Overheated in Death Valley

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate
links, including eBay, Amazon, Skimlinks, and others.

ARB777 said:
On first start after installing the fan, it roared loud then went back to its normal weak blow.
Tried driving it for an hour. Never heard it roar again. Temp outside is about 50 to 60 F.
Could the engine temp be low enough that it did not engage or i just did not get enough fluid in.
I will look around for more write ups about the eaton fan clutch mod.
Click to expand...

The normal mode is a roar when first starting. When idling in hot weather the fan clutch will start to heat up and the fan start to spin at water pump speed, if you rev it then you should hear it roar but only for a few seconds.

If not warm out throw a blanket over the front grill.

My electric version does not come on with normal running around town, if it is left idling for quite awhile it eventually does come on, but the heat is shed within a few seconds and it goes back off.

regards

Dave
 
Last edited:
I know this is a little off-topic, but I've been itching to go to DV but will not go alone... is there another group planning a ride down there?
 
Iceaxe said:
I know this is a little off-topic, but I've been itching to go to DV but will not go alone... is there another group planning a ride down there?
Click to expand...


Same here, PM me and maybe we can set something up in a week or so.
 
Iceaxe said:
I know this is a little off-topic, but I've been itching to go to DV but will not go alone... is there another group planning a ride down there?
Click to expand...
How is your cooling system?

And keeping on-topic, DV is the place where I noticed my system wasn't up to snuff. I overheated once and noticed I kept loosing coolant. That was the first year I owned my LC and before I found MUD. I've since changed to a new, unmodified blue hub fan clutch and all is good now.

I'm going back in April, but not sure of the dates yet.
 
I've got a fully upgraded cooling system plus a Stage 2 Snow meth injection kit. I actually am keen to try the limits of my rig down there.
 
Just back from DV in my FJ62. Saw 2 80s a shiny green one with a bunch of stuff on the roof and a beige 91 or 92.

Great flower action down in the Southern End on the Eastern slope of the Panamints.

My experience is that overheat issues always boil (heh) down to a new radiator. Just buy one and do everything else too. If you ran 2 years with straight water, you likely have significant corrosion inside the system.
 
Yeah, I have a new radiator, new pump, fan clutch, etc
 
Water Wetter is basically a surfactant. A couple of drops of dish soap will do just about the same (less the corrosion inhibitor).

Dyno
 
I have a CSF 3 row all metal radiator. They only last about 5 years before the upper tank starts to leak.
I cant remember the last time I have heard the fan kick in even pulling grades with uhaul. I think that
with making sure there are no gaps in the shroud and having a relatively new/clean radiator with regularly
changed Red coolant is the reason for good cooling.

It sucks that they go out in only 5 years but I now believe that a radiator should be treated like a wear item and be changed
out on a regular basis.
 
This is the deal with water wetter. It is better than plain water for cooling or corrosion but i dont think it is better in any way than using the correct antifreeze mix. I used Water Wetter ONLY when i HAD too. On the race track you HAVE to run straight water or water wetter, no antifreeze is allowed. Antifreeze is very slippery when it spills so if you crash it makes the track dangerous. It is just a safety thing, so water wetter is better than plain water. but i dont think it cools better than a good antifreeze mix.
 
^^^^This sounds more likely than any other reason to use it, and perhaps why it was talked about many years back when I was involved in motorsport?

And just in case anyone who is on the learning curve and is thinking to go the other way, no 100% antifreeze has less cooling action than a 50/50 mix which IMO is about as good as it gets, i.e. good freeze/corrosion protection and a decent hike in boiling point.

regards

Dave
 
Dave 2000 said:
50/50 mix which IMO is about as good as it gets,
Click to expand...
As I operate my truck in 40 Celsius below zero at winter and above 50 at summer I use 1 part of antifreeze to 0.5-0.7 parts of water - works perfect. Never had overheating at summer and slashing in winter, plus the cooling system's inside shines like polished. I have very clean expansion tank.

BTW can topic starter take a picture of the expansion tank? Usually the ones used with water are dirty and slimy.
 
Folks, I'd listen to Tugarin... he's using his Land Cruiser for REAL .... ;)
 
Tugarin said:
As I operate my truck in 40 Celsius below zero at winter and above 50 at summer I use 1 part of antifreeze to 0.5-0.7 parts of water - works perfect.
Click to expand...

IIRC you are at the limits at about 65% solution, so your figures are pretty good covering your arse.

regards

Dave
 
Tugarin said:
As I operate my truck in 40 Celsius below zero at winter and above 50 at summer I use 1 part of antifreeze to 0.5-0.7 parts of water - works perfect. Never had overheating at summer and slashing in winter, plus the cooling system's inside shines like polished. I have very clean expansion tank.

BTW can topic starter take a picture of the expansion tank? Usually the ones used with water are dirty and slimy.
Click to expand...

So are you saying that you run 75% anti freeze at times? But away more antifreez than water?
 
rc51kid said:
So are you saying that you run 75% anti freeze at times? But away more antifreez than water?
Click to expand...
That's what manual for antifreeze says, if you are going below -40 Celsius. And on other hand summer goes well over +45 Celsius. So I am happy with what I got in my radiator. I do not think that's needed if you are in narrower thresholds.
 
I drained only 25 ml of the old fluid from the fan clutch. I have read that you are suppose to prop the valve open for it to drain. The problem is i could not find the valve that has to be propped open. So what i did instead is, i added about 30 ml of the new 10k cst fluid. I added 5ml more to account the possible loss i couldnt measure. My fan clutch does not seem to engage as often as i would expect it to. Should i top it off some more. I could not find any more write ups about the eaton fan clutch.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Share this page

Back
Top Bottom