Offroad-Express

Hello, I wonder if anyone can help me with a question, I own a V6 95 Terrano VG30 3.0L, its in pearler condition and only done 52,000kms, the vehicle runs fine in every aspect however I am wondering about the activity of the radiator fan.

Driving here & there on the flat its quiet & you get your charming Terrano V6 rumble, however when you go up say the Ngauranga gorge or over the Haywards into the Hutt Valley the fan kicks up quite loudly after the ascent , and seems to stay quite loud every time you press the accelerator. It eventually shuts up back to normal but it seems to take a while, sometimes 15-20 minutes.

After I got home today it the engine seemed very hot, theres plenty of coolant & fluids are ok, the temp gauge on the dash doesnt go up at all it stays within the normal region so it seems happy with itself but,

Is this just how V6 Terranos are? Or is my thermostat or fan bung or something? I would definately expect the fan to kick in under load but would have expected it to quiet up pretty quick after you return to a flat surface?

Any suggestions would be awesome

Matt
Wellington.

is the fan electric or viscous?

I'm fairly sure they are viscus.
This would be normal as the "clutch" engages when hot and and free-wheels when not needed. Was your engine off when you noticed it hot? Engines will heat up a bit when you turn them off and the coolant stops going around.
Hope this helps.
Cheers,

this has gotta be this weeks Tui award.

That is normal, after a climb up a hill, the engine gets hot, the viscosity does its thing, the fan engages, then when it cools down the viscosity does its other thing, allowing the fan to free wheel.

also why there bolted to the water pump pulley aye.

Thanks very much for the info people, sorry I don't know much about these kinda things, thats why I asked, have not had it long , I know its going to crank up under heavy load I just wasnt sure what to expect noise wise, as I used to have a 90 diesel one which never made much noise really so i just wanted to ask.

And it does make sense that it was hot when it was off as of course the waterpump isnt running... lol. I suppose it being all hot & muggy doesnt help either.

The car is a vicious petrol sucking monster but I love the feel of it...

you probably couldnt hear the fan in the diesel over the rest of the engine noise.

katipo wrote:you probably couldnt hear the fan in the diesel over the rest of the engine noise.

I have heard my fan and the noise is louder with a new water pump. The point is when you hear it, it is doing it's job.

my fan is viscus to but it seems to be locked up and allways spinning, even at cold. any one know how to fix this? ive just pulled the secondary eletric one out too it never goes im gonna get it tested and see if i can get it working.

On the diesels, the viscuis clutch is pressed on the water pump shaft and come complete with the pulley too, as you can't get them apart. So in short, it may need a new water pump.
There are a couple of different PCD's on the fan too.
No wonder it is making a racket

Cheers,

the VG30's get real hot. Im looking at replacing my radiator with something thicker with an electric fan.
they have a very small radiator for an engine that size
dropping it into a bog helps with cooling too I noticed