[maseratijake]

Getting mixed answers searching on the forums. Seemed like my thermostat was sticking open, coolant temps never got above 170F. Put a new thermostat in from Atlantic British, now I get plenty heat. Coolant gauge never worked since I’ve owned the vehicle. Always just used a scan tool to watch temps via obd2 port. But now the temps show about 210F freeway and it creeps up to 221F when in traffic. Electric fans are running over 212f. It’s an average Wisconsin winter here being 20F out today. Just me or those temps a little high? Then it’s 200-220f, I can shut the engine off and turn the viscous fan. It doesn’t free spin, it will stop moving immediately when I stop pushing it, but it does rotate. Are they supposed to turn at operating temp?

 

[V50_M66]

Getting mixed answers searching on the forums. Seemed like my thermostat was sticking open, coolant temps never got above 170F. Put a new thermostat in from Atlantic British, now I get plenty heat. Coolant gauge never worked since I’ve owned the vehicle. Always just used a scan tool to watch temps via obd2 port. But now the temps show about 210F freeway and it creeps up to 221F when in traffic. Electric fans are running over 212f. It’s an average Wisconsin winter here being 20F out today. Just me or those temps a little high? Then it’s 200-220f, I can shut the engine off and turn the viscous fan. It doesn’t free spin, it will stop moving immediately when I stop pushing it, but it does rotate. Are they supposed to turn at operating temp?

First off, what year/model Range Rover do you have?
Second, those temps are too high for the ambient conditions (or really in general). Have you properly bled the cooling system?
To test the fan, when the engine is running, try to stop it with a rooled up newspaper or thick magazine. It shouldn't be able to stop it. If it is, get a new fan clutch.

 

[maseratijake]

It’s an 01 p38. Used a vacuum bleeder to bleed the cooling system. Ran it, let it cool off. Managed to get another air bubble out. Topped off the coolant again. Levels haven’t dropped again. I’ll test the fan clutch when I get a moment

 

[maseratijake]

Used a rolled up newspaper, doesn’t want to slow the fan down at all

 

[V50_M66]

Ok so yeah those engines are a major pain in the ass to bleed. Never tried using a vacuum bleeder - I always just do this:
Easy Bleeding Trick for the Cooling System | Land Rover and Range Rover Forum (landroversonly.com)
This is for the D2, but the P38 has the same engine so I'm assuming it also has the same cooling system setup. Give it a whirl and see if you can get any more bubbles out.
Also, did you buy a 180 or 190 thermostat?
Your fan clutch sounds like it's good.

 

[maseratijake]

Can’t tell if it’s a 180 or 190. Got it from Atlantic British, doesn’t say on their web site. They been reliable for decent parts so far

 

[V50_M66]

AB has some good stuff. You're gonna want a 180 in your truck though. What color is your tstat? 180s are usually dark grey or black while 190s are white typically

 

[maseratijake]

This one is white. Where do you find a reliable 180?

 

[V50_M66]

I have a Bearmach 180 and it's been great. I think I got it from either AB or Lucky8

 

[maseratijake]

So I was about to do the bleed procedure you recommended. Where is the bleed screw at the upper hose? Not seeing it. Possibly on d2 and not the p38?

 

[V50_M66]

So I was about to do the bleed procedure you recommended. Where is the bleed screw at the upper hose? Not seeing it. Possibly on d2 and not the p38?

Ahh okay. Just looked up what the P38 bay looks like and you are correct, no bleed screw. Same motor as the D2, slightly different cooling hose setup. Bummer. Makes things more painful. Try unhooking the plastic coolant reservoir and holding it higher to see if that works for bleeding some more air out.

 

[maseratijake]

That’s going to be tomorrow’s plan. So would you say my temps are high in general, or high for a 190 degree thermostat? I should also clarify, water pump was done 10 months ago. Installed an ac delco with metal impeller. Just replaced head gaskets last week. Heads were resurfaced as well and still measured within spec. Thermostat went in yesterday. Used oem Land Rover coolant as well. Can’t tell the age of the radiator. Not sure how to tell
If it’s oem. Just went for a long ride on the way home. 20 degrees f out, doing about 60 mph, temp holds between 208-212. Get into the neighborhood and do 25-30 mph, temps climb to 215-217. Pull in the driveway and park, within 30 seconds it climbs to 221 degrees exactly and holds there. Fans are running full blast at that point.

 

[V50_M66]

That’s going to be tomorrow’s plan. So would you say my temps are high in general, or high for a 190 degree thermostat? I should also clarify, water pump was done 10 months ago. Installed an ac delco with metal impeller. Just replaced head gaskets last week. Heads were resurfaced as well and still measured within spec. Thermostat went in yesterday. Used oem Land Rover coolant as well. Can’t tell the age of the radiator. Not sure how to tell
If it’s oem. Just went for a long ride on the way home. 20 degrees f out, doing about 60 mph, temp holds between 208-212. Get into the neighborhood and do 25-30 mph, temps climb to 215-217. Pull in the driveway and park, within 30 seconds it climbs to 221 degrees exactly and holds there. Fans are running full blast at that point.

Still high in general, but not as outrageously high considering the t-stat you have in it. I'd expect 199-203 driving and 205-210 idling/heavy traffic.

 

[maseratijake]

So you’re still thinking there is more to it than the thermostat? Definitely going to try bleeding it some more tomorrow. Strange though, couldn’t get up to temp with the old thermostat, now we have too much temp with the new thermostat. What temps should the fans kick in at? Could I have a possible fan issue? They come on at 212 which I’m assuming is high speed. I put in new relays for the fans last year. Fuses checked out ok. What temp should low speed activate?

 

[tyl604]

Do you still have a plastic shroud over the radiator to direct the air through the radiator?

 

[V50_M66]

So you’re still thinking there is more to it than the thermostat? Definitely going to try bleeding it some more tomorrow. Strange though, couldn’t get up to temp with the old thermostat, now we have too much temp with the new thermostat. What temps should the fans kick in at? Could I have a possible fan issue? They come on at 212 which I’m assuming is high speed. I put in new relays for the fans last year. Fuses checked out ok. What temp should low speed activate?

Seems like it. Quite possibly there is just some air still trapped in there. Fans turn on at 212 - there's only 1 speed. Your fans seems to be working just fine. It's quite possible the radiator is original and clogged up

 

[maseratijake]

Shroud is all there. I’ll bleed it again and see what happens

 

[maseratijake]

Any ways of identifying an oem radiator? I’ll be working on the truck later and would like to figure that out as well

 

[V50_M66]

Not sure. See if there's a sticker on top of it with a date - sometimes they will put a manufacture date on top. Not always though

 

[Moneypit]

go to inlinethermostat.com and do the modification. I did it a year ago on my 04 D2 with 212,000 miles. No issues since. 177-190 on hot days and steep climb's. Best thing i ever did for my engine. Also, dumped the LR aux fan and put in a bigger one to help also when it hits 100 degrees out.