Aftermarket Fan & Thermostat on rebuilt engine

[tidus72]

Well after my 75`s Head Operation I have been driving her about to see how things are settling in and so far all seems good, she has got a lot more get up and go than my other 1.8 K Series 75 :eek:

Couple of small niggles the revs went up to 1000 rpm at idle on the way home tonight, have had a look and think I have found the problem, there is a vacuum pipe that comes off the throttle body, this goes to a fitting on the battery tray, then another pipe joins this and goes off somewhere to the engine, also it has an electrical connector on it, well the top pipe was not clipped in properly, this was removed during the operation on the engine. Have clicked it back into place and all seems well again with nice low idle speed, anyone know what this pipe is for :shrug:

Also my main problem as per topic of this thread is that the cooling fan has had it, no operation on air con or rise in engine temp.

Plan is to fit an aftermarket 14" fan that comes with an adjustable thermostat, fan will be fitted behind radiator as there is plenty of room, old fan will remain in place at the front. Thermostat will be fitted into rubber water pipe that attaches to the metal water pipe with the bleed nipple in, this pipe gets hot when the cars own thermostat opens to allow coolant round the engine.

I have done some research and have noted that the cars own fan should cut in at 100 degrees C, does this sound right for a 1.8 K Series engine as I will have to manually adjust my after market thermostat to the right temp setting. ;)

[RodgerD]

Well after my 75`s Head Operation I have been driving her about to see how things are settling in and so far all seems good, she has got a lot more get up and go than my other 1.8 K Series 75 :eek:

Couple of small niggles the revs went up to 1000 rpm at idle on the way home tonight, have had a look and think I have found the problem, there is a vacuum pipe that comes off the throttle body, this goes to a fitting on the battery tray, then another pipe joins this and goes off somewhere to the engine, also it has an electrical connector on it, well the top pipe was not clipped in properly, this was removed during the operation on the engine. Have clicked it back into place and all seems well again with nice low idle speed, anyone know what this pipe is for :shrug:

Also my main problem as per topic of this thread is that the cooling fan has had it, no operation on air con or rise in engine temp.

Plan is to fit an aftermarket 14" fan that comes with an adjustable thermostat, fan will be fitted behind radiator as there is plenty of room, old fan will remain in place at the front. Thermostat will be fitted into rubber water pipe that attaches to the metal water pipe with the bleed nipple in, this pipe gets hot when the cars own thermostat opens to allow coolant round the engine.

I have done some research and have noted that the cars own fan should cut in at 100 degrees C, does this sound right for a 1.8 K Series engine as I will have to manually adjust my after market thermostat to the right temp setting. ;)

If the main fan has had it, why not replace it with a 16" fan which fits in the original cowling with some threaded studding. If you wire it as a two speed fan with a suitable resistor then the engine's control system will control the fan, with the fan coming on and going off at the right temperatures. A 14" fan won't be sufficient to cool the engine in the summer when maximum cooling is required.

[johnnyb44]

Hi Tidus..
If your looking to replace or upgrade your fan Jules is your man. He's located on the North Wales coast near Conway and is a specialist in our lovely cars. Have a look in the traders section for his number and give him a call..He's got some uprated fans that are a lot more efficient than the stock Rover offerings.
Welcome to the club by the way
Johnny

[tidus72]

I had been looking at doing this, but to be honest its beyond me, I know it sounds daft, but even removing the from bumper fills me with dread :duh:

I performed an aftermarket thermostat fitting on a Vectra V6 I had a few years ago and that seemed to work fine, the Fan and Thermostat I have bought for the Rover was only £40 off fleebay, so if it goes wrong I will have to think of something else :shrug:

[RodgerD]

I had been looking at doing this, but to be honest its beyond me, I know it sounds daft, but even removing the from bumper fills me with dread :duh:

I performed an aftermarket thermostat fitting on a Vectra V6 I had a few years ago and that seemed to work fine, the Fan and Thermostat I have bought for the Rover was only £40 off fleebay, so if it goes wrong I will have to think of something else :shrug:

Well if you are going to do it, go for a 16" fan.

