Delica Canada | Mitsubishi Van Club

This is someting that I've been noticing the last few times that I have had more than one passenger.

In short, the engine temperature rockets to just below the high mark when I have more than myself and one passenger in the van. The two times this stands out the most in my mind was last winter going up to Mt Washington. The engine temp sat at the high mark for about 3/4 of the climb (more than a little worrysome!).

The next time was this past summer going up to Cowichan River, I had a full van (filled with a whole variety of female awesomeness!) and the engine temp sat at the same really high engine temp mark.

I've noticed that even when driving on the highway to Langford, the engine temp will rise to about halfway up the guage.

So, is this a transmission problem (Have counted the shifts), a turbo/ boost issue? or what?

Thanks guys!

It's a weight/loading issue.

It is generally better to drive with the overdrive off, especially when climbing, when the van is loaded up with stuff, things, or beautiful women. Unless you are on the flat and approaching 80km/h, I'd leave the overdrive off.

I've noticed this when towing and/or when all the children are in the van. 85hp is really not that much and it doesn't take much to reach the capacity limit of these vans. You also have to adjust your driving style when carrying a load - more time, and less aggressive with the accelerator.

I have to concur with mararmeisto, these vans can handle almost anything, but not at 110kph, the heavier your load, the slower you need to go.

Now in addition to this, it may be worth checking your whole cooling system, it may be that it is not operating at peak efficiency, and therefore a problem that is unnoticeable in an unladen van becomes very obvious when you have a van full of friends and their gear. If your radiator is still the original Japanese one there is a good chance that it is pretty clogged, the water pump may also be in pretty lousy shape. Generally I would recommend those items get replaced, I'd also recommend a good chemical coolant flush to try to get rid of some of the deposits throughout the whole system in the parts that aren't easily replaced (such as the engine itself)

In addition to this, other things that can help keep your engine temperature down include making sure that your air filter isn't clogged, and a larger exhaust never hurts either.

I would recommend reading this first:
http://www.delica.ca/forum/overheating-3151.html

delica 304 wrote:This is someting that I've been noticing the last few times that I have had more than one passenger.

The next time was this past summer going up to Cowichan River, I had a full van (filled with a whole variety of female awesomeness!) and the engine temp sat at the same really high engine temp mark.

Thanks guys!

I believe that the technical advice that you will receive here will be adequate for your technical needs, however, if I may suggest that you enlist the assistance of, say, me to transport the aforementioned awesomeness, your problem will be solved.

You are welcome in advance

john

delica 304 wrote:a full van (filled with a whole variety of female awesomeness!) and the engine temp sat at the same really high engine temp mark.

There's your explanation right there leading to the hot temps.

My air filter gets changed regularly, and I'm running with a 2.5" side exhaust.

As for the transportation of awesomeness, sadly, I was the straight minority in the bus (Sad that I was in the minority, not that I'm straight!)

delica 304 wrote:My air filter gets changed regularly, and I'm running with a 2.5" side exhaust.

As for the transportation of awesomeness, sadly, I was the straight minority in the bus (Sad that I was in the minority, not that I'm straight!)

I had to reread that last post (he says typing with a deeper voice).

Driving style to be sure, as Mararmeisto & Green1 have mentioned, these are diesels, as you know, and even though they red line at 4750, or so ~ bare in mind that most big diesels don't go over 2200 RPM, which is why they have so many gears. I am more inclined to think in terms of torque rather than horse power when it comes to diesels. Alternatively, I wouldn't rule out the cooling system. These vans have come from an island that has hard water with a consequential lime build-up in radiators. The MLB's radiator was operating at roughly 70% when I first got her. This I first noticed climbing the Duffy Lake road to my chagrin.

Speaking of inclination... regarding the awesomeness ~ could you, yourself have been overheating the van? Not here to judge, just an observation.

Falco.

delica 304 wrote:My air filter gets changed regularly, and I'm running with a 2.5" side exhaust.

As for the transportation of awesomeness, sadly, I was the straight minority in the bus (Sad that I was in the minority, not that I'm straight!)

I would seriously look at your cooling system, you could be heading towards catastrophic failure and not know it. Most if not all the cooling systems in L300s at least are 90% clogged with calcium when brought here, also the rad cap's rubber seal is frequently dried up and cracked keeping the system from properly pressurizing, this can be a huge problem and can cause temps to not read properly on the gauge.

Oh,I forgot to mention, my rad was replaced and the system checked over by the good and courteous people at CC Autos!

And Falco, in the end, it was safer for me to just ignore what was goings on in the back of the bus. I looked in the rear view mirror once, and nearly drove off the road!

delica 304 wrote:Oh,I forgot to mention, my rad was replaced and the system checked over by the good and courteous people at CC Autos!

And Falco, in the end, it was safer for me to just ignore what was goings on in the back of the bus. I looked in the rear view mirror once, and nearly drove off the road!

I trust the van has been running a little cooler since?

The van is male.