Replaced alternator - no heating in the car, revs high

sipherlucian

Hi My alternator recently died, i had it rebuilt and put back in. its a 01 pajero. Since then the heating in the car is very very low, its set up as high as it will go on temp and fan but the heat is only luke warm.
As well as that the revs whilst driving for the first hour seem too high, normally when im stationary the revs are around 900, now its around 1200-1400 and only drops to around 1000 when i go up in the gears.
Eventually it seems to go back to normal, anyone have an idea of what it might be, a garage suggested that the coolant might be low, thats full. i thought the fuses might have blown when the alternator went back in, i swapped them for new ones but no joy.
The guy that fixed it suggested it might be airlocked, im bringing it back to him to sort out but id like to know what it might be because i wasnt happy with the service he provided. Hope to hear from someone.

franksm

Are the coolant pipes getting hot, especially the two going in under the windscreen to the dashboard ?

The mechanic will have removed the accessory belt and possibly the engine fan itself, so if these were disturbed I would check them out. If the fan is a viscous type thing, it may have failed - and they generally fail in the "engaged" position, which means that the engine is being overcooled and not being allowed to get anywhere near hot.

I don't know the Pajero, but chances are that the dash temp gauge is a "dumb" one, so shows "normal" when the engine is 50 degrees hot, right up to 100 degrees. So, not a true measurement of whether the engine is at proper temp or not.

If the two pipes under the windscreen are not getting hot, then chances are the engine isn't reaching temperature

sipherlucian

ill have to drive it for a while to see thanks for the tip, chances are he removes the fan its quite awkward to get to the alternator in a pajero. the temp slowly climbs to about halfway on the gauge after 10-15 minutes driving from a cold engine. theres no degrees on the gauge. but when it reaches that point it doesnt go past it. drove to dublin from drogheda and back in it the other night and the temp never really climbed beyond that and the heating actually seemed a little cooler after a while

Kevin McCloud

Is it a 2.5 pajero op?

sipherlucian

Kevin McCloud wrote: »

Is it a 2.5 pajero op?

Hi Kevin yep it's a 2.5

Squatman

i reckon its a thermostat stuck in the open position, allowing free flow of coolant without engine building up temperature.

sipherlucian

i checked the pipes, nothing is hot, only slightly warm. brought it back to the mechanic its hard to tell if anything was sorted im not bringing it back he took 2 weeks to sort an alternator so im not leaving it in again.
the temp is not really any different, revs are normal but the card was driven a little today so that tends to help, ill have to wait until its cold.
ill check out the thermostat thanks

Kevin McCloud

The only link to the no heat problem and replacing an alternator is they share a drive belt. Has to be a coincidence.

sipherlucian

so do you reckon he didnt attach the drive belt correctly or the alternator might still be faulty maybe?

sipherlucian

also i just drove the car again, doesnt seem to be getting very warm inside and its ramped up to 30 degrees the whole time