Still having a problem with temp gauge rising on my td6, local mechanic says he can't find anything wrong

Local landrover specialist if fully booked for 3 weeks and can't even spare 10 mins apparently!

I've read about the viscous fan problems but people on here running without them?

When the car is hot or cold with grill off the fan blades move very very easily, even with the car running I can spin the fan freely with no resistance? The radiator behind also looks rotten, actually black and cacked in crap.

So since I can't get into a specialist and local guy is stumped I'm asking again for advice or anyone local to Newcastle who can have a look?

Did speak to another mechanic today and he reckons its feh thermostat sticking open, or opening too late? He also mentioned the air con saying that it could be that causing the problem as its not working and a regas might fix it?

Cheers again

Hi

With the Grill off you are looking at the Electric fan & not the Viscous fan which is located on the engine side of the Rad.

You can check the fan (But only with the engine off) you should feel some resistance and if spun should stop after about a 1/4 turn, if there is no movement it means the viscous coupling has locked on, this would reduce you engine temperature and also the engine noise would be higher.

Air con has nothing to do with cooling system.

Check the Viscous Fan first and if it will not rotate it is fairly easy to remove, all you have to do is remove the Rad cowl and undo the 32mm nut (you might need two spanners) but remember it is a reverse thread so clockwise to loosen.

Hope that helps

Gary

Yeh, viscous fan is on the inside. If you can spin it freely when warm then it's broke. They aren't expensive but can be a pig to get off if you don't have the tool.

If your rad is full of crap then this will also contribute and even a working fan won't cool as efficiently. Air has to be capable of being sucked through the veins in order to cool the contents. I'd start by taking it off and careflully jetting through it with a jet wash. It may need replacing. My Previous RR's!
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As above, the viscous fan may just be free-wheeling when warm and not pulling enough air through the radiator.
Test it as hoppy says, with the engine warmed up, switch off, the viscous fan should very hard to turn by hand, if it free-wheels the fluid has probably escaped. If it's solid when the engine is cold (as GTJones says) then it's just providing assistance all the time, it shouldn't be but in your case it will be doing you a favour!

When the engine is idling and A/C running the viscous fan may not provide all the cooling required so there is an auxiliary electric fan in front of the A/C condenser (that black radiator you say is caked in crap).

The electric fan at the front should also pull air in if the engine coolant temperature is excessive (which is why people say you can run without the viscous fan), the fan speed of which is dependant on the coolant temperature sensor AND the A/C system requirements (if A/C is on then it should speed up).
I suspect you have more than one fault, it sounds like your electric fan is not kicking in at all, your local mechanic should have picked this up but possibly may think the electric fan is for A/C use only but most BMW's of that era use the same system.
Check Fuse 61 in the Passenger compartment fuse box, it's a 50A Maxi type fuse (large ones on the right of the fuse box) which supplies power to the fan.

In short you need to check the electric fan is working correctly, check the viscous fan and clear any crap off the condenser/radiator.

As above the viscous unit is about £130ish or more i think depending on source.

I removed mine last year as the unit had failed into the always on position so sounded like a supercharge that was duff all the time. I removed it and didnt have any issues since but then almost always run with AC anyway so the AC fan would keep some air running over the rad and engine.

The TD6 is normally quite heat efficient so i'd be thinking the rad and coolant is cacked up, coolant and brake fluid are one of the few things ever done on time in mos cars and often slip through the net by main dealers and indies a like its meant to be every 3 years but i can be sure that a lot of 4+yr old FF's are still running on original coolant out there! Get the hoses off and flush the system out and put the correct mix back in for upto -30'c and that should help a fair bit.

the worst killer is sediment building up in the bottom of the radiators of vehicles and ends up chocking off he ability of the rad to get read of heat, and then if any gets dislodged and works its way round the system can lead to hot spots in the engine or worse blocking at the turbo inlet and allowing the turbo to get hotter than intended  FFRR MY06 facelift With TDV8 Alloys Zeros/ATR's
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Just to add, the details I gave were for the early FFRR so BMW engined pre facelift, I see Hoppy yours is a 2006 so fuse details may be different. I suspect the system will be the same or similar though with the electric fan assisting the viscous fan.

I've completely ditched a viscous fan before on another BMW as it saps power all the time where as an electric fan is only on when needed. It seems BMW are a bit unconvinced by electric fans!

Try team valley landrover there an approved garage from landrover cant praise them enough

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The big fan at teh front, ive never heard that come on. The viscous fan i know does spin as i can see it, i will test it tonight.

Had the car into kwik fit to have air con gasses and they cant do it, got a leak somewhere! me some car this is turning out to be!