overheated when towing

Hi guys just towed my caravan for the first time with my new p38 and she's overheated
runs fine when not towing but with the caravan I'm getting about 20 miles before the temp gets scary
it don't seem to be loseing much water if any
I'm on site now but could do with any advice to help with this cos I've to get it home after the weekend

gfromleeds said:

Hi guys just towed my caravan for the first time with my new p38 and she's overheated
runs fine when not towing but with the caravan I'm getting about 20 miles before the temp gets scary
it don't seem to be loseing much water if any
I'm on site now but could do with any advice to help with this cos I've to get it home after the weekend

Click to expand...

call someone to tow it for you. and get your motor fixed before you need a new engine

john winsemius said:

call someone to tow it for you. and get your motor fixed before you need a new engine

Click to expand...

I'm thinking along those lines but any idea what could be wrong?

Diesel or petrol?

Petrol 4.6 1996

gfromleeds said:

I'm thinking along those lines but any idea what could be wrong?

Click to expand...

cooling system not to sound bad but could be simple as a thermostat ,low coolant, improper mix of antifreeze and water,head gasket, fan not coming on in time, lots of things good luck.Need to check coolant when motor is warm, be careful. also check oil level in motor and transmission oil level

Sorry mate, cant be much help. Mine is a diesel and I had a similar problem when towing my caravan. Maybe others will have more idea now they know your vehicle. It might help if you mention where you are camped, there may be a forum member nearby who knows about these things and could assist in some way.
Good luck

check thermostat by feeling pipes are hot after it bottom right near rad ,check rad is hot all over core if not theres your problem

do your leccy fans cut in?

First thing that I would do is to remove the rad, flush it out, and make sure the fins aren't bunged up stopping air flow. whilst it's off, change the water pump (not expensive usually) and the thermostat.
With those items done for not too much money, it should cure any cooling problems, if they don't, you're now looking into much more serious and expensive work, ie cylinder head gasket, cracked head/cylinder/manifold or other wallet emptying problem..

As it only does it under load it sounds like either a thermostat not fully opening or a rad problem (either partially blocked internally or blocked/missing external fins).

If you are away from home and you are not in a Motoring Organsiation, then the first thing I would do is Join One.

Secondly, check your carpets on drivers side, could be your 'O' rings might be leaking,

Thirdly, all the other things that have been mentioned by members here

Or remember LZ international rescue

fett said:

do your leccy fans cut in?

Click to expand...

How hot does it need to be before the fans come in cos I didn't notice when it was hot and it don't overheat without the caravan
I don't fancy bypassing the fans to run permanent just to find out halfway home it still overheats

not sure on the p38, I am a classic man but I think on the p38 they come on when there is a danger of over heating which seems to indicate either they arent working or you have such a serious over heating problem that they cant cope.

I would pull over as soon as you go past your normal running temp but before the red and see if they are on before you swich off to cool down.

I am sure a p38 owner will put me right though as they dont seem to work in a normal way, ever

I think if I were you I would aim to get recovered home on the back of a truck and let that tow the van.
The chances of you being able to fix the problem on a caravan site look slim, it doesn`t sound like a bush mechanics problem even if a 4.6 P38 was a bush mechanics kind of car..................
No shame in taking the sensible option, and a lot cheaper than a new engine, and once recovered you`ll have more time and less pressure to fix it yourself or find a decent garage.
Plus if you have the family with you, a couple of hundred miles in a recovery truck is a lot more fun than watching Dad on a short fuse drive with his fingers crossed

gfromleeds said:

How hot does it need to be before the fans come in cos I didn't notice when it was hot and it don't overheat without the caravan
I don't fancy bypassing the fans to run permanent just to find out halfway home it still overheats

Click to expand...

It's a very simple mod to force the fans to run but I have known there to be a loom failure. They only operate with an engine overheat on the V8.
PM me if you want the mod.

Datatek said:

It's a very simple mod to force the fans to run but I have known there to be a loom failure. They only operate with an engine overheat on the V8.
PM me if you want the mod.

Click to expand...

guys electric fans come on when the sensor tells it to, not when the engine over heats.
On the cooling system the thermostat opens first , then when the second sensor gets warmer then the fans come on and when it cool down a little the fan go off. All with in the proper operating temp of your motor,

I dont know , you lot with these unreliable p38's

I found a another mouses mest in my classic the other day btw

john winsemius said:

guys electric fans come on when the sensor tells it to, not when the engine over heats.
On the cooling system the thermostat opens first , then when the second sensor gets warmer then the fans come on and when it cool down a little the fan go off. All with in the proper operating temp of your motor,

Click to expand...

I dont think they do on p38's with the viscous fan for main cooling, but I may be wrong as p38's arnt my thing!