high engine temp when towing caravan

Hi there.. ok you’ve heard it all before? But please help me on this one!!! Bought a rangie 4.6 hse 1996 101000 on the clock….been going fine until yesterday towing caravan 18ft long quite big but nothing to this beast right!! Well you’d thing so.. driving normally engine temp spot on done nearly 1000 miles on it never moves more than the 12 o’clock position on gauge been checking coolant on it since I bought it not using any .. so looks good… until the caravan goes on engine temp will stay in the normal range until you hit a hill`s as the load increases on the truck temp goes up really high at one point had to stop as it was going to the mark just before the red on the gauge (warning light came on) … this was over 150 mile journey you couldn’t push it on hills…. looked at the coolant again this morning as every thing is cooled down it hasn’t used much maybe a half centimetre in the header tank engine oil is fine … ohh and did the same journey back without the caravan and engine temp spot on all the way driving 70 80 mph.
Don’t know if this is any help but when on lpg the truck will cut out at low revs when driving i.e. pulling up to a junction with foot of gas (doesn’t do this on petrol)
So this is what I intend doing? Improving the cooling ..buy a new water pump, radiator, header tank cap, and the coupling thingy for the fan… Ps I also need to pick up the caravan next week it’s the kids holidays… would taking the thermostat out help when towing it back?
Thanks for any help on this
Please please don’t tell me my engine is knackered ( slipped liner)

hi , i dont know if this will help but here goes iam a hgv mechanic and come across stuff like this pretty oftem summer or winter so before you blow a load of money on replacing everything in an attempt to cure it try looking at your rad first of all and the viscous fan coupling , the later you can sometimes hear when it kicks in , but this is not always the case if it were myself i would go for the radiator first , check to see if its clear of debris (dead leave`s, dried on mud, bits of paper, and the likes) if required give it a good power washing from BOTH sides , but dont go to close to the fins if no improvement look at fitting a new radiator , i hope this info is of some use to you and saves you a few bob .
rick

thanks for the quick reply m8 will look at the replacing the coupling and rad first then.. fingers crossed this will fix cheers

Could be that the electric fans are not working too. There are two fans that are to aid in cooling and for the air/con system in front of the rad. Make sure they are working too. Could just be that the viscous fan isn't working properly, which you don't notice under 'normal' condition.

Matt

hi mmaddock
did wonder bout those fans but thought the were for air condoitionin system? but they were not runnig either how could i get them to run would that make the difference
thanks again

hurrricaneuk said:

hi mmaddock
did wonder bout those fans but thought the were for air condoitionin system? but they were not runnig either how could i get them to run would that make the difference
thanks again

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hi again ithink you`ll find the electric fans are soley air con fans and nothing to do with the actual engine cooling system they just work in conjunction with the air con

My 2.4 DT always runs hotter when towing my van (although nothing like yours) but I had a similar problem with my old 3.9 classic (lpg). It turned out the rad was partially blocked (internally) and a new one sorted it. Also the engine will run hotter on lpg.

lenb

lenb said:

My 2.4 DT always runs hotter when towing my van (although nothing like yours) but I had a similar problem with my old 3.9 classic (lpg). It turned out the rad was partially blocked (internally) and a new one sorted it. Also the engine will run hotter on lpg.

lenb

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a partially blocked rad be it on a car or heavy commercial is quite a common thing when overheating occurrs this is based on over 35yrs experiance , and more often than not the vehicle will behave itself perfectly under normal operating conditions but give it some serious work to do and then watch the temp gauge needle rise, i cant comment as yet on running on lpg cause`s higher temp but i would have thought if the radiator is in good condition it should cope no problems

hi again ithink you`ll find the electric fans are soley air con fans and nothing to do with the actual engine cooling system they just work in conjunction with the air con

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So you don't think that two dirty great fans in front of the radiator will help with cooling??? Yes, their primary function is for the air/con, but they will also help with engine cooling. Checking operation of the electric fans is one of the things on the RAVE checklist to check if the engine is overheating.

a partially blocked rad be it on a car or heavy commercial is quite a common thing when overheating occurrs this is based on over 35yrs experiance , and more often than not the vehicle will behave itself perfectly under normal operating conditions but give it some serious work to do and then watch the temp gauge needle rise

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I agree with that, would be the first thing I would be checking. Would also be flushing the coolant and renewing to see if that made any difference before messing with more complicated things!

