The pipe that goes into the thermostat, the O ring had melted away
Paulindre
Active Member
Has anyone tried the Renault 'stat trick used on the Rover 75s?
They simply remove the top hose, shove a Renault 4/5 'stat into the hose (it's a very tight fit) and reconnect the hose to the engine, top up and 'presto' warm engine nice and quickly.
There are a range of 'stats that have been tried, the best one runs at 89 degrees C
I'll have a poke about round the wife's tomorrow and see if the top hose looks like the same diameter as the one on the R75
Hi all, not been on the forum for some time as we have been visiting family in Borneo (no comments about Orang utans if you don't mind) great fun especially as fuel is just under 50p per litre and a good meal is around £2. Now back in the cold of France and my engine thermostat has stuck open, just what I need. I am trying the R5 stat trick in the top hose but it is a real pig to get in, tight is not the word. Do you have any tips about getting in? did you use Vaseline or grease? Did you insert the stat at the engine end of the pipe or the rad end? did you put the pipe in boiling water first? Any advice is welcome.TD4 1 2003
Regards
Paul
Alibro
Well-Known Member
I used silicone grease and a pipe the right size to let me push against it without damaging the bit that sticks out.
I found some thermostats are easier to fit than others. The first I did had a curved base so slid in relatively easily. The 2nd had a sharp edge and was a pig.
Try softening the pipe in hot water.
I found some thermostats are easier to fit than others. The first I did had a curved base so slid in relatively easily. The 2nd had a sharp edge and was a pig.
Try softening the pipe in hot water.
Paulindre
Active Member
Hi Albiro, Mine has a curved base but there is ridge of abt 2mm all around where they join the top and bottom half together. Thanks for your tips, I shall have another try tomorrow with hot water and silicone grease, the pipe is a great idea I shall try and find a piece.
Many thanks
Paul
Many thanks
Paul
I just spent half of the weekend changing the stat on SWMBOs TD4, not because of any temperature problems but because it was leaking coolant. I was pretty difficult and I made a mistake with one tool so I thought I would post some pics and tips.
...
I doesn't seem to leak now
Yeah, thank you, absolutely a lifesaver post with pictures. It had saved a lot of time for me. I mean I won't do this at home. First I thought I was able to change the thermo like on a normal car from the upper part of the engine, upper water tube etc. Then I read here and now I can see too the only "official" way is to replace the broken part from the bottom. I saw in another post too that there are very "creative" solutions for the "left open thermostat problem" where they put a secondary and good working but different thermostat into the upper water rubber tube so they don't need to disassemble everything under the engine... Thank you anyway!
Tomorrow I need to find a garage where they can fix this for me.
+1 question if someone has a good advice. Because of the bad thermo we put a piece of cardboard paper in front of the cooler radiators. Worked just fine in the winter but the vents were always on. Will this problem disappear as we have a new thermo and I will remove the paper shield or do I need to change some thermo switch too which controls the fans?
Thank you again and in advance!
A working thermostat will not send water around the radiator until the coolant is warm enough, and so with a working thermostat the card will not make much difference.
In other words if you fix the thermostat then you don't really need the card anymore.
I hope the same. Thx.
kernowsvenski
Well-Known Member
I have been putting this job off for a considerable time now due to the difficulty of it, and the expense of getting it done by a garage. My issue is that not only has the stat failed, but the casing is leaking. I was wondering if I could just nip up the stat fixings in the hope of it stopping leaking, and then fit the R5 stat (as I've got one ready to go)? Any thoughts?
Nodge68
Well-Known Member
Nodge68
Well-Known Member
You could always pop round with it so I can give you a hand .
kernowsvenski
Well-Known Member
I'd be keen John. I was up in Bodmin working yesterday and got caught up in the Brexit go slow thing on the A30. I did think at the time, should I pop in and say Hi.You could always pop round with it so I can give you a hand .
