Wednesday, Sep 17, 2003 at 20:49
Hi Jimmy
I may be the Terrano owner you refer to in your post. I asked for advice regarding exactly the same issue.
The problem is pretty common in TD27 Nissans and I don't think there is any real way of keeping the needle low on the left.
I replaced the thermostats twice, 1 non-genuine and 1 genuine. That didn't change anything!
I removed the
driving lights and that didn't fix it.
I had the engine checked over thoroughly - no cracks etc. and in perfect order.
I ended up replacing the 2 row radiator core with a 3 row core (about $500) on the advice of a friend in the import vehicle business. The original core was in perfect working order - it just didn't work in Australia.
Then of course the viscous hub in the fan showed up crook and after that the water pump started leaking. I managed to get 2nd hand pump/hub for $75 and it works
well.
The fan-hub and pump are one unit on the Navarra, Pathfinder and on the Terrano and cannot be repaired (or so they say) and costs up to $415 for a new one.
The needle still sits just on the cool side of vertical (just) and still climbs pretty high when working real hard but doesn't go ballistic any more.
We have done the
Simpson Desert and some other vigorous activities and haven't had to worry too much about the temp. but I still keep a close eye on it (if you Know what I mean).
To
check if your viscous fan hub is OK you have to do it when the engine is cold eg. first thing in the morning.
With the bonnet up start the engine and you should hear the fan "roaring" (sucking air through the radiator) for about 5 - 10 seconds or so and then settle down to no noise at all. If you don't hear the roaring noise on start-up the fan hub is probably stuffed!
If you want to know why, read the next paragraph, otherwise just skip to the bottom.
The reason for this is that at cold start-up the silicon oil (or whatever it is) in the fan hub has settled to the bottom of the hub over-night and forms a thick "grippy" mass in one spot. This causes a few seconds of sucking air ("roaring"), after start-up, until the "oil" is flung to the outside edge of the hub, the hub starts to slip, and the sucking stops. (centrifical force)
When the fan hub gets to operating temperature i.e. hot engine, metal expansion in the hub causes the "grippy" thing to happen again and the fan starts to suck air through the radiator with the same "roaring" noise as when it was cold.
You can't just spin the fan by hand and see if it spins freely or not to
check if it is OK or U/S.
We enjoy driving our Terrano
Cheers
Oskar
AnswerID:
31364