2010 D4 3.0L freshen up thread

[DiscoJeffster]

Kill me now.
Fault code cleared on restart. Let’s see how this progresses. Notes refer to an issue related to the drivers seat air bag module.

[LGM]

It's just the little things that pop up when your D4 has done a lot of K's..............DiscoJeffster........coming back from Albany to my home on Monday last, a 769km trip towing my 3.3tonne caravan on a day that started at 14 degrees and reached 40 degrees. My D4 had temperature fluctuations. By that I mean the gauge going from steady midway to hot and back several times yet no alarm nor sign of coolant loss or other indication of a 'hot motor'........then towards the end of the journey a small vibration that seemed to start at around 80 to 95km/h that came and went then came back and remained constant more or less.
The upshot is the D4 is now at my local service agent in Geraldton. T'was good that they were able to get the vibration to happen on a test drive. A lift on the hoist revealed the rear drive shaft had movement in it at the front i.e. starting to flog out is how I'd put it. As for the temp issue we could not replicate that. After much discussion and some research we have collectively agreed the following course of action. Replace the rear drive shaft along with the thermostat. I have also elected to have them replace the hot coolant side (relatively speaking) hoses at the same time.
All this after only 8 years and 278,000 plus km! Who would have thought eh?
In fairness the drive shaft will hopefully cure the vibration and the thermostat the fluctuations in temp gauge. As for the hoses they have never been replaced in the life of the vehicle. Even if there is still some 'exploration' required to get to the bottom of these issues so what! The vehicle has not had any of these items give rise for concern in all the time of my ownership from new and it has really done some work in the km's involved. Oh and my service agent tells me my D4 is by far the highest km one that they look after.

[BobD]

The temp fluctuations are because the temperature was high! Monitor it with the ODB11 and you will see that when towing on 40 degree days it gets very hot up hills. The gauge doesn't move from the middle until well after the fan is running at full speed, which occurs at around 108 degrees. The gauge goes straight to just below the red at the top of the gauge at around 114 degrees, which is still not boiling and doesn't show any ill effects.

This started happening to mine towing my 2.5 tonne Kimberley Karavan between Kununurra and Mount Isa. I had to drop down a couple of gears and keep the revs up to get the fan to turn faster. Similar mileage to yours and we found that the radiator was a bit blocked internally and also externally with dust that turns to mud, some of which was from the Gibb River Road prior to reaching Kununurra. Even with a new radiator it still gets hot while towing, but not enough to make the gauge move to the higher position.

Bear in mind that when you can start to hear the fan working, the temperature is over 109, so it is starting to get warm and you need to drop down a couple of gears to cool it down..

[LGM]

BobD your certainly correct it was a damned hot day and my caravan is no lightweight at 3.3t. I really do appreciate your comments though. In response I offer the follow comments. I had the bull bar off a couple of months back for a repaint and took that opportunity to ensure all the cooling elements were clean and bug free as much as that was possible given A/C condenser, oil cooler etc. That said it was the rapidity of the rise and fall that had my attention. This occurred, at times, when I could not hear the radiator fan had cut in? For the temp to rise very quickly then drop like a stone, then later on rise just as suddenly again had me concerned. This did not happen throughout during the journey just on a few occasions. It did occur in some uphill areas but in others the gauge just sat dead centre.......go figure......hence the discussion with my service agent......they, like my good self have decided to err on the side of caution.

I did stop and check under the bonnet on more than one occasion and each time everything looked, felt and smelt normal. As much as it does on a day like that!

Who knows the radiator itself may be an issue.....****e....hope not!

[DiscoJeffster]

The rapid rise and fall indicates you were right on the cusp of the “normal” range. Eg 80-109degC being normal, 110 being outside so it will see the gauge rise. The rise isn’t really linear either.

[BradC]

The rapid rise and fall indicates you were right on the cusp of the “normal” range. Eg 80-109degC being normal, 110 being outside so it will see the gauge rise. The rise isn’t really linear either.

It's not linear at all once it gets past about 70C. It becomes like a 3 position idiot light. "Normal","Hot" and "****ing stop!". One of my huge bugbears about modern cars. Volvo introduced it later in the 240 series. It was known as "compensation", and it really stood for "Stopping knob head customers complaining the gauge used to rise a bit at traffic lights on a hot day", so they dumbed it down. I re-worked the gauge on the 740 to remove that "feature". Can't do that on the Disco though as it's all in software.

As you observe though, it means if you are swinging around the threshold point the temp might be moving a couple of degrees either way, but the gauge jumps around like a jackrabbit and makes it look far more sinister than it actually is. If it isn't slammed up against the stop there's really nothing to worry about. Should replace it with a dual colour indicator. Blue, the donk is cold. Red it's overheating. Off is fine.

[gavinwibrow]

It's not linear at all once it gets past about 70C. It becomes like a 3 position idiot light. "Normal","Hot" and "****ing stop!". One of my huge bugbears about modern cars. Volvo introduced it later in the 240 series. It was known as "compensation", and it really stood for "Stopping knob head customers complaining the gauge used to rise a bit at traffic lights on a hot day", so they dumbed it down. I re-worked the gauge on the 740 to remove that "feature". Can't do that on the Disco though as it's all in software.

As you observe though, it means if you are swinging around the threshold point the temp might be moving a couple of degrees either way, but the gauge jumps around like a jackrabbit and makes it look far more sinister than it actually is. If it isn't slammed up against the stop there's really nothing to worry about. Should replace it with a dual colour indicator. Blue, the donk is cold. Red it's overheating. Off is fine.

Thanks Brad. Surely though, you are not telling us you don't have a GAPTool or similar to get accurate coolant etc readings?????

[DiscoJeffster]

I believe when it’s actually a big problem that the dash flags up an error and tells you ****s going down. Also the engine management should do what it can to limit the damage such as reducing power etc. None of that gets you from A to B mind you.

I’m curious whether radiators are internally scaling up. I wouldn’t have thought so as scaly rads normally reflect this in the state of the coolant. Modern coolants are pretty damn good at keeping the engine’s internals clean.

I think it’s simply a case of the engine running on the cusp of the design parameters. While I know LR test cars here in extreme heat, I’m not sure they do it towing 3T. I guess they figure they have enough reserve capacity in the system to cover most scenarios.

As an aside, could a lazy thermostat be a factor? They’re generally working or not, but it’s a thought. I replaced mine a couple of years back as a precaution.

[BradC]

Thanks Brad. Surely though, you are not telling us you don't have a GAPTool or similar to get accurate coolant etc readings?????

Of course I do, but we're talking about the thing on the dash that has a needle and pretends to be a gauge.

[Milton477]

Mine on a hot day puling hard with the van on the back. Temp gauge still hadn't moved. Note the fan control is still not at 100%.

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