Thread: Temp Gauge Red Light came on!!

Originally Posted by ozscott

Hate to say it but if the red temp light came on she was cooked. And the alloy LR V8 is not forgiving of cooking like an old Ford straight 6 cast iron lump or similar is. Sorry to say my bet is that you are on borrowed time with that motor. If it were me I would run it and keep a close eye on the coolant and use a OBD2 temp gauge showing actual temps and replace gaskets when it shows coolant leak or getting hotter than normal. Replacing the 3 way thermostat with an 82 degree top hose old fashioned thermostat may preserve what is there and certainly will help with the motor once gaskets are done or with a new block (issue could be a crack in the webbing). Cheers

It's a Td5. I'd drain and refill with rainwater, or tap water that has been left in the sun to evaporate the chlorine. Run it for a day or two, to ensure no long term damage has occurred. If all seems well, drain and flush with Penrite radiator flush. Refill with your coolant of choice and enjoy many more years of trouble free motoring.

Originally Posted by Bohica

How do I know if the head gasket is gone?

If it overheats.
It could be worthwhile re-tensioning the head bolts ASAP because they may have been stretched (they are stretch bolts after-all) and now might not be tight enough or not for very long.

Haha. I saw overheat and concern about head gasket failure and naturally assumed it was the V8...sad hey.

Cheers

My recommendation(from experience of similar issues with various cars) don't think about it. Drive it as per normal. Assume nothing changed.
Assume no problem. Watch it carefully tho. Check coolant regularly(if you don't already).

Time spent at elevated temperatures makes all the difference(Tombie alluded to this too).

If I were to believe all those doomsayers, I'd have sold all my cars immediately after a single overheat issue.
Most of which had gone on to do many hundred of thousands of klms after the overheat issue.

I think you said this happened whilst son was driving. He need to be up front about how long did he drive it whilst running that hot? A minute, a day? Makes all the difference.

As soon as the light came on, he pulled over and turned the engine off. After a phone call, discussion and added water, he drove from Lara to Williamstown at 80kph
The good news is that the top hose that was hard last night, was soft this morning. I will be keeping an eye on it. Both coolant level and temp via the Nanocom.

Originally Posted by Bohica

As soon as the light came on, he pulled over and turned the engine off. ....

Shouldn't be a problem.

Only caveat is that if there was already an existing problem, then the overheating could have exacerbated this issue and could become more of an issue in the short term future.

Originally Posted by AK83

Shouldn't be a problem.

Only caveat is that if there was already an existing problem, then the overheating could have exacerbated this issue and could become more of an issue in the short term future.

Th max temp was 84C today on the highway. external temp 14C

I had to top up the coolant today. I'm hoping that I did not bleed it fully. If it needs coolant on a daily basis, I'll have to buy another car to drive while I fix the head.

Originally Posted by Bohica

Th max temp was 84C today on the highway. external temp 14C

I had to top up the coolant today. I'm hoping that I did not bleed it fully. ......

hopefully!

Another point to consider, is that the overheat issue may have casued enough stress on the entire cooling system, radiator, hoses, drain plug .. basiclaly everything. So watch for leaks like a hawk.

eg. rad may be leaking, but not enough and only under pressure so that it's drying before it leaks to the ground. So remove shroud at some point when you have time and check for residue stains around rad core/tanks .. and stuff like that.

Also(as I understand them) the radiator/exchanger for the heater and it's pipe fittings are prone to leak. Excess pressure/heat may have caused that to leak if not done recently. Smell would be obvious in the cabin, but don't assume.

I have a pressure testing kit at hand, can't recall exactly which fittiing fits the D2 but I know it's in the kit(tested my V8) if you really want to give it a shot we can arrange a pressure test of the system for 'ya one day.