.... So had the alternator swapped out. Car seems to be running really well now. But I have noticed anomolies.

Before my recent fixes the fan never kicked in when the engine was turned off. Now it does. From what I can make out thats pretty normal, so am not concerned about that.

What I am noticing though is the car runs like pretty hot under load. BEFORE the guage would rise to about three quarters as the car warmed up and wouldn't budge from there. NOW under load it heads to one step from the red. Which to me is a bit of a worry. But once the load is off to a cruise say, the temp comes down to normal. That guage is now very animated and on the move all the time whereas before it wasn't.

From what I understand these guages are reactive aren't they - which means if the temp rises to red the damage could be already done? So I guess my question is what the hell is going on?

 

I'd either get the real gauge kit installed or in the short term plug in an OBDII and an app like Torque or DashCommand and find out what the temperature really is. Great looking car.

 

I expect you can buy a infrared thermometer on ebay like I did last year, then read the temperature at the thermostat housing, radiator inlet/outlet, intercooler,etc.

Also check the inetercooler water pump, which you should be able to hear with the ignition on and engine off. It should be at the right front of the engine bay.

 

I see the real gauge in your future. With that much horsepower you need to know what the temperature is and oil pressure for that matter. A small price and a few hours will let you drive at ease.


Wayne

 

I think you may well be right - I wonder, is this kit readily available in the UK?

 

This product is shipped world wide. Here is the site:


TheJagWrangler - Home - About Us


A good read if nothing else, have a look.


Wayne

 

Definitely a good read! Although it doesn't put my mind at ease. My car's guage ALWAYS sat at that midway point and didn't budge. Now it goes up to red. I'd like to think the gauge is completely crap and the engine isn't getting hot at all. Alas I fear this not to be case. I can see a whole cooling system check and service on the cards.

Since I posted this thread first, things appear to have escalated. When I ran down from London Xmas Eve, I first notice the guage moving up. But it fell short of the red light. This morning I went for a real short trip, and it stayed midway for a while but then started going up until I got the red light. I immediately pulled over and switched off.

I am wondering if its something as simple as fluids. Maybe a leak. Or a blockage. And all this since I put the car into a main dealer for service and MOT.

 

Steve, you may have a air lock or low coolant level. Have you noticed any loss of coolant lately?
Thermostat not opening fully or perhaps water pump. Worth a look before it gets real serious.

 

The thermostat or water pump may be at fault, or even the sender. But you need to sort this out without driving very far or you may drop a valve seat or blow a head gasket.

 

Are your fans going into high speed mode? Mine was doing that but the useless gauge stayed in the middle. It seems the fans go to high speed around 220F. Mine would never get hot enough for the gauge to go higher or trip the "your engine is toast" light. But it seems it was at least getting to 220F anyways and staying there which still wasn't a good thing.
As the hoses all looked original and 2 were noticeably swelled I decided to replace most everything. New radiator hoses, new bypass hose, new t-stat and housing, new water pump and new ECU temp sending unit. The coolant also looked like a mixture of several types. Looked like the T-stat and water pump were original also.
Bottom line is that it fixed the problem. No more hyper speed fans. One word of warning. It took a lot to bleed the air out. At first I let it idle for about 30 minutes to check for leaks. I left the cap off the reservoir and waited for the t-stat to open and squeezed the hoses and saw air bubbles and topped the fluid off. Then took it for a 30 min drive with no problems. Three hours later I noticed the radiator hoses were sucked flat and air escaped when I opened the reservoir cap. I topped it off and let it idle until the t-stat opened again and rechecked the level and now everything is fine. I should have replaced the octopus hose also but just wasn't up to doing that yet.

As mentioned you likely have a bad t-stat or water pump. If its all original just replace it all and be done with it. The parts are cheap-ish.


Dave

 

I did the ignition on engine off to see if I could hear the water pump and it sounds like its working. I will try to top her up with coolant. Although there's no coolant low warning message coming through.

The fans not manic. Just running for 3 to 5 minutes then off. The thing was they never did this before. Did fitting new alternator somehow kick things back to life that not working as they should have before?

Yeah it has to be seen to. I won't be driving it again - dont want to risk catastrophic damage. Gonna trailer it down to my indy and get the flush done, refill and see what he finds out. Like you said this stuff is pretty basic if you're equipped up, which I'm not.

 

Good luck with it Steve and keep us posted on your progress.

 

OK... so, the original radiator was shot. Swapped for a new one plus water pump and thermostat. Completely flushed out the system and put all new antifreeze in. She is running like a dream now and the old temp guage doesn't move from the mid way. Just like it never did@

Rear shocks might need doing. So they'll be next up.

 

Glad to hear it Steve, thanks for the update.