Talk:Rover K engine
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[edit] K-Series problems
The positioning of the thermostat was indeed the major problem, but it was particularly so on the larger performance engines. The typical user of the original K-series spec was the simple compact and small car used for trips into town perhaps. The continual development of the K through stroke increases meant that the larger capacity engines were being pushed into areas of the car market that perhaps it intially shouldn't have been pushed into, given the set up of the cooling system.
The worst problems were on the Freelander where the engine had to pull a huge body almost right from the start. The engine heats up quickly- too quickly for the rest of the water system to reach a reasonable temperature to roughly match the engine. When the thermostat opens up - a sudden rush of cold water hits the head and starts to cause temperature distortion characteristics that were not seen on the smaller engines in smaller cars. To a certain extent this was relived by special pressure release thermostat which, with the aid of a spring loaded valve, allowed a small amount of cool water to enter the head in order to allow the engine to warm up a little slower and more evenly. This would only be considered an adequate solution. The main solution would have been to move the thermostat to the outflow from the head, allowing that rest of the water system to warm up with the engine.
According to some friends of mine from what was Powertrain, they had already started to fix the problem by redesigning the head. It had to be redesigned to take into account the Euro V emissions limits, and the increase in capacity from 1.8 to 2 litre.
The K-series is a very light and very torquey engine, and compared to the Honda S2000 which may have more power at higher revs, the K-Series has for more flexibility at lower revs, which is why it is ideally suited to the Freelander.
See this link for more info - You will also notice that the Lotus VHPD engine has nothing to do with Rover and the problems that Lotus encountered were those that they actually engineered into the unit!!
Ross A. University Central England, Birmingham, UK.
