what temperatures should i be getting?

[LoveB]

hey all, so as you may remember in the old ultragauge thread I asked about temperatures...

I used to get 89-93 normally for city and highway unless I was climbing up a steeper hill and or towing.

but when I went on a trip to melbourne last week I noticed the temp would stay up higher (only on the ultragauge. intrsument cluster was still at half)

it would sit at around 98-100. when i try and stay at 110kph it would sometimes creep up to 101/102.

is that normal? I thikn someone said it goes into limp mode at 104? or was it 107? I'm just wondering if i should worry at all or not. Coolant still sits at the 'cold level' regardless of whether its cold or warm. Although I noticed there seemed to be dried up coolant around the outside of the cap which dripped to the middle part of the tank. I've never opened up the cap or added coolant tohugh. Could it have boiled enough to spit some out? but I would have tohught it wouldnt have gotten past the cap??

obviously on roads that are slightly downhill the temp goes down. on straight roads or and uphill if it tends to climb. letting off the throttle - slowing down and downshifting helps on an incline. But I dont get why it would creep up to 99/100 on a straight road when engine load is at about 45-50%.


Or could it basically be because of the warmer weather? on the drive home earlier the wind felt cool though. Intake temp was 30-33 and the temp was higher up.

intake temp went down to about 26 and it obviously cooled down as I wasnt going through too many hills as well.

[pannawonica]

It all sounds about right from what you have said. Over here at the moment I'm seeing high 40's and 50 degree centigrade temperature. While towing on the flat the ultraguage does not drop much below three figures most of the time!

[Lagerfan]

I asked the same question recently: http://www.aulro.com/afvb/90-110-130-defender-county/187829-puma-running-hot-not.html

Am just back from a Xmas hols trip up to Port Macquarie in NSW and back via Dubbo and then the Snowy Mountains, so all sorts of temperatures and conditions. Some days it was hitting 40C outside but temp was always in the 90-102 range (average about 94), on one particularly long steep climb where I put the boot down it briefly hit 105 but no sign of limp mode. Climbing in the Snowy with outside temps of 15 it was still in the same temp range.

My conclusion is that the sensor in the Puma measures the CHT so it less impacted by ambients than say coolant temp would be. Biggest factor is your right foot + gear combo.

[firsttimedefender]

Hate to be a negative nellie but keep your eye on that coolant and your head gasket. I had very similar symptoms for a long time but because of towing heavy loads rather than hill climbs ,etc.
The coolant superheats as out as bubbles escape from hairline crack in the head gasket; and you cant pick it up on regular testing or even mechanic/dealer other than you get that sweet smell and start noticing dried coolant on the bonnet and around the reservoir. I could never replicate it because it only happened whilst towing heavy loads. Eventually it gets a little worse and you get mysterious 'limp mode' going up hills - it just overheats cutting the power and then cools enough and comes back on just as quickly too. You dont lose much fluid at all, it just gets really hot and squirts a bit out every now and then. I got to the point on a trip to Sydney from Melbourne, up the Hume hill climbs @ Goulkburn/Yass where I had to flick on the heater (35 degree day) so the PUMA would continue up the hill. Eventually gasket will fail if you see this happening - get it done sooner rather than later to save getting caught out
I discovered after couple of trips to Bruce Davies (I got stranded in Sydney) that PUMAs run fairly hot normally and guys towing tend to get this early failure because it will push past the cutoff point very quickly (ie no margin for lead foot or heavy loads). I invested in a better radiator system (and forked out for the head gasket!!) which keeps that temperature down long term and hopefully prevents the problem long term. The good news is that it is only a gasket failure which is a wear&tear item like a tyre; the bad news is it's a bit more expensive to replace.
Hope its not the case for you, but it has an awfully familiar ring!
All the best.

[n plus one]

hey all, so as you may remember in the old ultragauge thread I asked about temperatures...

I used to get 89-93 normally for city and highway unless I was climbing up a steeper hill and or towing.

but when I went on a trip to melbourne last week I noticed the temp would stay up higher (only on the ultragauge. intrsument cluster was still at half)

it would sit at around 98-100. when i try and stay at 110kph it would sometimes creep up to 101/102.

is that normal? I thikn someone said it goes into limp mode at 104? or was it 107? I'm just wondering if i should worry at all or not. Coolant still sits at the 'cold level' regardless of whether its cold or warm. Although I noticed there seemed to be dried up coolant around the outside of the cap which dripped to the middle part of the tank. I've never opened up the cap or added coolant tohugh. Could it have boiled enough to spit some out? but I would have tohught it wouldnt have gotten past the cap??

obviously on roads that are slightly downhill the temp goes down. on straight roads or and uphill if it tends to climb. letting off the throttle - slowing down and downshifting helps on an incline. But I dont get why it would creep up to 99/100 on a straight road when engine load is at about 45-50%.


