Thread: Summer High temperatures, Td5 temp gauge never moves?

Originally Posted by OffTrack

According to RAVE the thermostat is fully closed below 82°C and doesn't fully open until 96°C. That means that the radiator is getting maximum flow of coolant until temp goes above 96°C.

For the Td5 the engine cooling fan (without air con running) turn on temperature during normal running is 110°C, and switch off temp is 105°C. If LR have designed the cooling system so it doesn't require fan assist below 105°C it's pretty safe to assume that this is well within normal operating temperatures.

Bear in mind that a 50/50 ethylene glycol mix has a boiling point at atmospheric pressure of 106°C vs pure water 100°C, and that cooling systems usually run at about 14psi which increases boiling point by a further 25°C.

On the South African forums there is discussion on warning temps, and some specific recommendations made by a LR garage which fits the Madman gauges. For the Td5: EGT 750°C, Coolant 115°C - another mechanic (know as DiscoJakes on AULRO) suggests 110°C is a safe limit with no risk of damaging the head, Oil 130°C.

I'll now return the discussion to the worrywarts.

cheers
Paul

Thanks for that good information Paul.

I just drove 400km yesterday, pulling a 1.8 tonne van, kept the speed around 90-95kph on the GPS and out of curiousity plugged the nanocom in and did a log of the trip. Out side air temp was mid to high 20s and air-cond was running the whole trip.

Engine Temp stayed in the range of 85-95 deg for the trip, except going up the Darling Escarpment when it peaked just under a 100deg. Much better than my old range rover in that respect, but I do miss the wandering of its temp gauge

Steve

FYI......Just got back from the south coast. Towed a fully loaded camper trailer behind a medium loaded TD5 Disco up the Clyde (Kings Highway) with 2 adults on board.

The Clyde is the mountain range between Batemans Bay and Canberra and is it a steep climb with a few 25KPH hairpins thrown in. Temp outside was 44C on the way up and it's currently 40C here in my Canberra back yard as I type

Drove all the way up the range with an eye on EGT's and apart from a few high 600 spikes while overtaking a few slower cars - and the idiots who cruise at 75KPH until they hit the overtaking lanes and decide to speed up to 115KPH, we managed to keep EGTs under 600C all the way up with coolant staying steady at 85C.

Car is a manual, with 115k's on the clock. Has ECU mapped, EGR and cat converter removed. Has a winch, steel bullbar, steel roof rack and kitchen and fridge unit inside. It's no lightweight so I'm pleased to say that we held no-one up on the range and travelled above general holiday traffic speed.

I'm a firm believer in driving within an EGT and engine torque range which in turn will look after your engine coolant and turbo temps (I have installed an EMS so I can monitor engine and driveline conditions). As you are all aware - Use your gearbox wisely and you will get plenty of air and fuel through your engine which will stabilise temps no matter the load or conditions. Try not to labour or over-rev the engine.

BTW - there was 4 separate car/trailer combinations pulled over up the range. All were diesels and all had bonnets up emitting plumes of steam......wonder if they had pyrometers?