Thread: Some more County info please...

Good to hear you got it out on the open road. My county has factory A/C but is a diesel model. If it's the same heater control as mine the lever basically just seems to control a flap inside the heater box, but when moved fully to the cold side it presses against a vac operated switch which activates the heater valve to close off. The lever is on the side of that big black box inside the engine bay nearest the passenger side. Maybe it has come off and is not connected anymore??
I have a V8 also which likes to run hot on extended trips. I think it's the viscous coupling on the fan as I've checked everything else and it all seems OK. I know others who have changed theirs and have greatly reduced the running temp. I live in a cold climate so don't have much trouble unless I head too far North.
Don't know about the first gear issue. Is it a 4 or 5 speed?
Adam.

So trouble getting OUT of first??
My LT95 is always a bit of a struggle with getting INTO second for the first time on a cold morning but fine after that. Drops out of first easily though.
Change the oil in the gearbox if you haven't already done so and get the clutch slave sorted before looking any further.

Bleed and adjust the brakes, but I found with mine that they always felt a little soft and a lot more initial travel than a full disc system. Stopping power was OK once you got them working. Its likely you've still got the original brake hoses too, so that could be a factor.

Steve

I used to have probs getting out of first when it was really cold. It was the oil I was running. Once it warmed up it was fine... It didn't take long, a few hundred meters (not always practical.. So I changed the oil, but still..)

Come to think of it, my lt95 and lt85 boxes both have issues getting into second on cold mornings as mentioned above. Changed to a lighter oil which is better for winter, but get more gear chatter when it's hot. Now having my memory jogged, I think it used to be a bit hard to get out of first at times too as Flagg described, but is ok now. You get pretty good at matching the engine revs to the gear changes to overcome some of this and then forget it was ever a problem.

Thanks for information guys!
Sorry it's a 4spd...
I haven't changed the oils/fluids yet but will do that over the next couple weekends and see if that changes things, the new alternator is the first job tomorrow though.
I know people brewed up special blends of gear oil and hydraulic fluid to help some of the R380 'boxes, I might have a play around. And yes I need to check that slave when I have daylight...
There's a radiator place near work that I took the other half's Surf to a few years back when the heater failed to heat, so I might run it over to him for a good flush.
AdsLandies, I'll have a look at the A/C box, I haven't noticed anything on/near it so you could well be right...
Steve you're probably right about the brake lines, but I'll bleed them up and see if that helps a little - at least the work mostly and it pulls up straight, just a little more leisurely than I'd like
Cheers
Mike

Well I might have a contributor to the "warmer than I'd like" operating temperature...
Now it's been a very long time since I've had a car with an old school radiator cap - so I can't really remember but as I recall, it's meant to have a rubber seal on it?
Well this one doesn't - so methinks the system isn't really doing what it should...
Don't start me on the LPG I'll leave that for the LPG section...
Cheers
Mike

I replaced the cap on the expansion tank...not change in the temp on the gauge.
So off to my "radiator guy", he found the following:
- coolant flow through the system was fine (so I guess the pump is ok)
- radiator is ok
- no leaks
- he got a reasonable amount of crud out on the back flush, but nothing major

I might change the thermo as a matter of course, but with flow ok, It shouldn't be too much of a contributor.

Which leads me to only one (?) conclusion...the viscous hub must be knackered - unless there's anything else I haven't thought of.
When idling in traffic, the temp drops to say half the gauge, as soon as I return to high speed running, around 90kmh - up it goes to 3/4.

I have to reconnect the vac lines to rear of the heater control panel, the radiator guy said the heater tap was opening and closing - but I'm still getting hot air through the vents. I think I've seen posts alluding to another vac solenoid doing something in the heater box - not sure what - but is this the one under the vent on top of the left front guard, or is there another one?

Why have a set of simple cables and levers, when you can complicate things with vacuum operation!
Cheers
Mike

What are you using to monitor the temps mine as a bit of an odd issue that I believe is due to dodgy earths when if I have the head lights on it seems to run about 10 degrees hotter than it really is.