Club 80-90 Forums

Hi folks.

I've always thought the engine in my van has run a little hot since i bought it, but after a friend bought an identical van and his always stays nice and cool, i obviously have an issue. Any decent run has always seen the temp gauge up to the right of the low coolant led, but since our hot weather spell, the rad fan runs pretty much constantly

I have replaced the thermostat, water pump, temp sensors, flushed/back flushed the whole system, checked engine timing and the radiator is less than 2 years old. According to my thermometer, the coolant in the header tank is 90 degrees c at normal running temp, so i'm wondering if anyone has had a similar experience/fix in the past?

Sounds like you have an 87 or higher degree thermostat in there - try an 82 or even 80 degree one.

Thanks for the reply. Tried an 80, no difference, also tried without a thermostat which brought gauge down, but fan still on pretty much constantly. I thought the head may have been knackered, but it uses no fluids whatsoever and tested fine when i re-built the engine last year

For what it's worth - on a variety of 'older' vehicles I have owned over the years - I have found that 1) You need to change the oil regularly with the best quality oil you can afford, and 2) put plenty of anti-freeze in the coolant. Both affect the efficiency of engine cooling.

Agreed. I think i will try a seperate oil cooler to see if that helps with the overall issue.

Cheers guys