y61 3.0tdi zd viscous and electric fan

[Thomas-the-Terrano2]

ok, so my viscous is shot, going to replace its coupling and likely water
pump whilst in there...

motor also has an electric fan, not for a/c as such which has kicked
in when overheating, its prettymuch stuck to the near side half of the
radiator..

So, is it feasible to wire an overide so can switch it on before its
sensor kicks in, and also add another fan to other half of rad.

sure cooling will be sorted once viscous done but got me thinking
about making sure it stays cool.

any thoughts on why nissan choose to add an electric to a viscous
fitted vehicle, my old 2.7tdi t2/r20 ade do with a a roaring viscous.

 

[makeitfit]

Not familiar with the Patrol but binned my viscous fan for twin electric and now all's well:thumbs
You can get a simple two temp switch so one fan comes on first at say 88 degrees and the second at say 96. Varouos temps avail.
I think a company called extreme engineering do them for about 34 squid. Just fits inline on the rad's top hose, simples.
Overide switch if you feel the need
Pics in my photobucket link

 

[Thomas-the-Terrano2]

certainly wondered about just ditching viscous too, guess comes down to cost.
of new coupling. presume you just took fan and or copuling of pump frontage.

is tempting to source another electric fan and switches as clearly this truck
is cooled enough by rad, and airflow most of time, and electrics would push
at top speed as and when. guess just bit wary of mods if they dont work out.
rather than trusting factory design.

feel sure read somewhere like kenlowe that even though they sell electric
solutions there are scenarios where they say the viscous is still better bet
in extreme towing terrain. bit of a cop out, and odd when so many motors
dont even have viscous option.

 

[Thomas-the-Terrano2]

ok so been reverse flushed, and fresh coolant. advised
lot of crap metallic and white came out, confess let
garage that did service do it as hadnt cleared issue
before.

they say believe all fans, viscous and front electric
ok, so will have caravan out again sunday.

been comparing second hand viscous and new elecys
and having had good chat with Davemud about his
twin electric conversion think value for money is
pointing that way.

like idea of bringing in on a switch as well as on a
sensor, and being able to isolate for wading.

 

[Thomas-the-Terrano2]

hi ho hi ho its off to by fans i go

well, after another tugging session on some of sheffield's finest seven hills.

its getting too warm, viscous free as ever, so that was garbage what
garage said, nice guys but think this is out of their depth, so time to
break out spanners.

googled viscous issues earlier and found fourtrack site where feeling was
lack of use of fan in normal use leads to its failure and supports my
feeling that in normal use these trucks are cooled pretty well on their own
radiator, without use of a fan.

seeing can only find a second hand 2.8td coupling and fan at 65 quid
and that can get 16 inch electrics from 30 each, then switches and
stat controller optionally. think better starting over.

can anyone comment how quick their 3.0 warms up, as mine is reaching
operating temp with in 5 to ten minutes in a morning, ie just below half
on gauge, same point it will tug at providing not really climbing..

 

[Thomas-the-Terrano2]

ok spanners out, fan shroud off!

fan off, easier that imagined.

leaves viscous unit, spinning freely as before,
engine little quieter still without big fan in place.

looks like viscous integrated with water pump,
cant split or repair, wonder if lottery win needed
to replace?

ordered to 16" electrics, so much for next day
delivery back on thursday no show, atleast hand
held thermometer arrived.

getting 70 degree C tucked into overlap of top
hose when warmed to just under half on gauge.
when took expansion cap of carefully lol got
around 80'C.

found a switch on rs supplies that is dpdt AND
has integrated led's which can if want feed from
side light circuit so can show if switched on to
either manual overide or to a thermostat switch
when get one. ordered a spot light relay wiring
kit which should power twin fans so just need
to sort feed from dash thru bulkhead...

 

[Jocky]

Hi Richard, you said there was crap in the Rad when it got flushed. Are you sure the rad core is clear????? half might be choked????? giving you the problem. Are the rad fins clear?? Have you taken the rad out? is the aircon rad fins clear? it sits in front of the main rad if its restricted you get no air to the main rad.
The electic fan you are taking about is for the aircon rad not the engine rad. Its the one you see from the front grill its a full size rad

On a Patrol the temp gauge doesn't go much above halfway solo or towing.


Forget the electric fan and stick with the viscous unit. I asked kenlowe about getting some for mine and they told me if I was going to tow in europe to refit the viscous unit are electic fans don't move enough air. When the viscous fan is running at full speed it moves some volume of air.

I've just had mine out and it was full of dead flies leaves etc.

:thumb2

 

[Jocky]

As you have a few threads on the overheating issue, I'm unclear on whether you've changed the thermostat. It should always be the first thing to check/change when you get a sudden temp issue.

I know they are a pig to get at, but get it changed.