Matt

mmaddock said:

So you don't think that two dirty great fans in front of the radiator will help with cooling??? Yes, their primary function is for the air/con, but they will also help with engine cooling. Checking operation of the electric fans is one of the things on the RAVE checklist to check if the engine is overheating.



I agree with that, would be the first thing I would be checking. Would also be flushing the coolant and renewing to see if that made any difference before messing with more complicated things!

Matt

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ok ok put your nappy back on mate , iam not having a pop at you iam just trying to help hurricaneuk .
i dont dispute that the electric fans will HELP engine cooling , but that is`nt their primary function though, what about vehicles that ar`nt fitted with aircon ???? when in use aircon puts the engine under an increased load , more load hotter it will run the electric fans are there to help control this in certain conditions , on my old 3.9 classic they used to run for about 3 or 4 mins after turning off the engine if i had been using the aircon

hey guys thanks for all the help going to get a new radiator fitted and fan coupling.. would you recomend doing this job ure self!! been looking at it? dont look like it be to bad to do..what like is it to get the air out the system after fitting new radiator? there is a landrover guy up with us but dont think he would be any better at it than me (small garage not in the 21st century) he welded the diff cover on my disco and it still leaked.. anyways what u think
thanks again

Depends on your level of competence with a spanner! Doesn't seem to be hugely complex, but I believe you need a special tool (or two) to remove the VC. Whether you can make do I'm not sure as it is not something I have done on a P38.

Matt

Re: high engine temp
Matt is right in saying the two fans need to be running. If it's a hot day and your air con is drawing a lot of heat out of the vehicle, the heat builds up in the condenser which is in front of the radiator causing the behicle to run at slightly higher temperatures. The minute you start to pull up hill, the water temperature in the engine rises and is then passed into the radiator to be cooled, but unfortunately if the two air con fans aren't working, it draws air through the condenser radiator which is hot and this in turn warms the air. The cooling radiator is actually drawing in warm air causing the vehicle to over heat. On a hot day the condensing fans with the temperature in the car set at low, should be running, if not try a quick fix with a paperclip!
Raise the car's suspension to its highest, underneath the front nearside corner behind the bumper is a round cannister with two wires going to a switch which is facing the outside of the vehicle. Disconnect the plug and bend a paperclip so that you can insert the two ends into the little holes in the plug. With the engine running, the two fans on the front should now be running. If they still do not work you need to start checking fuses in the fuse box in the engine bay or even the relays. Once you have got them working, tape the paperclip with insulation tape and see how it goes.
I had a similar fault with my DSE and it blew the top out of the radiator when towing a trailer uphill!
Good luck, keep smiling!
Phil

ok going to give that a go with the condensing fans.. as I`ve never heard them running!! could be something to do with the fact that every now and again the open book with the (!) icon appears in the air conditiong dispaly? not really been bothering me but if its a factor in the overheating then yep will have have those fans running all the time
cheers mudplugger

Yes - I was going to ask you if you had seen that symbol on the HEVAC display. Sounds the most likely candidate to me if you are getting a c/c fault as well - and you can use my favourite universal part to try to fix it too - part number PC01!

Matt

hi maddock
part number PC01! what would that be? is the icon to do with the condensor fans!! will i be able to run them all the time cant seeit doing any harm?

i think you need to check yer fuses before you start stuffing bits of wire into plugs. i don't got A/C on my landy but on one of my cars that has it the leccy fans also kicks in when the engine gets hot, no matter if A/C is on or off.

why not just get rid of the caravan? roads would be such a nicer place to be without em!

hi there every one
well fitted new radiator and viscus fan this morning looks good so far filled coolant up, blew air in hose at header tank to clear air locks.. topped up coolant again ran motor for 15mins with cap of header tank replaced cap ran further 5 mins reving to 2000 rpm occasionally has`nt tried to dump any cooland no pressurisation on top hose with the header tank cap on got the air con fans running all the time.... now real test still to come CARAVAN!! picking it up on thur 200 mile trip?
thanks every one for all youre help much appreciated

must make sure i'm off the road on thursday then. save me sticking the vickies up at ya