Coquihalla?

[kenmac569]

Hi everyone, I'm going to buy a delica and take it on a road trip. I see lots going up and down the island but I'm headed for the interior. My question is, will the deli catch fire and melt heading out of the snow shed? I know this is obviously down to the condition of the van but in general terms does the deli tend to run hot? Any advice/reassurances would be great.

[Adrock]

Did the crowsnest 4 times in about a month, did snoqualmie pass last weekend, did 30 hours straight (except for gas stops) to palm springs, and another 30 hours back.

If the gauge gets past half slow down the rpms and let it cool down. As soon as you hit a downhill it will cool off substantially even if the RPMs stay the same.

It would be worth giving it a breather if things get hot. If you are really worried it would be good to get an EGT i think its called. Exhaust gas temp gauge. propane injection is said to h elp you run cooler and give you more power. There are ways to give you peace of mind with teh whole temperature thing, but my 1989 is still running strong after over 20 000 pretty rough kms in Canada.

[kenmac569]

Adrock, thanks for the reply! I getting pretty amped for the trip, I cant wait to see the back country types in Revelstoke drooling on my way through.! Ive got my deposit on the deli and it's at CCAuto getting worked on. Hopefully I'll be on the road soon.
Regards, Ken

[EnviroImports.com]

oh and if you want to help it stay cool if your really working on it, (depending on your budget) I would get the 2.5"exhaust from the turbo to the tail , and make sure you have good new fluid in your trans, heat is the big killer of any auto trans. you should have a atf cooler allready, so that helps alot, but changing the fluid to new is a big load off my mind anytime I get a new vehicle......

[josh]

Roadtrips, thats what the delica was made for! I have had mine for 10 months and put over 30,000km on it and it runs like a top. Check out how much stuff I had crammed in it when I took the drive from vancouver to smithers (up the coquihalla!).... viewtopic.php?t=175 I am convinced "Dusty" (my delica) smiles when I mention roadtrip plans.

Josh

[BCDelica]

Last summer our family Delica saw 4 round trips over the coke, two heavily loaded trips which seemed to happen on the hottest days respectively in July and August. Once pulling a boat and the other with the whole family, with a ton of gear. Both days up from Hope had a showcase of steaming vehicles pulled over with the hoods up, just don't be like myself and watch the road more then the temp gauge.

Of course you already realize your not going to be the fast rig on the road.

Cheer,

[Green1]

my first trip over the Coquihalla resulted in a cracked head... but that was due to the fact that the radiator was completely plugged so I overheated...

my second attempt (after a new head and a new radiator) resulted in no problem at all.

a few words of advice:
1) make sure your vehicle is in good shape, a clogged radiator cost my importer around $3-4k! (luckily the importer was really good about it and covered all associated costs!)
2) watch your temperature gauge like a hawk! it took almost no time flat to go from "C" to pegged off the top past "H" if it's climbing quickly, STOP! (as per the manual, pull over and stop, but leave the engine running so that the fan can cool it down, also pop the "hood" to let out some heat)
3) probably not a bad idea to go with a high flow exhaust and a pyro meter, the larger exhaust may prevent overheating, and the pyro meter will give you more warning if it happens.

[kenmac569]

Thanks everyone for your replies! "my" Deli is having its pre delivery service done at CCAuto in Coombs and I hear he is one of the best. Going 50k/HR up out of the snow shed will be familiar territory for me as I used to own a 1989 Hyundai excel when I lived in Revelstoke.