2003 R75 1.8T Auto Saloon - Overheating Question IRELAND WEST COAST
 

Hello

I have just got a 40000 km 2003 car, there is history of a new cam belt and headgasket having been fitted in Sep last year.

My post may be the result of paranoia on my part but seeing I am not practically setup to do the work, I can do testing and then with an informed mind get a proper mechanic to sort it.

Cooling fan is kicking in even after a 3 mile drive, for approx 5 mins after I've stopped, is this a hint that bigger things are about to come?

Can someone please give me few basic checks to do that will help put my mind at ease.

If there is a specialist in Co. Sligo who can do the work, I would be grateful.

Moved to Ireland recently
 

I have just moved and changed my location accordingly now.

Sound OK to me. Keep an eye on the coolant level and the temperature gauge. They are known to not be very good and so suddenly rise. Mine runs at very slightly under half way up. Also don't confuse aircon fan and engine cooling fans. Main troubles are when the fan doesn't work. Is your engine up to working temperature before the fan cuts in? Also turn the air con off to make sure it's the engine fan!

The fan running on after engine shut down is a sign of a very hot engine. This is called heat soak and requires the coolant to reach about 112C to cause it. The temperature gauge will remain at 'normal' throughout such an event and is of little use. Driving with the trip screen diagnostics displaying coolant temperature will help determine if there's a possible problem. The fan turning on after 3 miles driving does seem quick even for the warm running 1.8T engine. These engines need every drop of coolant they contain (which isn't very much). Even a small leak can have disastrous consequences. Are you topping it up frequently?

TC

Thanks for the replies (so far) - only had it 2 weeks.
Did a 200 mile run with no problems last week and a few shorter stints.
Then today - three short trips and same thing, fan is on when I leave the car.
End of trip 1, 2 miles. Fan on when I left the car for 1 minute
End of trip 2, 2 miles to the petrol station for antifreeze - same again I topped up with 1l of antifreeze (managed to get the cap off, heard a bit of bubbling but no massive loss of vapour / steam - hand in one piece!)
End of trip 3, 2 miles to work, fan didn't come on.

This weekend, I will do the check the engine oil for milky brown sludge test... If this is normal oil - I am guessing I have a coolant leak somewhere but thankfully not into the ENGINE!!
Will post the result (still need to drive home tonight)

The first thing to do is to take the car to a competent garage,most mechanics will know what is involved to bleed the cooling system,sounds like you have air in it to reach these temperatures so quickly.

The amount of coolant you have been putting in the car is a sure sign of a leak which you need to find.As the car is cooling check all clips and hoses and signs of dried coolant down the back of the block,pinkish white deposits.

Check the level of the coolant in the tank with a stone cold engine and maintain the Max tab viewed in the tank,excess coolant will be dispersed through the cap.

With a warm engine check for mayo like substance under the oil filler cap,if this occurs you have an internal leak.

Welcome
 

First of all welcome to the club, nice to have more fellow ex pats living in Ireland. ive been here 6 years on the south east coast. I bought my rover 8 weeks ago today and put it straight in to local garage for HG, TB, Waterpump replacement. ITS STILL THERE!!! have just bought new radiator which I hope to have fitted Monday then I should be on the road. Lesson is make sure they realy do know how to fix these cars as im finding out to my cost.:smilie_re:
Keep in touch re Rover 75 Irish matters, there is a nice 2005 breaking in Dungloe, Co Donegal, if your after some bits he is advertising on ebay

Hello and thanks for the welcome.

If major repairs are likely, Ireland will be receiving 1.5 tonnes of scrap for processing, followed by a chunk of money in VRT for something else, got to help the new host nation!

What is the scrap price for one of these in Ireland?

Seriously, I can't live without a motor for 8 weeks! I will give the thing a weekend of TLC to find what is wrong.

I

your resistor has gone ,my 1800 turbo used to do the same till i changed the resistor to the gold one . mine used to run on for ages and sounded like a hovercraft.

Hello r75newbie,

I think Chris may have solved your problem. It fits your evidence. Basically your engine is getting too hot because the slow speed doesn't work due to the failed resistor, so the fast speed triggers quickly, particularly on short journeys when the slow speed is needed. Long trips mainly of high speed cruising cool the engine using the ram effect, until the road speed drops. The fast speed is running when you turn the engine off because it's been too hot in the first place.

You can buy an improved resistor (more reliable) from club member Jules' e-bay shop. I believe that it comes with fitting instructions so you might like to do it yourself. But if you're using a garage, choose one very, very carefully. Many will take one look at a Rover 75 1.8 and say you have head gasket failure. You don't have any evidence of that so walk away from anyone who says it.
EDIT: Oops, I forgot to mention the simple check you can do for this. Start the engine from cold and select 'demist' on the air conditioning control panel. Walk to the front of the car and listen at the radiator grille. Can you hear the fan running?

Let us know how you get on.

Simon.