Terrano running hot

Submitted: Thursday, Aug 28, 2003 at 19:04
ThreadID: 6894 Views:1974 Replies:5 FollowUps:2
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Howdy My Terrano seems to have an intense dislike of climbing long steep hills and lets me know by sending the temperature needle slowly but surely to the right
It also seems to have an aversion to towing. Although It cools down soon enough when travelling along a flat surface.
There is some posts from someone who had the same problem with their Terrano in the archives and there is a couple of things for me to check but I would like to know what cured the problem in the end for you if you are still out there.
If anybody else has any advise I am very keen to hear it

Thanks James
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Reply By: diamond (bendigo) - Thursday, Aug 28, 2003 at 19:09

Thursday, Aug 28, 2003 at 19:09
gday jimmy.
im not about terrano but do they run thermo fans and does it work—~‘¬‘¥•s’B
AnswerID: 29484

Follow Up By: diamond (bendigo) - Thursday, Aug 28, 2003 at 19:41

Thursday, Aug 28, 2003 at 19:41
lol dyslexic keyboard should have said im not sure about.—~‘¬‘¥•s’B
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FollowupID: 20583

Follow Up By: Jimmy - Thursday, Aug 28, 2003 at 19:41

Thursday, Aug 28, 2003 at 19:41
Hmmmnn.. Thanks diamond I am not sure but I doubt it.
I just checked it. ie started the motor and checked the fan and its humming around merrily even on a cold engine.

Thanks James
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FollowupID: 20584

Reply By: B.P. - Thursday, Aug 28, 2003 at 19:15

Thursday, Aug 28, 2003 at 19:15
if its got a viscous coupling fan, it may need re oiling
Cheers Brian
AnswerID: 29485

Reply By: Truckster (Vic) - Thursday, Aug 28, 2003 at 23:29

Thursday, Aug 28, 2003 at 23:29
Have you physically removed the radiator and hosed it out? Doing it while still fitted doesnt clean it 100%...

Check rad hoses, thermostat and rad cap, 3 cheap things to change that may work...

then you get expensive
clutch fan, radiator flushed by rad place to see how blocked it is etc..
AnswerID: 29526

Reply By: Jo - Friday, Aug 29, 2003 at 14:41

Friday, Aug 29, 2003 at 14:41
Hi Jimmy

We had/have exactly the same problem in our Terrano (99 2.7D) going up hills and towing, especially in Summer. We had the radiator cleaned out and a new thermostat put in. We were told that the radiator was blocked 10 - 25% depending on when I spoke to them, and that the thermostat needed replacing. It cost us $650 and is definately better but still not great, especially on the long hills.
AnswerID: 29553

Reply By: Member - Oskar(Bris) - Wednesday, Sep 17, 2003 at 20:49

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

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