Or could it basically be because of the warmer weather? on the drive home earlier the wind felt cool though. Intake temp was 30-33 and the temp was higher up.

intake temp went down to about 26 and it obviously cooled down as I wasnt going through too many hills as well.

Yours seems to run a little hotter than mine - regardless it seems that Pumas struggle with cooling at higher speeds than at low.

Mine occasionally hits 102, but only in hot weather, loaded up and uphill - holding sixth at high throttle/low revs will definitely build up heat.

The coolant caps are renowned for leaking a little - there's an O-ring solution somewhere on the forum.

From memory, limp mode is more like 108 or 112 - as Pumas (like most cars) run normalised temp gauges, you won't see needle movement until after this point.

Hope this helps.

[Red90]

I would check if your viscous unit is working.

[Brid]

I would be worried at those running temps. My 2007 Puma runs in the 84C to 90C range most of the time, and peaks at 93C...very, very rare to see anything higher.

I did have the thermostat replaced under warranty, as it stuck open, and it wasn't long before the new one stuck open as well. I've kept it like that, since I figure that's better than risking it sticking closed, or part closed.

It might be worth checking your thermostat to make sure it is opening fully when needed.

Cheers
Brid

[Lagerfan]

IMy 2007 Puma runs in the 84C to 90C range most of the time, and peaks at 93C...very, very rare to see anything higher.


There seems to be a big difference between the 2.4 and 2.2 CHT from what is being reported here. Most 2.4 owners say they're lucky to get over 90 whereas 2.2 owners regularly see mid 90s and regularly touch 100+ under load.

[nugge t]

Yours seems to run a little hotter than mine - regardless it seems that Pumas struggle with cooling at higher speeds than at low.

Mine occasionally hits 102, but only in hot weather, loaded up and uphill - holding sixth at high throttle/low revs will definitely build up heat.

The coolant caps are renowned for leaking a little - there's an O-ring solution somewhere on the forum.

From memory, limp mode is more like 108 or 112 - as Pumas (like most cars) run normalised temp gauges, you won't see needle movement until after this point.

Hope this helps.

In my old Puma 2.4 110 limp mode cut in at 112. Had a build up of spinifex in the radiator on the last trip which was no problem in the desert at low speed but once I hit open roads and tried to do 110km/hr it would build to 112 and immediately go into limp mode. As soon as temp got back to 208, which was quite quickly, full power returned.

Cluster guage is useless as it did not move the entire time and if it hadn't beem for my scan guage I would have been tearing hair out trying to work out what was going on. I have cruise fitted and it actually felt just like when cruise drops out so initially I thought it was the cruise playing up.

Once the radiator was cleaned out it ran 90 to 94 all the way from Alice to Brisbane. The 2.2 runs more at 94 on highway at speed limit.

[pushrod]

confused ..are we all talking CHT - cylinder head temp - or coolant / water temp on ultra gauge? ..

i am running a scan gauge and normal values for CHT is
@cruising speed 89-95 and under load up a hill anywhere up to 110

the coolant temp doesn't get any hotter than 95 deg celsius under any driving


cheers Andre

[n plus one]

confused ..are we all talking CHT - cylinder head temp - or coolant / water temp on ultra gauge? ..

i am running a scan gauge and normal values for CHT is
@cruising speed 89-95 and under load up a hill anywhere up to 110

the coolant temp doesn't get any hotter than 95 deg celsius under any driving


cheers Andre

Not sure what the OP is talking about, but I'm referring to CwT reading on my ScanGuage - do you have CHT on your ScanGuage as well as CwT?

[Lagerfan]

As far as I know, which isn't much, the Ultragauge shows the CHT, which it confusingly calls "Coolant Temp". Lorryman explained it at some point on here but I can't find the thread.

[pushrod]

Not sure what the OP is talking about, but I'm referring to CwT reading on my ScanGuage - do you have CHT on your ScanGuage as well as CwT?

yep , i DO have CWT in deg C and CHT on my scan gauge..

IIRC the CHT was one of the additional Xgauge codes i put in myself ..see manual and some of Lorrymans post on here an how to do ..

[n plus one]

So I did a bit of monitoring in the drive back from the Hunter today.

Temp was around 32 degrees, truck was at (likely above) GVM and I was towing a little over 1 tonne.

My truck is super aerodynamic, with lift, rack, awnings and a RTT. Also running 33inch MTs, and a winch which blocks part of the grill - also, the trailer is enclosed too. Lol...

Running down to Sydney, I was sitting on 110kmh and low to mid 80 cwt. planting the boot up the Ourimbah hill, I managed to peak (momentarily) at 102 degrees. Full throttle in sixth definitely builds more heat than higher revs in fifth.

Pulling up into the Southern Highlands had temps in the higher 80s, occasionally into the low 90s (climbing and heat of the day had increased).

Hope this is of some use.