Re: 200TDi Temperature - too hot?

"Jon" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news[email protected]...
> Out of interest how hot does your 200TDi run when running at 70mph,
> i.e. Motorway driving?
>
> Mine is a 1992 90 hard top, stock 200TDi with 235x85 BFG AT rubbers.
> On flatish ground it will happily trundle along at 70 - 75mph (80mph
> on a Long road) BUT the temperature needle rises from vertical (normal
> running temp) and seems to stop at the end of the white bit,
> importantly before it gets to the red!
>
> Question is - IS this normal or is my radiator efficiancy begining to
> fall (some of the vains are missing or have flies lodged in them!)?
> Could it be anything else? Do radiators silt up inside over time,
> requiring a wash out?
>
> On a similar note, I am thinking of a bigger intercooler (Alisport /
> twisted performance type) that will sit in front of the radiator but
> will this inhibit the radiators performance further???
>
> By the way i live and drive in the UK, not somewhere hot like Greece!
>
> Any thoughts / comments appreciated.

One thought, check the thin fins between the main tubes of the radiator.
I've seen them with empty space between the tubes that causes them to over
heat at speed on the motorway.
--
Jon

Thanks for all the replies, plenty to go on.

Im wondering if I have a few things that need attention.

Firstly I had a look at the radiator last night and probably 10 - 15%
of the tinf fins are missing / squashed up with flies etc - suspect
this is not good?

Thermostat ?? Dont know, will taking it out, dropping it in boiling
water and watching it determine if its knackared or do I need to be a
bit more scientific? For the sake of £5 maybe i should just buy
another and have done with it?

From memort top & bottom radiator Hoses do get hot when its running.

There is plenty of anti-freeze / coolant in (I replaced it last
November). Thinking about it radiator must be cleanish inside as well
because to get the old stuff out i just dropped the bottom hose.
(Would this flush the radiator or does the "muck" stick inside?

As for earth straps - will check them again but i'm pretty sure all OK
on that front.

Someone mentioned head gasket - general performance seems OK and my
oil (and water) are both clean, i.e. no oil in water and no water in
oil. Also, no steam through exhaust and not clattering in engine as
rings slap gasket so i think this is still good too.

So, short list of things would seem to be:
1. Radiator
2. Thermostat

is the geral opinion to just replace the thermostat or is there an
easy way to check it?

Thanks
Jon


On Mon, 19 Jul 2004 20:53:36 +0100, "Jon" <[email protected]> wrote:

>
>"Jon" <[email protected]> wrote in message
>news[email protected]...
>> Out of interest how hot does your 200TDi run when running at 70mph,
>> i.e. Motorway driving?
>>
>> Mine is a 1992 90 hard top, stock 200TDi with 235x85 BFG AT rubbers.
>> On flatish ground it will happily trundle along at 70 - 75mph (80mph
>> on a Long road) BUT the temperature needle rises from vertical (normal
>> running temp) and seems to stop at the end of the white bit,
>> importantly before it gets to the red!
>>
>> Question is - IS this normal or is my radiator efficiancy begining to
>> fall (some of the vains are missing or have flies lodged in them!)?
>> Could it be anything else? Do radiators silt up inside over time,
>> requiring a wash out?
>>
>> On a similar note, I am thinking of a bigger intercooler (Alisport /
>> twisted performance type) that will sit in front of the radiator but
>> will this inhibit the radiators performance further???
>>
>> By the way i live and drive in the UK, not somewhere hot like Greece!
>>
>> Any thoughts / comments appreciated.
>
>One thought, check the thin fins between the main tubes of the radiator.
>I've seen them with empty space between the tubes that causes them to over
>heat at speed on the motorway.

Jon typed:

> Firstly I had a look at the radiator last night and probably 10 - 15%
> of the tinf fins are missing / squashed up with flies etc - suspect
> this is not good?

Nope. Compressed air from other side blowing out the accumulated crud is a
good idea .. but wear goggles, seriously.

> For the sake of £5 maybe i should just buy
> another and have done with it?

