Is there a way to test you coolant alarm

[Ean Austral]

Gday All,

Maybe coolant alarm is the wrong words, your "Low Level Warning" that show's on the centre display.

Had to order a part today and was told about a rising number of cars doing engine damage due to the failure of the plastic housing that the top radiator hose plus a couple of other hoses connect to on the TDV6. I asked why the warning never alerted the drivers and apparently the floats in the coolant tank that activate the warning have a tendency to stick or just not work.

So ask the following,
Can you test the float switch somehow, by pushing it down with a pen or something?

Has any retro fitted some other sort of alarm such as the D2 type.

Thanks and Cheers Ean

[connock]

I dont know of a way of testing the switch, maybe disconect it might work.
How there is a increasing amount of people doing engine damage is wierd because on my D3 it has a temp gauge in the dash.

[Ean Austral]

I dont know of a way of testing the switch, maybe disconect it might work.
How there is a increasing amount of people doing engine damage is wierd because on my D3 it has a temp gauge in the dash.

There plenty of D1 & D2 owners who thought the same thing only to find out that once the guage moves its all but to late. From what I got told today it seems as tho the D3 may be the same.

We towed our camper over 5000ks recently in temps upto low 40s and hawkeye told me that the coolant temp rose 7 degrees but my guage never moved , so how much does the guage really tell.

Cheers Ean

[gghaggis]

There plenty of D1 & D2 owners who thought the same thing only to find out that once the guage moves its all but to late. From what I got told today it seems as tho the D3 may be the same.

We towed our camper over 5000ks recently in temps upto low 40s and hawkeye told me that the coolant temp rose 7 degrees but my guage never moved , so how much does the guage really tell.

Cheers Ean

The story you've been told doesn't seem to gel with the way the fault system works. I can attest to the behaviour of the D3 when it overheats from personal experience. When the gauge starts to rise the car will drive normally until a small red warning light above the temp gauge activates. At this point the car will go into limp mode, for precisely the reason of protecting the engine. And it's pretty effective at doing that too. You have to wait quite a while before the car will commence again, and too many attempts to drive without rectifying the fault will see the car stay in limp mode permanently.

Cheers,

Gordon

[connock]

There plenty of D1 & D2 owners who thought the same thing only to find out that once the guage moves its all but to late. From what I got told today it seems as tho the D3 may be the same.


We towed our camper over 5000ks recently in temps upto low 40s and hawkeye told me that the coolant temp rose 7 degrees but my guage never moved , so how much does the guage really tell.

Cheers Ean


Yes now you say it the D1s and D2s were like this, I havnt heard it though for the D3. But I have noticed that if Im driving in +40 Deg. the needle sits about half a needle higher, so thourght they had fixed the problem.

[Ean Austral]

The story you've been told doesn't seem to gel with the way the fault system works. I can attest to the behaviour of the D3 when it overheats from personal experience. When the gauge starts to rise the car will drive normally until a small red warning light above the temp gauge activates. At this point the car will go into limp mode, for precisely the reason of protecting the engine. And it's pretty effective at doing that too. You have to wait quite a while before the car will commence again, and too many attempts to drive without rectifying the fault will see the car stay in limp mode permanently.

Cheers,

Gordon

Thanks Gordon,

Can you tell me if the same thing happens if say you split a hose or in this case a housing and the water level empties completely or partially.

I have never seen the low coolant level warning , admittedly I have never topped the system up so dont expect to, but just interested if anyone has tried to test it thats all.

Cheers Ean

[gghaggis]

The red light/limp mode will trigger under any circumstances that allow the temperature sensor to read an abnormally high reading. It's not a magic wand, and obviously works better when there is water in the system, but it would still react to the increase in block temperature.

Cheers,

Gordon

[Tombie]

For goodness sake...

It's NOT a problem...

Normalised gauges are common now.

It stops panic when the gauge goes to 3/4 and people start freaking out!

Normalised gauges present in a set range as 1 position and move once the normal range is exceeded.

New Toyota, Nissan etc all have the same.

Catastrophic coolant dumps won't register on ANY temp gauge, they don't work when not immersed.

It's like people who see 105°c and panic - in a pressurized system that's no issue.

