TD5 Overheat and loss of power

Last night after a run out of about 20 miles, coming up a fairly steep hill there was a sudden loss of power and the temp needle shot up, it didn't make it into the red but rose rapidly so I pulled over and turned it off.

Checked the rad to see if it was blocked by anything which is wasn't, checked air filter to make sure it wasn't blocked which there wasn't. Started it up again and disconnected the MAF Sensor wire as it looked a bit grimy. Temp needle went back to zero and power came back.
Drove better than it has for a little while and power seemed to be on the up from the last few weeks. I've left it disconnected and driven to work and back today and its been fine.

I'm going to replace the MAF Sensor, but my question is - Is this a coincidence? Would it really cause the temp needle to rise if the MAF was at fault? There was just me and a mate in it, with no weight or trailer.

Cheers

No, MAF would not affect the temp reading, try to stop the viscous fan with a rolled newspater when the radiator is hot first of all, if you can that's the problem, when the gauge leaves the middle upwards(at 120*C coolant temp sensor reading) the ECM cuts fuelling based on that... did you try to squeeze the top hose when it happened? do you have aircon?

Mine did that when the Head gasket was on its way out!

The heater still works fine, so Im guessing that's not the head that's gone? Ill check the oil for mayo this evening...

Thanks Sierra, Ill also give that a go. No I didn't squeeze the top hose - what would I expect to find if I did that? Nope no aircon, I've not flushed coolant in the 3 years I've owned it - Ill try that too, its probably over due.

If the top hose is harder than a soft tennis ball when hot you have a combustion leak...i asked about aircon cos the aircon fan is used by the engine management too to help cooling and it starts it at 110*C

Discovery2TD5 said:

The heater still works fine, so Im guessing that's not the head that's gone? Ill check the oil for mayo this evening...

Click to expand...

bad news
On mine
No Mayo / Working Heater / Normally worked perfect but....
As soon as it was towing or loaded ie long up hill climbs it overheated and went into limp mode
The head gasket had started to go so it was only when the engine was "stressed" that the failure occured
New head gasket and everything was fine

It was confirmed by testing the water for pressure / gas sniffing

You're worrying me now Andy.......

Thanks for your help guys.

Happened again the otherday, top hose felt fine, I pulled over and the needle dropped straight back down and was fine from then on again.

i'd replace the coolant temp sensor if i was you