Over heating

[Frodo]

Hi all, my friend has recently purchased a vx 3.2 petrol V6 1999, and the engine has started over heating. He has took it to a local garage and they won't touch it with a barge pole because they have never heard of the car before. They did however give us a list of parts required for the job;

Thermostat
Thermostat seal
Thermostat O ring
Thermostat inlet gasket set
2 x manifold to head gasket
Joining gasket

Any help on parts or places I north Yorkshire for servicing it would be much appreciated.

[Y33TREKker]

The only person I knew of in the UK with any knowledge of VX's was in West Sussex http://www.cgtrading.co.uk/default.asp?pageid=7&pagename=Home but I don't think he deals much in them any more.

Given his experience though, maybe he'd be able to offer suggestions for shops in your area?

[VXorado]

Might be worth checking/replacing the fan clutch before pulling the thermostat. The fan clutch can be replaced in under 30 minutes and fixed my overheating issue.

[PK]

Send a PM to member Grease Monkey.


He is from Bury, St Edmunds, England and is very knowledgeable about parts interchangeability etc.

PK

[ojmagg]

x2 on the fan clutch...10 bolts...tools needed...strap wrench, 10 and 12mm wrench

[rowhard]

Sure would like to hear some more on this fan clutch issue. I too am suffering a overheating problem. Has new everything, (just did a timing belt chg.) except the fan clutch and thermostat. Was going to do the thermostat this weekend saw this thread. Was there any signs, checks you can do. Nothing in the manual about it other then it being the wrong one. Did you use O.E.M. or parts house?

[RickOKC]

Hi Frodo! Suggest to your friend that he should consider shopping for a new garage. I had several shops act like my VX was alien technology. It took a while, but I finally found one that recognized that it's an internal combustion engine just like everything else. :)

[Gussie2000]

Hi Frodo! Suggest to your friend that he should consider shopping for a new garage. I had several shops act like my VX was alien technology. :)


Now,i call that a well done statement

[VXorado]

Sure would like to hear some more on this fan clutch issue. I too am suffering a overheating problem. Has new everything, (just did a timing belt chg.) except the fan clutch and thermostat. Was going to do the thermostat this weekend saw this thread. Was there any signs, checks you can do. Nothing in the manual about it other then it being the wrong one. Did you use O.E.M. or parts house?

You should be able to check the clutch... something like the fan will freely spin when the engine bay is cold and become stiffer once the engine bay is hot. I had issues with the engine getting hot for three years and it continued with 2 different aftermarket fan clutches and the FF dynamic electric fan setup. Earlier this year, I replaced the fan clutch with a junkyard Rodeo fan clutch and the engine hasn't moved a tick past 2/3rds on the gauge since.

It's worth looking into and definitely replace it with an OEM unit rather than a aftermarket unit.

[ojmagg]

Sure would like to hear some more on this fan clutch issue. I too am suffering a overheating problem. Has new everything, (just did a timing belt chg.) except the fan clutch and thermostat. Was going to do the thermostat this weekend saw this thread. Was there any signs, checks you can do. Nothing in the manual about it other then it being the wrong one. Did you use O.E.M. or parts house?

Yep...get the vx up to temp...turn off the car...spin the fan...should have some good resistance..way more than when cold. Also, you should hear the rush of the fan when you start driving. I really noticed a difference after I changed my old one out.

[Arkane]

This is going to sound kinda stupid, but does the fan turn the correct way? Mine overheated in slow traffic or if I ran the AC - so I replaced the clutch, flushed the rad, checked thermostat, etc. Nothing worked.

It was in the garage getting the windows fixed, the mechanic had started the engine to top up the battery and noticed that hot air was being blown out through the radiator.

Ordered a replacement fan blade - which looked exactly the same as the old one, just the blades were feathered the other way.

And I take mine to the local garage - lots of Landrovers, pickups, 4x4s, etc. there, and he's good with the mechanical stuff.

Local Isuzu dealership has one parts guy who's quite good (the rest are muppets) - although you can wait a few weeks for stuff coming from Japan.

[rowhard]

Well, VXorado & ogmagg, you didn't save me any money, but you sure saved me some work. Was getting ready to tackle the thermostat change which I was NOT looking forward to. Taa:)

[JHarris1385]

Glad I read this thread. Going to test the clutch tonight.

[samneil2000]

Mine had an overheating issue as well. It was really bad, and it got a little better when I cleaned the MAF. It was dirty causing the computer to run the motor lean. It didn't go completely away until I did the fan clutch. Agree with previous poster, the sound tells the tale. The new one makes a much louder rush sound. My brother checked my clutch by rubbing his hand on the fan blades with a hot motor running, and the fan stopped. It shouldn't have stopped if the clutch was doing its job.
Note, I do not recommend trying that... He is a professional mechanic so I guess he knew what he was doing. I don't get my hands anywhere near it when running.

[Greasemonkey]

Might be too late but where are you ?
I can certainly help out with parts and numbers from Vauxhall - same engine as the Frontera - same fan too
cheers
Steve