Falcon 6cyl often run over 115°c working hard on a 40°+ day but the gauge barely registers it...

[Ean Austral]

For goodness sake...

It's NOT a problem...

Normalised gauges are common now.

It stops panic when the gauge goes to 3/4 and people start freaking out!

Normalised gauges present in a set range as 1 position and move once the normal range is exceeded.

New Toyota, Nissan etc all have the same.

Catastrophic coolant dumps won't register on ANY temp gauge, they don't work when not immersed.

It's like people who see 105°c and panic - in a pressurized system that's no issue.

Falcon 6cyl often run over 115°c working hard on a 40°+ day but the gauge barely registers it...


You have miss took my question tombie, I never said they didnt work, im just trying to work out if the D3 does have a better system in reguards to a coolant loss than those before it, and if the system needs to be checked every so often.
I fully understand how normalised guages work.

Gordon has answered my question with first hand expierence, thats good enough for me.

Cheers Ean

[Tombie]

Hi Ean

Post wasn't aimed towards you, sorry if you thought it was:(

It's frustrating trying to explain the correct workings to some on this board!!!

And yes, Gordons first hand experience is invaluable.

[Rusnut]

Its soooo trying

[CaverD3]

I think you will find the coolant level will only drop over time if you hav a small leak. A catastrophic leak would cause a temp rise before taking coolant from the tank. Mine never showed when my water housing went.
Really there to indicate a need to check for leaks so you don't run out of coolant.
They definately work as with the faulty ones when the float sinks the light comes on.
If you really are paranoid and want to test suck the coolant out and see if the light comes on.

[101RRS]

I cannot speak for the processes within a TDV6 if there is a catastrophic coolant loss but in my time I have cooked two engines with this happening.

In both cases a lower radiator hose failed big time while cruising along a freeway at about 110kph. The coolant went out under the cars with me being none the wiser. The temperature gauges quite happily sat on 'N' and it was not until the engine started to get a bit rattly and started to smell "hot" was I aware something was wrong - in these cases the temp gauge did not move as the sensor was no in the coolant. The same nearly happened in my 101 and I have since fitted a low coolant level/hi temp alarm.

My assumption with the TDV6 is that in the case of a total catastrophic coolant loss the level sensor will pick this up immediately even though the process described by Gordon may not kick in as the sensors may not detect a temp rise. Likewise if there is just a leak the level sensor may pick this up and if the leak is enough to cause the engine to get hot with coolant still in the system the process that Gordon describes also works.

When my car gets a bit older and the coolant pipes age I will consider putting in a system similar system to the one in the 101 but given the systems in the TDV6 it should not be needed.

Garry

[bbyer]

A few years back, I ended up putting a new 350 CID V8 in my 1992 Buick Roadmaster rear wheel drive 4 door sedan.

A rear frost plug blew out, dumped all the engine coolant on the road behind me, (I saw it going out and thought it was grease smoke burning off from my new muffler system).

The low water level light, (sensor in the radiator), did not detect the water loss as the rad was air locked; the engine temp gauge did not register as there was no water at the sensor. The hint was steam coming up from the hood, and the knocking sound. This was in a matter of about 3 minutes.

For the 3, I have a ScanGauge II mounted on the steering column. I have it set to degrees F and it shows immediate temp change. Where the signal actually comes from, I do not know, (presume the same signal as the temp gauge gets without the smoothing effect), but the ScanGauge readings changes seem to make sense depending upon driving conditions.

I have not yet had a complete coolant loss, (actually any coolant loss), and do not want to really find out for certain. I am however at next service, (180,000 km), installing a complete new thermostat housing, LR part #LR005631, along with new fresh coolant for the 4.4L petrol V8.

I do not know if the ScanGauge is an answer but it has me fooled anyway - fat and happy so to speak.

[KOOS BEST]

Had to order a part today and was told about a rising number of cars doing engine damage due to the failure of the plastic housing that the top radiator hose plus a couple of other hoses connect to on the TDV6.

Hi , can you tell us what part it is you had to order? and what hoses.

We also operate in extremely hot ambient temp. here and we all tow haevy trailers.

