p38 2.5 dse tow advise

hi i have a 1998 p38 dse which in normal driving runs fine but when towing my caravan seems to get warm when pulling up hills even slight hills. i have to change down to 3rd and get revs up to 3000 to get it to cool down is this normal i usaully tow in d. i have changed radiator and caravan is about 1600kg any advise on this much apriciated. also climate reads outside temp as 0 and eventually comes on and reads roughlly right i have changed outside temp sensor but no difernce cheers

Have you checked/changed the water pump, stat and viscous fan?? Was the rad aftermarket or genuine?

-Wills

I first read that as your caravan got warm when towing, which isn't normal!

How 'warm' does your engine get, where does the needle sit?

lanmjdun said:

I first read that as your caravan got warm when towing, which isn't normal!

How 'warm' does your engine get, where does the needle sit?

Click to expand...

hi the needle is heading fast towards red and looks like it is going to overheat but changing down to third and getting revs up cools it back down it has had a patten water pump fitted under normal driving everthing is fine cheers

Well that defintiely sounds like its overheating, you'll have to check thru the list given by Wills, though as checking these bits means taking things apart you might aswell go ahead and replace them straight off, only about £120 for a pump, thermostat and fan. Getting the viscous fan off can be tricky though...

The zero reading on the outside temp often means the Hevac unit is playing up. That is the heating/ventilation/air conditioning unit or in other words the heater control panel which fits in the dash kind of like a radio does. It's behind the panel that holds all the temp switches and buttons. Costs about £140 new but £40 at a breakers. (If the temp creeps up to normal I'd be tempted to leave it until it permanently reads zero.)