Removing the bumper isn't that bad, perhaps someone up your way can help.

[tidus72]

mmm, bit late now as I have ordered it and it will be here tomorrow :eek:

Here is the description :

This is a Universal Electric Cooling Fan 12v 120w

Fan Diameter- 14"

Outer Case Diameter- 14.5"

CFM Rating- 2050 CFM at 1900 RPM

Unique Curved Blade Design So Can Be Fitted To Either Side Of The Radiator and Will Push or Pull Air

Lightweight Design

Comes Complete with FREE Fitting Kit

Price also Includes Thermostat Control So That Fan will Operate at Desired Temperature

Will fit it and let you know what happens :getmecoat:

[tidus72]

Well the operation was a success.

Took a bit of faffing about but i got the fan fitted, set up the thermostat and wired it all up. I have used the original 80 amp fan fuse in the fuse box in the engine compartment and fitted the adjustable thermostat in the battery box, so its all neat and hidden away :D

Took a while to get the Temperature correct but the car seems happy with the fan coming on at approx 97 degrees c, this is enough to cool it down after a run when its been ticking over for 5 mins or more.

Will obviously be keeping a close eye on it, but I think today has been the hottest day since I owned the car so it was ideal weather to test it ;)

[gazcaz]

Well done you...

[HarryM1BYT]

Well the operation was a success.

Took a bit of faffing about but i got the fan fitted, set up the thermostat and wired it all up. I have used the original 80 amp fan fuse in the fuse box in the engine compartment and fitted the adjustable thermostat in the battery box, so its all neat and hidden away :D

Took a while to get the Temperature correct but the car seems happy with the fan coming on at approx 97 degrees c, this is enough to cool it down after a run when its been ticking over for 5 mins or more.

Will obviously be keeping a close eye on it, but I think today has been the hottest day since I owned the car so it was ideal weather to test it ;)

Trouble is, it will not run when the A/C is in use and itself needs cooling.

The original fan served to provide airflow to both the engine radiator and the A/C 'radiator', when required by the ECU.

[DMGRS]

A valid point - unless your A/C isn't working of course.
If you have working A/C, you really need to connect it into the car's fan control system.

[tidus72]

Yes I understand it wont come on with the Aircon, but the Aircon has probably not had a fan running for along time as Original Fan was totally dead, so the ECON button it is then :duh:

At least the engine is now getting some sort of cooling :cool:

[SD1too]

Nick,

Does your OE fan have a silver resistor? If so, that's most likely all you need to replace to be able to use your air conditioning again.

After reading about your aftermarket fan installation I don't buy this story about taking the bumper off being "beyond me"! ;)

Simon

[tidus72]

No silver resitor fitted, as for removing the front bumper etc it may be beyond my expertise as I really do not want to risk damaging anything on the body work, I only know how to fit a thermostat and fan as I have done this before on a Vectra I used to own, so yes I believe that something I have not done before may be beyond me, something I am not willing to risk on my own car :duh:

[SD1too]

... I believe that something I have not done before may be beyond me, something I am not willing to risk on my own car
Hmmm, so you paid for an engine rebuild and the car was returned to you with a hose disconnected and a non-functioning radiator fan. Where does that place your skills in relation to those whom you are paying?

Simon

[HarryM1BYT]

so yes I believe that something I have not done before may be beyond me, something I am not willing to risk on my own car :duh:

There has always got to be a first time for everything anyone does in life.

How did you manage to fit the Vectra fan, without doing it for the first time?

It does appear much more daunting than it actually is, but best with two, preferably one who has done it before. It comes off in minutes, but have some old carpet on the ground to lower it onto.

I took mine off within a month of getting mine, to fix the failed fan resistor, plus deal with one or two other small jobs.