Diesel thermostat definative answer

[grivas]

Hi Arctic, well done for perservering, but how DID you managed in the end, what exactly did you do to avoid the coolant being spilled, I would be grateful for some more detail, thanks, as I am concedering doing this mode.

[Arctic]

Originally Posted by grivas

Hi Arctic, well done for perservering, but how DID you managed in the end, what exactly did you do to avoid the coolant being spilled, I would be grateful for some more detail, thanks, as I am concedering doing this mode.

Hi Mario


On Thursday i travelled to Wales to pick up my grandson 257mile round trip on this trip i took readings off the OBD see below
After 5mls 74degs
at 23mils traveling at 60mph 74degs
40mils at 70mph 73degs
60mils 65mph 75degs
80mils 70mph 75degs
92mils 70mph 77degs
104mils 70mph 72degs
123mils 70mph and arrived at destination engine idling 84degs
On the way back 152mils covered 70-90mph 75degs
205mils 70-80mph 75degs
End of journey back home idling for about 5mins 82degs i decided to take these readings before i fitted the Gates Thermostat TH01489.

Sunday the 21st August 2011
After stopping at his uncles for a few days i took the grandson back same trip most the temp ever reached on the journey was 78degrees at 30miles into the trip, at 70mph and again at 35mles at 70mph hit some traffic at 173 miles going between 10 -50mph 80degrees so sometime this week i will fit the in-line stat.

Well yesterday i managed to find time to fit the in-line top hose stat got what i needed round me to do the job, spanners dremel tools funnel and a container to catch the coolant which will drain out once the hose is removed.
First take of the engine cover 3 bolts this will give you access to the top hose which the stat fits into this hosr is held on by a stainless steel band which will have to be cut, unless your hose as been removed before and you may have a jubilee clip.
As you can see from Fig1 mine as the stainless steel band which i have started to cut.
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I used the black disc which comes with the Dremel tool Fig2
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After first using this disc, i decided it was a bit to large to actually see how the cut was going as you need to be careful you do not cut into the hose so i changed it for a little pointed metal grinding tip, which i did very slowly and kept checking the hose was ok it eventually ground enough for the band to be opened up with some small bull nosed pliers Fig3/4
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I was then able to remove the clip and place my funnel with a bit of garden hose attached to it the other end went into my container to catch any coolant Figs 5/6
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Now with the coolant collected which was very minimal the hose can be removed i tried to fit the stat with out removing the top hose altogether but found it very hard to push in the stat which is a very tight fit indeed, some have managed to do this but i could not Fig7/8
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As you can see after i have silicon greased the stat and inside of the hose i inserted the stat only to find it was very hard to push it home so it was 10mm below the top of the hose so this is the reason i removed the top hose Fig9
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With some great effort and a lot of hard pushing i managed to get the stat pushed in the hose 12-14mm the measurement is from the top of the copper bulb on the stat which points toward the engine.Fig10
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In this photo i show the stat inserted and the measurement from the body of the stat which is 50mm Fig11
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Now the in-line top hose stat is fitted making sure it is central i can replace the hose fit the new stainless jubilee clips and refill with coolant which came out if you do not collect the coolant as i did refill with neat OAT Fig12
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After running the engine with the expansion tank cap off for about 5mins i turned engine off and re-checked the coolant level and topped up to mark, i then put cap back on re-fitted the engine cover tidy up wash hands etc and took the car for a spin after about 3 miles it was up to 75 at only 30-40 mph looking good carried on driving onto the M54 to get some top end speed up at revs of 2000-3000 at 70mph after about 8miles the temp was reaching 86-87 so nice got stuck in a bit of traffic for about 8mins temp reached 91 once driving it dropped back to 86-88 i have yet to do more testing today while taking the wife to hospital so a bit of stop starting driving once she as been sorted i will take the car for another run and check the temps on the OBD and will report back also for the rest of the week and up until the end of the month. Arctic


These photos are an added extra since this post.

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I use an alloy tube but an outside water pipe from a sink will also do the job.
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Nowa days i use a triangle file to file through the original metal band.
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Do quite a few of these at the Nano meets, i already have them made up so just a case of swapping them out.
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[spyder]

Yes Artic I also battled to slide it in the pipe, hence the dishwashing liquid. I now see temperatures of 85-87 deg. once went up to 89 for a second or so. MPG around 49-52 so far.-this was only one long trip though.

Craig

[Arctic]

Originally Posted by spyder

Yes Artic I also battled to slide it in the pipe, hence the dishwashing liquid. I now see temperatures of 85-87 deg. once went up to 89 for a second or so. MPG around 49-52 so far.-this was only one long trip though.

Craig

Hi Craig.
Yes it was not easy at all i have been out and about today local stop starting driving and a run of 10 mi,es on the M9/M54 temp staying nice at 85/87 deg have not had chance to check the mpg yet but will report back later in the week or end of the month, car seems to pick up a bit quicker unless it is the placibo effect Arctic

[BigRuss]

Works doesn't it

There are small differences in the thermostats depending where they've been made which may account for the difficulties in sliding the thermostat into the hose, I notice that the thermostat pictured in Artic's post shows the outer rim being more pronounced than the one I fitted, mine was slightly bevelled, the whole thermostat being brass coloured

Warming the hose by running the engine a little beforehand or alternatively putting the end of the hose in a jug of hot water may help the thermostat to slide into the hose as I did when fitting mine (but it was -6C at the time).

Russ

[scouseeric]

Hi Steve, i'm the same that i reckon the car running smoother! I will be doing my first brim check on thursday to see how the mpg is (hopefully) improving from my current average of33mpg

Eric

[Arctic]

HI Russ.
yes 100% works Eric i have yet to do another brim to brim mind thats going to be hard as i fill my tank up as soon as i reach the 3/4 mark so i will be collecting the receipts for that amount instead will report back cheers All Arctic.

[grivas]

Thanks Artic for the very informative how to and pictures, I have made a start today, but I have as yet to cut through the steel band I am using a tool similar to yours, I am nearly there, but will continue tomorrow, hopefully successfully, wiil let you know how I get along, once again thank you.

[craig8661]

fitted mine today and only problem i have found is the stat has pushed itself towards the elbow near the rad so may have to push the gates back and add a extra dublie clip

[craig8661]

oh also car got to tempreture quicker and heater has started working on both sides it had opend but rad was only hot around the top pipe but it had not warmed up fully