overheating cruiser

badnuz · Post by **badnuz** » Mon Dec 03, 2007 10:33 pm

my cruiser is weird. driving round town its normal temp. 4wding its normal temp.... drive for more than 20 min on the open road and it starts to get hot!! i tightened the fan belt, thinking that was the issue, it has no leaks ( that i have found). odd that its hot on open road i thought esp since i can pull over and idle for a few min and it returns to normal??? anyone had this or have any ideas?

PR · Post by PR » Mon Dec 03, 2007 10:44 pm

Dose it have an electric fan :?:

Jerry · Post by **Jerry** » Mon Dec 03, 2007 10:44 pm

Whats thr radiator like? is it clean or needs a flush? has it been sitting for ages previousl;y?

badnuz · Post by **badnuz** » Mon Dec 03, 2007 11:11 pm

vicous fan, it had been sitting for a while... whys that Jerry?

Jerry · Post by **Jerry** » Mon Dec 03, 2007 11:17 pm

what colour it the radiator water, sometime the coolant turns to treacle, might pay to pull it out and flush it and/or get it rodded and checked, if the water syetem is full of sh#it replace the thermostat etc and flush. check the hoses, they are cheap enough...replace them and keep theold ones as spares.

Check the viscous fan as well...PR knows how to check these (I can;t remember at the moment), assume you have put new oil and filters in it including the diffs etc??

might be worth draining the diesel tank fully and getting rid of any sludge etc and putting fresh stuff in as well....I would put fresh brake fluid in it as well.....that way you know its fresh stuff...

H2OLOVA · Post by **H2OLOVA** » Tue Dec 04, 2007 7:53 am

what sort of fan shroud (if any) do you have?

badnuz · Post by **badnuz** » Tue Dec 04, 2007 11:56 am

it has factory shrouding, i will be doin engine and diff oils this week, going to check coolant soon, once it cools down lol! as for draining the tank, i did that just after i picked it up ( hence why i didnt make it to last akkas trip

)

Post by **mike** » Tue Dec 04, 2007 12:14 pm

badnuz wrote:it has factory shrouding, i will be doin engine and diff oils this week, going to check coolant soon, once it cools down lol! as for draining the tank, i did that just after i picked it up ( hence why i didnt make it to last akkas trip )

Check your thermostat, might not be opening enough to let the flow through at road speed.

Fan is working ok if cooling down around town and pulling over. Fan is normally used for speeds below 15km/hr speeds greater than its pretty much doing diddley squat.

Mike

H2OLOVA · Post by **H2OLOVA** » Tue Dec 04, 2007 1:47 pm

The only two things it can be are thermostat as Mike mentioned or a blockage/dirty radiator.

Good Luck

gtblair · Post by **gtblair** » Tue Dec 04, 2007 1:49 pm

Check to see if the viscous fan is working, when you start it up from cold the fan should be going nuts, then slow down to normal after awhile... so open the bonnet and feel the air coming off it.

You probably already know this th ay

Steve_t647 · Post by **Steve_t647** » Tue Dec 04, 2007 2:03 pm

I agree with mike (I hate to say it but) and Jerry, check the thermostat is opening all the way and it would be worth looking at the radiator it sounds like a flow issue.

Some people put that radiator stop leak in their radiator and it blocks half the water galleys, drain the radiator (again) and use the hose to fill it from the bottom with the top hose disconnected to let the water out (messy and wet do it on a hot day)

at the top you are looking to see how many of the little galleys are not flowing water if you can see some then remove the radiator and take it to a radiator shop, they will put it in an acid bath and clean it good.

Beer_Cruiser · Post by **Beer_Cruiser** » Tue Dec 04, 2007 4:17 pm

Ive been having trouble with mine as well.It started after a Rallywoods trip the radiator was covered in mud.Ive had it at radiator shop.He removed top and bottom tanks and roded the fins
It was still getting hot.Fine on road or when moving fast.But in soft sand or long slow up hills no good
Next I pulled the viscous fan off and mounted twin electric fans.This is better does not get hot as fast but its still to hot.
Im going to take the thermostat out and give that a try is weekend.
I have put 35" tyres on would this also be pushing temp up?

Jerry · Post by **Jerry** » Tue Dec 04, 2007 4:20 pm

What motor are you running?

Steve_t647 · Post by **Steve_t647** » Tue Dec 04, 2007 4:22 pm

the harder the engine work's the hotter it get's. those big donuts without a gearing change will make it work harder. Also Summer you can get a lower opening temp thermostat, that way the whole system is a little cooler but in winter that means the heater is cooler.

smurf182 · Post by **smurf182** » Tue Dec 04, 2007 4:24 pm

Beer_Cruiser wrote:I have put 35" tyres on would this also be pushing temp up?

With stock ring and pinion.. Does a beer shit in the woods? If you've regeared properly then it shouldn't make a difference.

