td5 not warming up

[cleelo44]

Hello all,


I have a 2000 td5 defender... the temp gauge used to run at 12 o'clock... now its leaning towards the cold side... had it looked at and the mechanic assured me it was the thermostat, so now it has a new thermostat and the problem is still there!

So my question is... should i be worried? its not leaning very far to the left but seeing as the temp gauges are "normalized"...well i thought i'd better check before i go and quiz my ever reliable mechanic...

this may or may not be relevant but it also seems to take a while to warm up...how long is "normal"?

and while i'm here, if it is a problem what should i do next....

appreciate all your help as i haven't had any luck with the search function...

cheers

[999]

I was worried about my td5 discovery not warming up change the thermo and still no difference ((thought it was stuck open) and i still have not tested he old one) Turns out it was a dodgy connection on the temp sender. Once i cleaned the connection up its been fine.

Can you feel the the heat and pressure on your radiator hoses after a good 1/2 hour run?

If so I don't think your motor is running cold.

Disconnect the wire from the temp sender and give the connection a good clean. You'll have to remove the engine heat/sound shield, the sender is next to the water hose inlet on the head (at least on the disco).

[cleelo44]

cheers, i'll give that a try and see how it goes...

[cleelo44]

So I finally got around to checking the hose and it is getting hot and definitely feels pressurized... at least compared to when the engine is cold...

I also had a look at the temp sender and it appears to be clean... not really sure what I'm looking for there... any advice? Could the gauge be faulty?

Thanks in advance!

Sent from my not so smart phone using fingers to fat to type quickly!

[999]

Did you remove the connection to sender and recnonect it?

[cleelo44]

Sure did...

[Tombie]

Leaning how far from 12.

My Defender TD5 never ran at 12, always a needle width left.

[cleelo44]

It's only leaning 2-3mm from 12, but it used to run dead on centre... am I just being a sook?
It can also take between 10- 15 kms to reach temp? Is that within the bounds of normal?

Thanks again!

[Tombie]

Normal, I wouldn't worry.

Mine never got off cold going to work

[Grumbles]

If a gauge normally and consistently sits at 'X' position then changes to 'Y' position then something electrical or mechanical untoward has/is happening. It may or not be immediately serious or it could also be the harbinger of some bigger [costly?] malfunction about to happen.

In your case I have no idea why the gauge reading has changed but if it was me then I would be putting some immediate effort into diagnosing what has changed [worn/come loose/breaking etc] for piece of mind and security of my wallet. Ignoring the gauge position change is not an option - for me anyway.

[Tombie]

Ok Grumbles... Lets investigate further ;)

To the OP...

Have you had the Defender since new?
If not how long have you had it (referencing how long its ran at 12)?
Have you had it serviced recently?
Have you changed oil brand?
Radiator been flushed recently?
Have you topped up the coolant lately?
Been driving through mud / water much? (Puddles and rain)

Answer these and we'll go from there..

[cleelo44]

okey dokey


Ok Grumbles... Lets investigate further ;)

To the OP...

Have you had the Defender since new? No
If not how long have you had it (referencing how long its ran at 12)? I've had it for 15 months.. it was running at 12 up until a few months ago
Have you had it serviced recently? it had a major service back in october, changed the oil/filter about 3 weeks ago
Have you changed oil brand? not sure what it had it in when i got it but i put some cheaper oil in it a few months after i got it, but its had penrite diesel 5 in it for the last few oil changes
Radiator been flushed recently? changed during last major service (not sure if this means it has been flushed)
Have you topped up the coolant lately? coolant got topped up when it got a new thermostat last week
Been driving through mud / water much? (Puddles and rain) its been through a bit of both..some deep mud and water and plenty of rain

Answer these and we'll go from there..

thanks again

[cleelo44]

just an update,

Vehicle went back to the mechanic, they had managed to install one of the hoses incorrectly, which resulted in the hose getting a hole rubbed through it on one of the pulleys. Then they decided to replace the top hose as it had a wear point on it that they thought was a little concerning...

BUT... the temp gauge i believe has moved a little closer towards dead centre (where i like it to be)... although i'm not sure how this work would have affected things...

it also got a new bearing on the viscous fan thingo...

cheers

[Sully]

Sounds normal. When I was booting around in the TD5 90, it took a good 15 mins to warm up properly and was not at the "12 o'clock" position.

Maybe it's now running at the right temperature instead of too hot?

[spudboy]

just an update,
...
it also got a new bearing on the viscous fan thingo...

cheers

Maybe .... the Viscous fan assy was seized, and was overcooling from initial startup......

[Tusker]

Worry about next winter...:p

Is there someone near you with a Nanocom you can borrow? You'll see exactly what the ECU is reading.

Regards
Max P

[cleelo44]

It got nanocommed at the mechanic...

Faults included: -air con fan drive open load fault
- tacho drive open load fault
- air con clutch drive open load
- air con fan drive open load fault acting...

I haven't looked those up yet... but I have no idea if they are related in any way... I think it is suggesting there is something wrong with the air con... but knowing that others are having the same issue with little difficulty does give me some confidence....

Thanks!