Overheating after im stopped (1 Viewer)

[Alpine Climber]

Hi from chile ive almost driven my awesome bj60 surfmobile from canada to tierra del fuego... But have been having some radiator issues:

Yesterday had it taken out and the cracks welded along the top of the radiator (which was leaking profusely and is fixed) by some not so honest mechanics. They also did something to the metal housing right at the front of the engine to help stop "la resistencia" which kinda makes sense since i think the leaks were caused by too much pressure. They also pressure washed the radiator and knocked out many of the already damaged fins.

I have three ideas:
- they purposely did something to that metal apparatus (above the water pump, i believe, at the front of the engine, u know where the big hose from the top of the radiator attaches) to f#$& me over

- the radiator with ~40% of its fins remaining isnt working as it should

-or i bought cheapo coolant, which seems unlikely

It isnt overheating while driving but i havent been keen to drive more than 15-20mins with it, after which the radiator and metal apparatus remain hot enough that you dont want to keep your hand there for 45mins-1hr. The temperature gauge is suspect too but i believe its working.

Thanks for the help landcruiser legends! Just wanna get to tierra del fuego without blowing the headgasket

 

[DanS HJ-45]

I have three ideas:
- they purposely did something to that metal apparatus (above the water pump, i believe, at the front of the engine, u know where the big hose from the top of the radiator attaches) to f#$& me over

The Thermostat housing isn't a complicated thing. What did they do to it? Remove the Thermostat maybe? I can't see anyone in Patagonia doing that, because that would also make the truck never get up to temperature.

- the radiator with ~40% of its fins remaining isnt working as it should

If you only have 40 percent of the fins remaining, you need a new radiator core. No doubt about that.

-or i bought cheapo coolant, which seems unlikely

If it's new, even cheap crap won't be the problem.

Thanks for the help landcruiser legends! Just wanna get to tierra del fuego without blowing the headgasket

In my opinion you need a new radiator then, or at least a new core on this radiator. Rio Gallegos or Puerto Notales might have such services, maybe.

Dan

 

[Alpine Climber]

Thanks dan! They took off the thermostat housing to fix what they said was a pressure issue. They determined this by blowing in the hose that comes off the radiator and goes to the thermostat housing. It seemed logical and i think all they did was clean the gunk out but i am unsure...

Yea for sure on the new radiator il see what i can do in the next big city... Just hoping i will make it there

 

[Slow Left]

Alpine Climber, first of all congratulations on doing the trip! Sounds like a great adventure. It's on my list of things to do as well...

What is the problem you are trying to solve? In other words, have you decided that you need to fix this (the mechanical problem with the cooling system) where you currently are or are you trying to decide if you can risk trying to drive the vehicle to another place (a place with better resources or a place you can trust)?

From the information you provided, it is clear that you the following mechanical issues with the vehicle:
-leaks from cracks in the radiator
-a bad radiator core (fins are falling off)

In addition, the mechanics worked on/did something to what seems to be the thermostat. The thermostat regulates the operating temperature of the engine by:
-'opening' to allow hot coolant to flow from the engine block to the radiator where it is cooled down by transferring heat to the air and allowing cool coolant from the radiator to flow into the hot engine block to transfer heat from the engine block into the coolant.
-'closing' to allow the engine to reach operating temperature by preventing the flow of coolant from the engine block to the radiator until it gets hot enough to open the thermostat. Also, when 'closed', the thermostat prevents cool coolant to enter the engine block until the thermostat opens (when the coolant in the block gets hot enough to open it).
When the cooling system is working properly, the thermostat opens and closes (cycles) to keep the temperature of the coolant at 190 degrees Fahrenheit. A properly functioning radiator can transfer heat from the coolant to the surrounding air efficiently enough to keep up with the heat that is being generated by the engine and supplied to it by the opening of the thermostat.
In your case, the radiator (because of a bad core) is not able to transfer that heat efficiently, so the system is running hot and the radiator casing is cracking.

If you remove the thermostat, then the engine will operate as if the thermostat is always 'open'. If the radiator and water pump were working properly at 100% and there were no blockages inside the pipes/hoses of the cooling system, then by removing the thermostat, the system would run 'cool' because the volume of coolant that the engine would be trying to heat up would be the total volume in the system, instead of just the volume that is in the engine block, and the radiator would easily be able to keep up (transfer the heat in the coolant to the air) with the heat generated by the engine. So in this condition, the temperature of the coolant would remain below 190 Fahrenheit.
Does this make sense?

But in your case, it sounds like you know that the radiator is not working 100% (even with the cracks/leaks fixed, the core is not working properly and needs to be replaced). That means that hot coolant isn't being cooled down properly.

Are you convinced that the water pump is working correctly?
The water pump circulates the coolant through the system so that the hot coolant moves to the radiator from the engine block and the cool coolant moves from the radiator back into the engine block.

