2.5 DSE overheating..HELP

OK, so yet another guy with an overheating problem. Bought the dse 1 month ago with this problem. Guy previously had head gasket changed and skimmed. New radiator, new pump, new pipes new viscous, fresh coolant. Car will idle forever and not a problem, will drive under 40 with no problem allday, anything more and needle takes 10 secs from dead center to hit max. ive head the head tested no problems and no leaks. also new thermostat. Ive even connected the two AC fans with kenlowe switch to aid cooling, doesnt help. What do i do?

are you sure the water temp is actually what the needle is telling you? 10 sec just seems a bit quick from mid to max??

well the heaters never go cold, and ive had new temp sensors. dont want to push it to much. Today went for a hard drive down back lanes 10 minutes and was overheating. Let engine cool for 10 mins no longer, needle had gone back to middle managed to drive 10 mins home before overheating again. Bizarre. had a clean bill of health from local garage.

Rad failure is possible, check that the rad header has the baffle in the centre and check when it's hot that it's hot all over. Duf stats have been known and plastic water pumps have been known to break up and leave bits in the system restricting flow. also check the expansion tank cap is holding pressure, make sure it is screwed right down which can be difficult to do. also worth making sure there are no airlocks in the system.
If it's none of the above, then I regret to say the symptoms are typical of a cracked head which does not always show up on a pressure test.

Sounds like water pump to me, i've not checked mine but mine just started doing simlar, car sat for 2 days drove 3 min's and well in the red and red light on.

landynewbie1 said:

OK, so yet another guy with an overheating problem. Bought the dse 1 month ago with this problem. Guy previously had head gasket changed and skimmed. New radiator, new pump, new pipes new viscous, fresh coolant. Car will idle forever and not a problem, will drive under 40 with no problem allday, anything more and needle takes 10 secs from dead center to hit max. ive head the head tested no problems and no leaks. also new thermostat. Ive even connected the two AC fans with kenlowe switch to aid cooling, doesnt help. What do i do?

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I have a similar problem, my 2.5 DSE (1999) has just had all the AC renewed, plus a radiator water pump a few hoses however it still overheats on long journey at about 70mph
There is no water in the oil, no visual leaks either so I am at a loss now as what to look for, can anyone suggest anything else. I may even remove the thermostate next to see if it is that?

Try newspaper trick with viscous fan

tarphenry said:

Try newspaper trick with viscous fan

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The viscous shouldn't be doing anything if he's cruising along at 70mph - the 70mph of airflow through the rad should be more than enough.

I thought if you skimmed the head on the diesel it was scrap??????

biketeacherdave said:

I thought if you skimmed the head on the diesel it was scrap??????

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not necessarily, it does alter distance of valve head to head face and if enough can cause valves to hit pistons if not catered for by reseating valves or thicker head gasket, i think lr have said dont skim with a few heads but practice has shown different