Advice Needed - Overheating after offroad day

Hello!

I'm calling for all you Landy know it alls to give me some advice.
For a quick summary of my history, I got a 4 cylinder TD almost a year ago which promptly blew up. I was stupid, knew nothing, the turbo went, ruined.

Since then, me and my friend fitted a 200TDi, its had servicing done by a decent Land Rover place, and it's been great.

I was at Abingdon 4x4 festival today, had a great time doing some proper offroading in it, and got seriously muddy

On the way there, I was doing around 65 and the temperature needle was stuck to just right of the middle.

On the way back however, it shot right up to the top of the white after about 10 miles, so I stopped at a service station, washed the mud out of the radiator, and the temp plummeted. I watched nervously as again it began to rise. I got home with it about half a centimetre away from the top of the cold, which is very high since I was "limping" home at about 45-50 the whole way (40 odd miles)

I don't know whether I'm being really paranoid, but after losing one engine I don't want to lose another one. I haven't lost any oil, I can't see any water in the oil or vice versa, the only thing I noticed is the viscous fan seems to not be going very fast compared to normal. I could just be imagining that though.

I'm really sorry for the long post, but please set my mind at rest and tell me if I've screwed my engine or whether it needs some simple loving.

Thanks very much!
Laurie

Sounds like you have a problem with the cooling system somewhere, therre should not be any perminant damage if you have not overheated.

By washing the radiator you are cooling it down, so the water inside will cool, if by drivivng again it warms up ( obviously because you are making the engin work harder) If air flow on its own cant cool the rad the fan needs do the work.

Check the watere level in the system, and the fan. It may also be that the thermostat is nackered.

OK, thanks, so you don't think it could be engine trouble? It still performs the same. I'm just really paranoid about it going, despite how much people tell me 200TDis will go forever. It did get a good thrashing today, do you think the problems you mentioned are linked to the offroading or just a co-incedence? Obviously at first it was the mud, maybe mud on the fan would affect it?
I think I might need a new rad anyway, as mine has half the fins missing (not that it mattered before!)

Thanks for your reply!

perhaps worth washing the rad again - when mud dries it a good insulator
while youve got the hose out give the alternator a good rinse too otherwise teh mud will wear it out prematurely

Thanks for that advice. She's absolutely covered, I'll give it another go with the pressure washer tomorrow.
As long as my engine isn't buggered :-D

Cheers!

If it looks good covered in mud post a pic of it.

Will do!

Check your coolant also.

Could be that when you were offroading (engine doing lots of work while not going very fast they can get quite hot) you have stirred up some gunk in the coolant system.

If the washing off mud, and checking coolant levels etc doesn't work, I would try giving the system a good washing out. Pull off the rad hoses, at the rad and engine, and run a hose through them both until water runs clear. Connect back up, give it a good dose of cooland fluid and fill the system again.