Thread: Through reggo and priorities Yay.

Well done - did they say anything at all?

Well i arrived an hour early and was taken over the pit straight away.
An older gentleman checked over the Def and agreed that the steering shaft was normal.
He was very pleasant and gave me loads of advise on how best to look after my investment going forward.
Was relieved to get through the process.
I would like to say in retrospect that not having a compliance plate is not a deal breaker for me going forward now that i am aware of the process.
W

Originally Posted by deansyorath

Next bit, my priorities for longevity:
Murphy mechanical temperature gauge.
Red arc low coolant alarm.
Then we are off to the comfort stuff.
W

Why fit a mechanical temperature gauge? Why fit a low coolant alarm? These aren't Td5 or 300tdi engines. The gauge is a quality VDO unit. Why do people make these mods that make absolutely no sense? It's an army vehicle, the temp gauge is fine the engine can handle getting a little hot. Hell, the things can handle 30 PSI of boost with no problems, you think they can't get 10 degrees hotter than normal?

Originally Posted by inside

Why fit a mechanical temperature gauge? Why fit a low coolant alarm? These aren't Td5 or 300tdi engines. The gauge is a quality VDO unit. Why do people make these mods that make absolutely no sense? It's an army vehicle, the temp gauge is fine the engine can handle getting a little hot. Hell, the things can handle 30 PSI of boost with no problems, you think they can't get 10 degrees hotter than normal?

Because its my money and my choice dude.
FYI our Landie is not a museum piece, it's going to be a daily drive for my inexperienced teenage son as a first car, furthermore having served a mechanical apprenticeship and worked in the industry for 20 years i have seen my fair share of 'quality engines' die due to coolant loss.
Just for example if a water pump let go overnight and substantial coolant loss occurred 'your quality' VDO unit that relied on dubious Lucas electrics would not even register.
$400 bucks for a possible seizure event seems good value to me....especially when you consider that i would be the one that would have to sort the mess out.
The world is not black and white, just shades of grey.
W

Originally Posted by inside

Why fit a low coolant alarm? These aren't Td5 or 300tdi engines. The gauge is a quality VDO unit. Why do people make these mods that make absolutely no sense? It's an army vehicle, the temp gauge is fine the engine can handle getting a little hot.

Well if you have a catastrophic loss of coolant and you dont pick it up, the the temp sensor is not in the coolant and as a result the gauge sits at the temp at the time the coolant was lost - meantime the engine without coolant is getting hotter and hotter while the gauge sits on normal - often the first you know of it is when you smell the engine cooking or the blue smoke out the back, the rattling of the engine or complete failure. Ask me how I know. Even a Isuzu will fail if driven for a while with no coolant in it.

I will not drive a vehicle of mine without a low coolant alarm any more - they have saved my engine on a couple of occasions.

Well said Garry.
W

About 35 years ago I hired a Datsun 200B to drive from Sydney to Nowra and back - driving back sitting on 100kph for at least 50kms the engine started to get rattly at the Waterfall tollgates - on driving away from the tollgates I noticed a huge ball of blue smoke in the rear vision mirror then the engine died - a coolant hose has split and the coolant had pumped out while I was on the expressway and then engine then ceased - the temp gauge was still on normal when the engine was on its death rattle.

A friend was driving his XJ6 and the engine ceased because the lower radiator hose split and he did not notice - driving on the highway and all the coolant exited under the car. The engine was rebuilt and on its first long trip the lower radiator hose came off (didn't tighten up the clamp) - thankfully the steam and coolant existing under the car was spotted by the car behind and they signalled him over and turned off before the engine failed.

I have a combo unit in the 101 that monitors engine block temps and low coolant - the alarm has gone off a couple of times - thankfully just low coolant but once there was a major issue.

Hi Garry,
I posted the switch gauge and low coolant alarm in the hope of getting some positive feedback and recommendations for other units out there that i have not researched.
what are you using mate
W