Jerry · Post by **Jerry** » Tue Dec 04, 2007 4:25 pm

so a 350 chev upgrade would solve that little problem :lol:

PR · Post by PR » Tue Dec 04, 2007 4:51 pm

Ok so it is a viscous fan. The reason for asking is that mine is doing the same :roll:

and I have had the radiator cleaned out and a new thermostat put in what its seems to be is the wax in the viscous fan :shock:

after a while it wares out

The only test for it is if you get the truck hot again on a 100kph run pull over and try to turn the fan if it turns its worn out as when the wax gets hot its ment to bind up :wink:

hope that helps aswell :wink:

oldblue · Post by **oldblue** » Tue Dec 04, 2007 5:05 pm

I think that the air going thru the radiator will need to be at least 100 degrees to lock up the viscus unit.
Driving at 100kph will only keep it cool [no lock up]

badnuz · Post by **badnuz** » Tue Dec 04, 2007 5:06 pm

seems im in the same heat boat as a few of us... i too are running my 35's if i keep the spped down a bit the temp doesnt climb... i will do thermostat and the engine oils this weekend and check on the fan if it next gets too hot! cheers for the tips and advice people!

PR · Post by PR » Tue Dec 04, 2007 5:07 pm

Two seperate mechanics have said the same thing :roll:

so they cant both be wrong

badnuz · Post by **badnuz** » Tue Dec 04, 2007 5:12 pm

Jerry wrote:What motor are you running?

me or beer cruiser? i got a std 3.4 turbo

Beer_Cruiser · Post by **Beer_Cruiser** » Tue Dec 04, 2007 6:50 pm

I got 3f petrol 4litre
Just pulled thermostat out. Is there any way to check this?
I plan to leave it out for weekend. It shouldnt be a drama should it?

Steve_t647 · Post by **Steve_t647** » Tue Dec 04, 2007 7:03 pm

pour hot water on it from the jug

oldblue · Post by **oldblue** » Tue Dec 04, 2007 7:37 pm

Fill up a pot with cold water, place thermo in, and bring to the boil, when you see the heat simmer bubbles forming [about 80degrees] the stat will slowly start to open.and will be fully open when on full boil.

KiwiBacon · Post by **KiwiBacon** » Thu Dec 06, 2007 6:18 pm

PR wrote:Two seperate mechanics have said the same thing so they cant both be wrong

Two mechanics say it's the fan?

A radiator fan is only along for the ride on the open road, fans are needed to move air when the vehicle isn't moving fast enough. At 100km/h airflow is not the problem.

As said above, radiator or thermostat are the primary culprits. Only when you've checked those two are good is it worth chasing fans.

oldblue · Post by **oldblue** » Thu Dec 06, 2007 6:48 pm

About 12 months ago, I had the same problem, looked at all the "easy " and cheapest things to try.
tryed new themostat , increased the amount of wax in the viscus, cleaned the outside of the radiator, etc, at a cost$$$$$$$$$ no joy.
The end result was the inside of the radiator needed to be cleaned out, which cost less than the money on all of the above.

Jerry · Post by **Jerry** » Thu Dec 06, 2007 6:53 pm

get the radiator checked first...cost about $100, replace the thermostat $20 and flush the water (free ...use yer hose) system and put decent fresh coolant $20-40 in and see if its any better.

PR · Post by PR » Thu Dec 06, 2007 6:54 pm

oldblue wrote:About 12 months ago, I had the same problem, looked at all the "easy " and cheapest things to try.
tryed new themostat , increased the amount of wax in the viscus, cleaned the outside of the radiator, etc, at a cost$$$$$$$$$ no joy.
The end result was the inside of the radiator needed to be cleaned out, which cost less than the money on all of the above.

I have had the radiator cleaned inside and out by pros, have had engine flushed for 2 hours with a fire hose change the themostat so the only thing left is the viscus fan :roll:

haynzy · Post by **haynzy** » Thu Dec 06, 2007 9:26 pm

This may sound funny but what are your other gauges doin when it gets hot, my cruiser would be fine when offroading but at odd times would seem to get hot the once you took your foot off the loud pedal it would instantly seem to cool, my 2cs would be check the earth in the dash/temp gauge

smurf182 · Post by **smurf182** » Fri Dec 07, 2007 3:22 pm

PR wrote:
oldblue wrote:About 12 months ago, I had the same problem, looked at all the "easy " and cheapest things to try.
tryed new themostat , increased the amount of wax in the viscus, cleaned the outside of the radiator, etc, at a cost$$$$$$$$$ no joy.
The end result was the inside of the radiator needed to be cleaned out, which cost less than the money on all of the above.

I have had the radiator cleaned inside and out by pros, have had engine flushed for 2 hours with a fire hose change the themostat so the only thing left is the viscus fan

Or the water pump.