I carry a spare when away in the van, so if it fails I know I or the men in the vans can swap it:lol they say they fix most breakdowns at the roadside in less than 60mins:nenau you've got to give them a chance:lol

:thumbs

 

[Thomas-the-Terrano2]

sorry missed your pposts alan, been away to wales with outfit...

ok so been flushed, new pump and new stat, in that order..

stat has done most as atleast when gets warm i know the
coolant is getting back to the engine, wasnt convinced before
as getting lots of pressure in expansion tank, really lots!

tows on flat at mid way on gauge, on hills goes right up still
but does come down on other side.

also putting heater on full helps.

cd manual says anything upto 3/4 is ok.

came back from south wales by m4/5/42/1 and got more
hill work then when went out via a38 and the midlands to
mid wales even across a44 to aberystywth!

thinking must be a rad issue now, certainly when got home
the level in the second expansion tank was well over max
but in past found this got sucked back into system on
cooling.

getting over the hills and certainly by time got home car
felt out of breath, quite sluggish but another 1200 mile
trip, 600 towing without calling greenflag out hooray.

 

[Thomas-the-Terrano2]

mind its running better cos the check light didnt come on.

ok not quite true, but in 1200 mile trip, never came on
towing only twice solo whilst touring area, then it was
like giving it some welly!

sure it used to come on towing in a lot less mileage
or journey time.

 

[Jocky]

Another thing to check is the Radiator Caps. Have you got them in the correct place??????

The cap on the radiator has no spring, just a bare cap. The one on the expansion tank has a spring on the let water in/out as required.

Has someone put them on in the wrong places.

If you buy new caps get them from Nissan. Do not use cheap caps, there is loads of threads on this on Patrol4x4.

:thumb2

 

[Peasgood]

getting 70 degree C tucked into overlap of top
hose when warmed to just under half on gauge.
when took expansion cap of carefully lol got
around 80'C

That's not hot. I don't know the operating temp of the thermostat on Nissans, but I would expect it to be more than 85C before it even opens.

I once had lots of overheating problems in an old car of mine. Turned out the temp sender was faulty and it wasn't overheating at all. :augie

 

[Jocky]

opens at 82degC

Just so peeps know the thermstat on a Patrol is located in the bottom hose of the radiator not the top hose as is usual on most engines

 

[Peasgood]

So are those temps hot then?:nenau

 

[briggie]

my ( new ) thermostat opens at 81 degrees

 

[Jocky]

So are those temps hot then?:nenau

I've never stuck a thermometer in my top hose or expansion tank:nenau

But they don't sound hot:augie

 

[Thomas-the-Terrano2]

caps are right way round,

going to investigate rad, just funny odd as was fine last year towing
and not off roaded enough to get rad crapped up, like did with t2
once.

could genuine overheating cause loss of power, or could i have a
power fault which means working harder and therefore more heat
being made?

has been serviced but wondering if worth getting a diesel specialist
to check performance, diesel bob type?

that said when solo and wound up goes pretty well, as does towing
til gets too warm.

'van is rated at 1660kg, even if was overloaded bit is only about
half of rated tow weight.

wondering if easier to swap main rad, how can i inspect it and what
for exactly. thinking all down time when apart from obvious cost
could swap them out quickly as have with pump and stat...

was advised by a nissan served engineer that gauge could be faulty
or even its sender and as it has no calibration or scale doesnt really
mean that much other than show a change of temperature.

he thought get new secondary marked gauge and also said that
coolant could be 115 degree C before boiled etc.

coolant certainly overflowed into second tank and was sucked
back in by cooling engine overnight.

 

[Peasgood]

was advised by a nissan served engineer that gauge could be faulty
or even its sender and as it has no calibration or scale doesnt really
mean that much other than show a change of temperature.

he thought get new secondary marked gauge and also said that
coolant could be 115 degree C before boiled etc.

coolant certainly overflowed into second tank and was sucked
back in by cooling engine overnight.

It's not my truck, so you are the one best placed to know if it is playing up, but from the above it all sounds normal to me. :nenau

 

[solarman216]

To check for head gasket starting to fail, remove rad cap, and run engine at around 2000 rpm till coolant hot ignore overspill just look for continuing stream of air bubbles, or to make it easier place a plastic bag covered rag over rad top and hold tight with the palm of your hand, if you continually see air bubbles going into overflow tank then head gasket is suspect, Rick

 

[Jocky]

Does the coolant smell of combustion gases.

The rad is easy to remove from a Patrol. Remove fan cowling take hoses off, remove top 2 brackets and it lifts out.

As for checking to see if its choked, you can only back flush it or get it checked by a radiator specialist for flow rate. If the fins on the rads are choked it could also cause problems with over heating. If you take it out check the fins on the aircon rad, if its full of crap no air will get through to main rad.

Muzz had similar overheating with his T2 when towing and he changed radiator and no more over heating. Before he changed the pump and stat as you've done and it was still over heating.

You can also get the cooling system pressure tested to see if the head gasket is leaking.

Do the easy things first, take the rad out and check it. Turn it upside down stick a hose in it and back flush it and see if you get crap out.

Out of interest, is the plastic cowl still fitted between the top of the radiator to the front of the engine? I read that if this has been removed it can cause problems.