Nodge68
Well-Known Member
I can't see it being a problem a problem, with the one who must be obeyed.
Let me get my workshop and garage sorted out first, as I'm having a huge clear out and redesign/ repair of the buildings.I was at work when that was on, so thankfully I missed it.
Always happy to chat with fellow Freelanderer's.
Norway 9040
New Member
I made myself some tools, so I could reach the bolts of the thermostate. Than I lifted the tube away from the thermostate gently with a crowbar. And got the old thermostate out and the new one in. Took me two hours. The tool I made was a 7mm. Socket weldet on a umbraco.Like several others here and on the MG forums (those that have Td4s in their vehicles), I've been suffering a lazy thermostat recently. This was really brought to light this week when the temperature dropped and I had virtually no hot air, and the temperature gauge hardly got up to 1/4.
Daunted by the tales of taking the belts off, crankshaft pulley off, water pump off, bending the metal coolant rail that bolts into the thermostat housing, etc, but, knowing I had to do this job, this is what I found when I did the swap this afternoon: it can be done without removing ANY of the belts, pulleys, water pump, etc!
Firstly, get your thermostat/housing from Island 4x4. £35 delivered, which was about the best price I could find. Tis a genuine replacement too.
In addition to your normal tool kit, arm yourself with a set of Torx ratchet spanners (you actually only need an E8). A 1/4" drive E8 Torx socket is very handy too.
Jack the front up and remove the following: engine undertray, acoustic top cover, air filter cover, turbo hose that clips onto the MAF sensor housing, driver's side wheel and side splash shield.
Drain the coolant by removing the rubber hose from the solid metal pipe under/in front of the engine. Next, remove this metal pipe completely - 3 x 8mm bolts and a hose clip where it connects to the rubber elbow hose that goes into the thermostat housing.
Place a trolley jack under the engine and then undo the 15mm bolt and the 18mm nut on the O/S engine mount (the two you can easily get to by the ABS block). You can now raise the engine up and lower it down as you need to.
Working above and through the steering rack hole you should now be able to tweak the four Torx bolts out using a combination of the E8 ratchet spanner and the E8 socket. It takes a while, but the ratchet spanner is well worth the investment here. Also remove the 10mm bolt holding the metal coolant rail into the thermostat housing.
Once it's all undone, you should be able to pull the thermostat forwards a bit. It probably will get stuck on the engine mount and coolant rail, but if you raise the engine up as much as you can on the jack you will just get enough clearance to a) move the coolant rail back a bit, and b) pull the thermostat clear of the water pump. It'll ultimately only go one way: down. It can then be pulled out through the steering rack hole though.
I'd left the rubber hose on it at this point. So I swapped that over and reversed the procedure to get the new unit back in position. Once I'd juggled the engine height about a few times I got all four Torx bolts back in plus the coolant rail bolt. Then I did the engine mounting bolts, then the plumbing and the turbo pipe.
Sadly that's where I ran out of daylight. So I have about an hour's worth of work in the morning to fill the coolant up, and put the other bits back on, but, barring any leaks
I just wanted to share my experiences with this job so far (about 3hrs of work currently). I'm not playing this one down at all - it IS a pig of a job, but it CAN be done without removing too much other awkward stuff. Probably important to know if you're planning to do this at the weekend...
fastasulike72
Member
Hi fellas just wanted to say thanks for info on here for doing this,done mine today using the info supplied,took me six hours in all and what a pig of a job used the cable tie method to pull pipe back,Hands feel like they’ve been dragged through a thorn bush but all done and running sweet ready for the colder weather,so a big thanks to all who put there experiences and write ups to help others
Well done you'll notice how much quicker it warms up & how better the heater is. I did mine Nov. last year & discovered it had a FBH (which didn't work) but after reading on this priceless, forum stripped the FBH, cleaned it out & got that working as well + the heated seats so now in winter I drive round in me Speedo's lol.
Have a pint or two as you'll need to keep hydrated with that new found heat !