Yup.

--
Paul ...

(8(|) ... Homer Rocks

Sorry, another long one:-

Having dodged the rain drops last night I finally got the new
(re-cored) radiator in.

Now the temperature gauge sits at about 90% of the white mark rather
than verging toward the red when drivern HARD.

Did about a 30mile round trip last night and the needle never showed
any signs of moving beyond this 90% point.

To recap, whats been done so far...
a) Check for Oil in Water & Water in Oil
b) Earth straps checked
c) Waterpump checked
1. Thermostat replaced
2. Viscous coupling replaced (was knackered anyway)
3. Holts 2 part Rad-Flush
3. Radiator replaced (was dropping appart - 85% cooling vains
missing) now has plenty of coolant in.

Any ideas???

Engine is a 1992 200tdi with 145k miles - runs sweet and appears fine
with regard to speed / power / delivery etc etc.


My primary thoughts now are:
1. Air lock - engine block is more or less self bleeding with stat
being at rocker cover level. Rad, top hose and bottom hose have no
air in them and i dont THINK heater system / pipes have air in them as
pipes are HOT and heater is working. Is bleeding a 200Tdi easy or are
they renound for being a pig??

2. Faulty gauge - appears to work fine though. i would have thought
this would either work or not work?

3. Faulty sender unit - having spoken to others these either work or
dont work - Mine is clearly working???

4. Bear with me on this thought - could be a million miles off target!
Incorrect fuel pump settings... I have read before that if the mixture
is too rich or too lean then the Exhaust Gas Temperature can get too
high and be dangerous to the engine... Surely this would result in a
high temperature reading? Whilst I havent adjusted the fuel pump, air
intake or turbo is it possible that any of these "settings" could have
wondered off the mark resulting in a high EGT and thus a high
temperature reading??

5. Head Gasket. Whilst I'm not seeing the classic signs (oil in
water, water in oil) can this bee ruled out in some way - Compression
test??

Thanks
Jon

On Thu, 12 Aug 2004 06:20:23 +0000 (UTC), Jon
<[email protected]> wrote:

>Possibly, though not me - Ive only had it about 18 months and the
>problem has arisen since then.
>
>New radiator going on tonight so fingers crossed for success.
>
>Jon
>
>
>On Tue, 10 Aug 2004 20:00:39 +0100, hugh <hugh@[127.0.0.1]> wrote:
>
>>In message <[email protected]>, Jon
>><[email protected]> writes
>>>Question - How on earth could all those fins be missing and yet the
>>>front ones more or less OK???
>><Snip>
>>
>>Somebody used a high pressure jet wash from the rear?

Jon wrote:

> 2. Faulty gauge - appears to work fine though. i would have thought
> this would either work or not work?

Is your fuel guage accurate? If it's a bit out too, then I'd suspect
the voltage regulator for the guages.

>
> 3. Faulty sender unit - having spoken to others these either work or
> dont work - Mine is clearly working???

They can just drift - read the manual to find it's specs, then check
it's resistance at room temp and close to boiling.

>
> 4. Bear with me on this thought - could be a million miles off target!
> Incorrect fuel pump settings... I have read before that if the mixture
> is too rich or too lean then the Exhaust Gas Temperature can get too
> high and be dangerous to the engine... Surely this would result in a
> high temperature reading? Whilst I havent adjusted the fuel pump, air
> intake or turbo is it possible that any of these "settings" could have
> wondered off the mark resulting in a high EGT and thus a high
> temperature reading??

If your fuelling is far enough out to be causing this you'll be
complaining about other *major* performance issues too, so it's pretty
unlikely.


--
EMB
change two to number to reply

Interesting point. Please see below:

Thanks
Jon




>Jon wrote:
>
>> 2. Faulty gauge - appears to work fine though. i would have thought
>> this would either work or not work?
>
>Is your fuel guage accurate? If it's a bit out too, then I'd suspect
>the voltage regulator for the guages.


