Member Since: 16 Dec 2011
Location: ypres
Posts: 26
cold heater
hi
The heater on my discovery 3 will only blow very cold and has no heat the temperature guage is just above the blue mark and never goes any higher any ideas would this be caused by an air lock in the cooling system it has just happened the coolant level hasnt dropped how can i cure an air lock if that is the cause many thanks
Does sound like a thermostat issue - though when I changed my radiator Nick did say that he didn;t recall any being replaced as they were reliable.
It is quite a complicated system as well - opens on temperature and pressure - might be worth seeing if the cap is ok - though that would not really make sense as they tend to cause boiling if its not holding the pressure.Mark.
2006, D3 SE Auto - gone but not forgotten.
2014 BMW 530d M Sport Tourer.
1977 Triumph Spitfire 1500
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17th Dec 2011 10:52 am
Spooky
Member Since: 02 Jun 2009
Location: Swindon, Wilts
Posts: 1013
Is your FBH cutting in? In these cold conditions, the engine is very reluctant to get up to temperature ...Regards,
Mick
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My FHB is knackered and the engine still gets to temperature in about 5-8miles down to about 2'C
And the stat is arranged to get heat to the heater matrix first I believe.
Could be the stat is stuck open - my old defender would get to temperature if on a motorway run - but would cool again very quickly when coming off - but found the stat was missing completely But that can't happen on the D3 as far as I can tell due to it having about 4 pipes from it.Mark.
2006, D3 SE Auto - gone but not forgotten.
2014 BMW 530d M Sport Tourer.
1977 Triumph Spitfire 1500
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17th Dec 2011 1:46 pm
toby653
Member Since: 16 Dec 2011
Location: ypres
Posts: 26
thank you for all your replies i am none the wiser the vehicle hasnt had any work done on the coolant system i just cant understand it it was fine and now the heaters are freezing cold and the engine temp guage will only just register above the blue segment of the guage. I have been out today looking at it and havent come to any conclusions except that when the lid is taken off the expansion tank the water bubbles up the vehicle has never over heated and appears perfectly normal to drive and operate apart from being cold i have been out in it this afternoon and the heater did start to blow slightly warmer air through after a 12 mile trip but engine still only on the blue.
17th Dec 2011 6:22 pm
sowr
Member Since: 07 Feb 2009
Location: Los Angeles, CA
Posts: 46
Hmmm - does the engine feel warm or hot? If you let the car sit for a while (15 minutes or so) does the coolant level in the expansion tank drop dramatically? Can you hear cavitation (clicking/popping/snapping)? Perhaps there's no coolant in your system?
Or maybe it's logic based? My wife's Volvo would sometimes blast out freezing cold air even when I had set the temp to warm - restart and it would fix itself.2006 LR3 SE-7 Zermatt Silver
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18th Dec 2011 3:52 am
toby653
Member Since: 16 Dec 2011
Location: ypres
Posts: 26
the engine feels warm or hot after a journey depending on how long its been running for. i still think is has an air lock the coolant level doesnt drop after being run.
what does the black screw/plug do beside the expansion tank filler cap towards the front of the car? how can i blled the cooling system of air as? im not sure what is the correct sequence of doing things as the system needs the filler cap on for the stat to open etc. Can i start the vehicle and loosen the screw (as mentioned above) and then keep topping up with coolant or leave filler cap off?
Hoping to get to the bottom of this as working nights with the vehicle isnt much fun with a cold heater.
18th Dec 2011 7:46 pm
disco_steve
Member Since: 25 Aug 2009
Location: Are you sure this is the M5 ?
Posts: 1498
Hi Toby,
Have a look at this, you will need section 19 onward for bleeding (you may not have rear heating/aircon) so ignore the reference to this as required.
I found that running the engine whilst filling/bleeding helped remove any stubborn trapped air in the system Never get mad - get even !!
06 D3 now gone to family member and still going strong at 265k
previous vehicles:
04 D2 TD5 - (clocked 189k from new)
52 X-Trail 2.2 SVE
various euro boxes !
18th Dec 2011 8:38 pm
Narpy
Member Since: 18 Jul 2011
Location: Stockport
Posts: 7830
If you were driving an old 4 cylinder Discovery 1 Toby, I'd have no problems in diagnosing a defective head gasket from the symptoms you describe. Heater blowing cold, not getting warm and coolant bubbling up are all classic pointers to a failed head gasket.
Pull the dipstick and see if there are water droplets visible or check if your oil has turned to mayonnaise. These were/are "full on" symptoms on the D1 and you may have all or none of these but a compression test should be high up your list of priorities.
Sorry I can't help further but the TDV6 engine is still relatively new to me so exact HG failure symptoms will obviously need clarification.
18th Dec 2011 11:57 pm
toby653
Member Since: 16 Dec 2011
Location: ypres
Posts: 26
firstly thank you to disco_steve your link for blleding the coolant system was very helpful
there is no sign of water on the dipstick and as ive said before vehicle has never over heated im the only one who drives it
what is the best way to drain the colling system fully, is it bottom hose off the radiator or what?
19th Dec 2011 8:31 pm
disco_steve
Member Since: 25 Aug 2009
Location: Are you sure this is the M5 ?
Posts: 1498
Yep - bottom rad hose - undue jubilee clip, but . . .
If you have rear heating/aircon (HSE models with rear climate) then you also need to remove spare wheel, and disconnect one of the hoses to drain the rear end of the car as well Never get mad - get even !!
06 D3 now gone to family member and still going strong at 265k
previous vehicles:
04 D2 TD5 - (clocked 189k from new)
52 X-Trail 2.2 SVE
various euro boxes !
19th Dec 2011 9:59 pm
toby653
Member Since: 16 Dec 2011
Location: ypres
Posts: 26
right i had some free time so set to about draining the coolant out firstly not much came out or not as much as i expected filled it all back up as suggested on disco_steves link and the cylinder head bleed screw will emitt water but the expansion tank bleed screw will just froth up so closed it and left engine to run the temp needle got up to exactly half way and stayed there but still cold on the heaters water level in expansion tank at constant normal level. turned vehicle off and level in expansion tank rose up to near an inch from the lid. tried to loosen bleed screws when the engine was off the cylinder head bleed screw was misture or air and water in spirts and expansion tank one was just bubbly water etc so no further forward and then I had to go off to work and vehicle would only run at just off the blue on the temp guage Got to keep driving the vehicle at the moment to work as im on call all this week (Im a fireman out here in Belgium) and would like to go over and see family at Christmas which is a big run!
Is it time for a new vehicle as its probably cylinder head or gasket? or is it something else? Not a vast knowledge out here in Belgium of these vehicles and is the cylinder head worth doing on a vehicle thats done just over 300,000 mile
20th Dec 2011 9:22 pm
toby653
Member Since: 16 Dec 2011
Location: ypres
Posts: 26
Hello been over 700 miles in the last two days and still exactly the same with cold heaters except im using water had to put in half a litre. heater still cold but temperature guage will get up to just under the horizontal normal position when on the motorway but as soon as the revs are dropped then it soon drops down towards the blue apart from that it runs fine which seems odd if the head gasket has gone or its something major as I would have though it would be doing something exciting by now such as water in the oil etc.
23rd Dec 2011 7:28 pm
countrywide
Member Since: 16 Sep 2007
Location: UK
Posts: 6019
Still sounds like thermostat to me. Had this on my Defender recently too, new thermostat fixed it.
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- 2014 SDV8 Autobiography
But that can't happen on the D3 as far as I can tell due to it having about 4 pipes from it.