Regards

[Ean Austral]

Hi , can you tell us what part it is you had to order? and what hoses.

We also operate in extremely hot ambient temp. here and we all tow haevy trailers.

Regards

The part in question is called the "Water Outlet Assembly"

I was actually ordering something totally unrelated to this issue, it was just that the mechanic told me of a problem that seemed to be happening with cars he was working on.

I dont have access to part numbers , but I can ring and ask for a part number if that helps.

Cheers Ean

[CaverD3]

It is what went on mine. It is in top of the engine in the 'V'. Made of plastic and the heat warps it causing it to leak. Easy fix and if I was outback touring i would take a spare.
A lot of modern cars are having issues with cooling system parts made of plastic.

[oldsalt]

Yep - a part that looks good to some spotty faced design engineer (who takes a train to work) doesn't quite cut it in the real world ... :o
Reminds me of a "chocolate teapot" - looks good but doesn't work too well....

"Water outlet assembly" might be an item I'll have add to my outback spares.
cheers

[Ean Austral]

It is what went on mine. It is in top of the engine in the 'V'. Made of plastic and the heat warps it causing it to leak. Easy fix and if I was outback touring i would take a spare.
A lot of modern cars are having issues with cooling system parts made of plastic.

I took 1 with me on our last trip in the spares kit, after reading of CaverD3 issue's, think they cost all of $40 and will change mine out at the 100,000 service. I bought it plus a new belt and will do them together, plus check the belt tensioner etc for peace of mind.

Cheers Ean

[KOOS BEST]

Thank you, bought a WATER OUTLET ASSEMBLY part no 1357091, quite cheap R 265.00 ZAR , APPROX AUD $ 35.00 if converted.
Will fit on next service, planning a Kalahari and Namib desert holiday for the end of year.

Spoke to the workshop foreman, he immediately said its the WATER OUTLET ASSEMBLY sitting on top of the engine between the 2 x banks

According to him, had 2 x engine failures (2.7 TDV6) with this problem before, he recommends I fit it as a precautionary measure.

[Ean Austral]

Thank you, bought a WATER OUTLET ASSEMBLY part no 1357091, quite cheap R 265.00 ZAR , APPROX AUD $ 35.00 if converted.
Will fit on next service, planning a Kalahari and Namib desert holiday for the end of year.

Spoke to the workshop foreman, he immediately said its the WATER OUTLET ASSEMBLY sitting on top of the engine between the 2 x banks

According to him, had 2 x engine failures (2.7 TDV6) with this problem before, he recommends I fit it as a precautionary measure.

Thats interesting you say that your mechanic has commented on the engine failure's as it was that type of thing that got me started on this thread.

How have the engines failed with the "alarm" or "limp mode" as discribed by Gordon. The part seems to be sturdy enough but it may have a certain safe lifespan ie..100,000ks.

Dont want to start a panic type thread, but I just wanted to know if some had invested in an aftermarket type low level alarm, such as the D2 needed.

Cheers Ean

[KOOS BEST]

According to the mechanic it gets hairline cracks and looses the coolant.
The one customer knew he had a coolant problem, but kept on driving to them, where they discovered the engine was damaged.

Its the only failures they had , and he says the cause was the OUTLET ASSEMBLY he gave me .

I was also shown the dirtiest RRS you'll ever get. A guy brought his RRS in for service , havnt been serviced for 60 000km. No power. They showed it to me, on the dash lies bleached chicken bones, obviously KFC from months ago.
It looks like they slaughtered a cow in the car, or maybe they delivered half a dozen babies inside it, it stinks like manure or sour milk. Carpets are caked in dust and mud inside and who knows what.
The RRS were bumped in all 4 corners , , back lights are all out.
Dammit I am so sorry I havnt taken a pic.
They phoned him and gave him a ZAR 80 000.00 to service and repair.

The owner came and fetched it without them touching it.The agents where very happy.I suppose he is going to take it to a African bush mechanic.:o

[gghaggis]

Well _before_ a panic streak starts, I've never actually heard of an engine detonate in a TDV6 due to UNKNOWN coolant loss, so I guess the system works as well as any other, or better.

Cheers,

Gordon