Fuel gauge reads FULL when tank is full and it has never stopped when
it gets towrds showing nearly empty. I will run it down and see how
much i can get in to fill it up again. I suspect that its about right
though.

However, the voltage regulator you refer to, would this be the same
one that controls whether or not the rear heated windscreen works or
not? If so that is buggered and has been since I got the vehicle -
cant remember the part number of it but its like a yellow relay and
stuck behind the instrument pannel to the bulkhead (and costs about
£70 from memory!)


>
>>
>> 3. Faulty sender unit - having spoken to others these either work or
>> dont work - Mine is clearly working???
>
>They can just drift - read the manual to find it's specs, then check
>it's resistance at room temp and close to boiling.

A job for the weeken!!

>
>>
>> 4. Bear with me on this thought - could be a million miles off target!
>> Incorrect fuel pump settings... I have read before that if the mixture
>> is too rich or too lean then the Exhaust Gas Temperature can get too
>> high and be dangerous to the engine... Surely this would result in a
>> high temperature reading? Whilst I havent adjusted the fuel pump, air
>> intake or turbo is it possible that any of these "settings" could have
>> wondered off the mark resulting in a high EGT and thus a high
>> temperature reading??
>
>If your fuelling is far enough out to be causing this you'll be
>complaining about other *major* performance issues too, so it's pretty
>unlikely.

OK Good news.

Jon wrote:

> 2. Faulty gauge - appears to work fine though. i would have thought
> this would either work or not work?

Is your fuel guage accurate? If it's a bit out too, then I'd suspect
the voltage regulator for the guages.

>
> 3. Faulty sender unit - having spoken to others these either work or
> dont work - Mine is clearly working???

They can just drift - read the manual to find it's specs, then check
it's resistance at room temp and close to boiling.

>
> 4. Bear with me on this thought - could be a million miles off target!
> Incorrect fuel pump settings... I have read before that if the mixture
> is too rich or too lean then the Exhaust Gas Temperature can get too
> high and be dangerous to the engine... Surely this would result in a
> high temperature reading? Whilst I havent adjusted the fuel pump, air
> intake or turbo is it possible that any of these "settings" could have
> wondered off the mark resulting in a high EGT and thus a high
> temperature reading??

If your fuelling is far enough out to be causing this you'll be
complaining about other *major* performance issues too, so it's pretty
unlikely.


--
EMB
change two to number to reply

Interesting point. Please see below:

Thanks
Jon




>Jon wrote:
>
>> 2. Faulty gauge - appears to work fine though. i would have thought
>> this would either work or not work?
>
>Is your fuel guage accurate? If it's a bit out too, then I'd suspect
>the voltage regulator for the guages.


Fuel gauge reads FULL when tank is full and it has never stopped when
it gets towrds showing nearly empty. I will run it down and see how
much i can get in to fill it up again. I suspect that its about right
though.

However, the voltage regulator you refer to, would this be the same
one that controls whether or not the rear heated windscreen works or
not? If so that is buggered and has been since I got the vehicle -
cant remember the part number of it but its like a yellow relay and
stuck behind the instrument pannel to the bulkhead (and costs about
£70 from memory!)


>
>>
>> 3. Faulty sender unit - having spoken to others these either work or
>> dont work - Mine is clearly working???
>
>They can just drift - read the manual to find it's specs, then check
>it's resistance at room temp and close to boiling.

A job for the weeken!!

>
>>
>> 4. Bear with me on this thought - could be a million miles off target!
>> Incorrect fuel pump settings... I have read before that if the mixture
>> is too rich or too lean then the Exhaust Gas Temperature can get too
>> high and be dangerous to the engine... Surely this would result in a
>> high temperature reading? Whilst I havent adjusted the fuel pump, air
>> intake or turbo is it possible that any of these "settings" could have
>> wondered off the mark resulting in a high EGT and thus a high
>> temperature reading??
>
>If your fuelling is far enough out to be causing this you'll be
>complaining about other *major* performance issues too, so it's pretty
>unlikely.

OK Good news.