Did the mechanics remove the thermostat from the thermostat housing?
If they did remove it, they might have assumed that the thermostat was broken and stuck 'shut'. If the thermostat was working properly, but the engine was still running hot, then it would likely be open most of the time to allow the cool coolant into the engine block and the hot coolant to move to the radiator. With the thermostat removed, there is nothing there to stop the coolant from moving, so it will behave continuously like an 'open' thermostat, an even allow easier coolant flow. This is probably what the mechanics meant when they said they solved a 'resistance' problem. When they blew through the hose, if the temperature of the coolant was below 190F (which it probably was, otherwise they probably wouldn't have their lips on that hot hose...but you never know...) then the thermostat would be closed anyway (if it was working properly) and you couldn't blow through it.

If you know your radiator is not working 100%, and if you are convinced that the water pump is working correctly and if the thermostat has been removed, and if the problem you are trying to solve is to decide whether or not to risk trying to drive to another place where you can get the vehicle properly serviced, then you are betting that:
the heat that is generated from the engine will be transferred to the environment by increasing the total volume of coolant that the engine is heating up to the total volume of the system itself. In other words, you are betting that by spreading the heat generated by the engine to all the fluid in the cooling system, that all the hoses etc. are able to radiate that heat enough to make up for the inability for the radiator to do it efficiently when the thermostat is installed. Essentially, you are making the rest of your engine, hoses and heaters work as radiators, too, and transfer the heat from the engine to the air as quickly as possible. So you are betting that the heat can get out quicker than it can be generated.
Only you can take that risk and make that decision.
Once again, the thermostat (if working correctly) allows the cooling system to get 190F and then, when the temperature reaches 190F, it sends that coolant to get cooled down by the radiator and expects cool coolant in return. And if the coolant in the engine block has not yet reached 190F, then it traps it in the engine block to collect heat until it reaches 190F. Without the thermostat, the coolant would not get temporarily trapped in the engine block, so it would move through as quickly as the water pump can move it and then transfer the heat somewhere else outside of the engine block.

That said, if you do decide to risk it, one way you can help remove heat from the system is to run both the front and rear heaters inside the cabin at full blast. No air conditioning. Roll down the windows and run both heaters full blast to remove heat...

To fix the problem correctly, it seems (from the information you provide) that you need to install a new radiator (or replace the core and make sure it isn't leaking, at the least), make sure the water pump is working correctly, and make sure the thermostat is working correctly. If you can, I would try to replace any hoses I could, but that might not possible depending on what kind of access you have.

 

[Elbert]

the radiator does get hot in normal operation...hot enough to burn you, the related components get hot enough to burn you (which is normal). ON face value..given your post...I think you would be well served to find a repair shop...(that may be obvious). I would replace the radiator too, but finding a source may be a challenge. Its hard to know what the mechanics did to the rest of the engine but one assumes they may have "modified" the water neck / thermostat housing".

I would start by getting a new radiator, thermostat and related gaskets. You have to fix the leaks before you can figure out what other issues are going on.

If you have the ability....posting pictures to this thread will help people help you.

 

[Slow Left]

Just thought of something else. If you decide to risk it and make a run for it under current operating conditions, then another way to help remove heat from the system (in addition to running the heaters on full blast) would be to remove the hood. It will increase air flow around the hot engine.

Only problem there is that it will draw attention to you. If the Chilenos (la policia...) are strict about enforcing vehicle safety standards or simply looking for excuses to 'aprovechar', then you could be attracting other types of problems in addition to the current mechanical problems you have with the vehicle...another tradeoff...another tough decision...

Can you fit the hood inside the back of the vehicle? Be careful strapping it down on a roof rack, the air flow underneath it will cause a lot of lift and try to rip it (with the roof rack with it) away...

 

[brett76]

Does your temp gauge peg out when you turn it off? its going to get hotter when you stop for a few minutes because the coolant and fan are not moving. how hot is it getting while operating?

 

[Alpine Climber]

Thanks so much Slow Left, yea the greatest adventure of my life in the perfect vehicle for the job That is all great to know, its very likely they modified it to be stuck open because they asked me if i planned to drive it in snow and warned me that this may cause problems... The real thing i was trying to decide is whether to risk driving to the next big city and get it repaired, and to get an idea of what those sketchy guys did to it. Its not overheating while driving, thermostat is reading normal but it is taking longer to reach operating temp which again makes sense now, thanks.

Down here getting new parts is near impossible but getting parts repaired is so easy and cheap, it really is amazing what the good latino mechanics can do, im sure i can get it sorted out in the next city. Thanks guys!

 

[Elbert]

I would almost bet the "mechanics" removed the thermostat.....which is not good but if its the only way to get home..then, so be it.

Sounds like you need to find another mechanic shop on your trip.