P38 2.5dse Overheating?

Hi guys,

I was driving today and the engine temp went into the red with the red light coming on. This hasn't happened before.

I pulled over, couldn't see anything wrong (no steam or leaks) and when I restarted the jeep, the needle again went into the red but then dropped back down to half way. It stayed there (drifting between 1/3 and 1/2 of the bar) for the next 20 mins until I got to where I was going.

I topped up the coolant, then drove back to Dublin and the needle only crept over the half way for a few seconds once, and remained again between the 1/3 and 1/2 way (mostly on the 1/2 way mark). The overflow on the coolant tank had spat out some of what I'd put in during the journey back.

Attached are pics of the bottle - is there a level I can check? Is there something else I should be looking at? Its a 1998 2.5dse P38 with just under 100k miles on the clock.

Cheers!

hey buddy,

nice to see someone else from ireland on here! well there are a few things you should check,

your fan (viscous fan) check if you can stop it with a rolled up news paper while engine is running. if it stops very easily that might need changing,

id also burp the system, top up the expansion tank to where the line is all around it (where it says cold level) start the engine run it rev it up to 2000rpm for a couple seconds and let it idle for a couple mins after that with the cap off while squeezing the pipes coming in and out of the radiator that should get any air out of the system.

try those and see how you get on.

The viscous fan check needs to be done with the engine hot. If it's not the viscous fan, the next best bet is the water pump, the impeller is plastic and the vanes break off when they get brittle with age. Also worth checking the thermostat.

Thanks guys.

Out of interest, where is the level on the bottle in the pics above?

The cold level is at the big lump round the middle.

If you do start to think about fans, pumps and stats can I suggest that you do the whole lot together. Get the rad out, flush it and then replace the other three. They're all a lot easier with the rad out.

ign said:

Thanks guys.

Out of interest, where is the level on the bottle in the pics above?

Click to expand...

The level is the joint round the middle. Your looks nearly empty in the pics

ign said:

Thanks guys.

Out of interest, where is the level on the bottle in the pics above?

Click to expand...

Hi m8y
The level is just below the seam... look at the top , see the words,, then follow the embossed band and just below the seam you will see a faint arrow head pointing just below the seam... thats it.
hope this explains it ok?..
PS mine is overheated without reason too ? trouble is the failsafe cuts out the engine power so I get nowhere fast. bummer

Datatek said:

The level is the joint round the middle. Your looks nearly empty in the pics

Click to expand...

Oh right... thanks guys