regularly during the whole process. Temperature continually rose while sitting no cycling of temp the fan was coming on and off through this process.

If the thermostat is stuck would it do this and if it was stuck would the air or the fan cool the temp if it was stuck closed?
Could it be a water pump? Just throwing that out there.

Did we just nail the thermostat as an issue?

Thanks Chris

 

The Thermostat cost about $125 is you buy an original part from Land Rover or Volvo. (the 3.2 was built at a FORD plant in the UK and used by Volvo and Land Rover)

Getting a cheap aftermarket Thermostat is false economy. (I've seen strange failure modes that are likely due to cheap aftermarket thermostats)

I posted all of the parts that should be replaced on another thread take a look there.

Good luck

Paul

PS the Thermostat is know to fail after 10 years/ 100,000 miles and depending on how it fails it may fail open or it may fail and restrict flow to the radiator. (the design is complex how much do you actually want to know)

 

Odd. The manual is in Celsius, so I'll use that unit.

The thermostat starts to open at 90*C and is fully open at 100*C.

The temp lingers around 90*C in normal driving, even on a warm day. It can get up around 100*C under load, in thin air or on a hot day but quickly comes back down when the load is removed.

I've only seen 100-110*C when towing in the mountains in 100*F+ summer heat. The only time the needle ever moved was when the fan had failed (intermittently). That's well over 110*C.

So that sounds like a t-stat. Replace it asap, the failure mode is breaking into small pieces which can circulate and damage other components.

I still think you probably have a fan issue too....

1) You had an intermittent code for that.
2) You had loss of AC. The AC condenser is in FRONT of the radiator so if the fan is working it shouldn't matter how hot the coolant is, the AC gets the cool ambient air first. Although it's possible the system shuts off the AC if the coolant gets to hot.
3) A fan failure, allowing higher than normal coolant temps, can break the t-stat especially a high-mileage t-stat which was just waiting for any excuse to fail anyway. That's what happened to me, wife drove it with intermittent fan issue, got that fixed then t-stat failed on a road trip. Fortunately failed full open in my case, so just had to cover up the grill with paper to allow it to warm up to normal temps.

So keep an eye on the fan.

On this car if the mileage is much over 100K and you need it to be reliable for roads trips, there's a lot of stuff you need to replace...

https://www.freel2.com/forum/topic32504.html

Especially the cooling parts, since you've already stressed those with the over-heat situation.

 

A quick check you can make to give you an indication if the thermostat is open and working, or if it's stuck closed, is to measure the temp of the top/inlet hose that connects the thermostat to the radiator. To offer a benchmark from my LR2, I used my handy IR temp gun to put the red laser dot on the hose where it connects to the thermostat. Just point it through the intake manifold runners as shown in this pic I took.

While my LR2 was idling hot with the A/C on, it measured 177F (80C) on the surface of the hose. This looks reasonable as my cooling system is working normally (knock on wood) and the hose would only get that hot if coolant was flowing through it. If your temp is much lower than this while the engine is idling and hot, that's an indication the thermostat is not opening fully or you may have a faulty water pump.

I don't know how to check the water pump. On most cars there is a cap on the radiator that you can remove (before the engine gets hot) and watch for flow. But the LR2 doesn't have a radiator cap and I doubt you can tell anything from the coolant reservoir. Any suggestions on diagnosing the water pump?

 

That's a great idea! I have one of those but I only use it for cooking, tells you where my priorities lie.

 

I will get an IR gun at the first of the month and tackle all of the issues we have identified.

Does anyone have an Autel AP200? THat is what I have for an analyzer.. The live mode show two temps not sure why? They are both reading the same temps not sure but it makes me think it is not circulating

 

Thank You guys will keep updating as I get these things done

 

I have one but it spends its time connected to my Smart car. I refuse to pay some $20 for a 1 year subscription to add the Land Rover software.

 

I checked into this (my OCD wouldn't let me do otherwise). A couple tell-tale symptoms of a faulty water pump are 1) bearing noise that you can hear, and 2) coolant leakage. Do either of these apply to your situation?