temperature concerns: New to Delica

[lauracuthbert]

Hey all!
Recently bought a 1991 L200 Chamonix. I've wanted a deli forever, so it's quite exciting.
With the last few days being so hot, I'm wondering how concerned I should be about the temperature gauge. The delica will go from medium temperature, to high, always under red, but high, and then can get back down to the middle of the gauge if I don't push it as hard. Does this indicate anything, do delicas run hot, and should I act on this? Then at night it can be on the high end, but after going down a long hill, or just a bit slower can creep down to quarter, even low temperature. How fast a fluctuation is concerning?

Best,
LC

[Lapprentis]

Do yourself and your vehicle a favor: put an EGT

My dash needle do not even move while my EGT is sometimes going to 1000 degrees ! So when I see the digital going close to this temp I lift my foot on the gas pedal: it just mean the Van can not go any faster in these situations. Hope you did not cooked something

Lapprentis

[Growlerbearnz]

L300 Delicas do not run hot. On mine the needle is usually around a third, up to as much as a half when towing up a long, steep hill in the middle of summer. If your temperature gauge is regularly above halfway then there's a problem and you really need to fix it! These engines do *not* like overheating.

What condition is your coolant in? If it's dirty (or gets dirty soon after changing to new coolant) it can indicate a lack of servicing in the past, which has likely clogged up your radiator. It's a good idea to have your radiator cleaned out professionally, but back flushing it yourself with a hose might help a bit too.

Are you losing coolant? Any visible leaks anywhere, or does it need topping up sometimes? You shouldn't need to add coolant to your engine.

If you're very lucky it might be the temperature sender playing up. The L300 technical forum has links to workshop manuals which will show you how to test the temperature gauge sender. The actual gauge itself is unlikely to be faulty.

[lauracuthbert]

No visible leaks, but that doesn't really mean anything. I will get my rad flushed, and new coolant put in asap. Thanks so much!
Any good places in Vancouver to get an Exhaust gas temperature gauge put in?



Thanks!

[TieMyShoe]

With vehicle OFF reach into your engine bay and manually spin your rad fan. If should have a decent amount of resistance when you spin it. If it spins easily and freely your fan clutch is gone and needs replacing.

Now pop your rad cap. Inspect the cap for signs of wear or damage. A worn cap can cause over heat as the system is unable to hold pressure. While the cap is popped have a look inside the rad. the coolant should be a a vibrant shade of (green, yellow, red) depending on what coolant has been used. If the colour appears dull or muddy its over due for a change.

Check the inside of the rad of scale, rust, grime build up. This will require the rad to be flushed. You can do a rudimentary test by letting the van warn up and feeling the different areas of the rad (do not try this with the van running/fan turning!!). the rad should be hotter at the inlet and slightly cooler at the outlet. If there are any "cold" zones you have a clog in that area.

If you do any of the above services, change your thermostat. The thermo from a dodge raider or ford ranger turbo diesel is the same as the delica. they come in two temp ratings, I personally run the cooler one.

With the vehicle running check your degas bottle (its in front of your batteries under the passenger seat.) Look for a constant stream of bubbles. This would indicate a popped head gasket which can cause over heating under throttle.

[konadog]

Depends on the gauge too. Mine runs at about the halfway mark for normal running, and up to close to 3/4 going up long, steep hills. Gear down and slow down is the general rule.

[john clem]

Hi , my L300, when got it had 93000km. my gauge on hot days ran just over 1\2. Core didnt look bad just a thin looking white biuldup however while rad was out anyway for new timing belt figured might as well take it to rad shop to fix up, they said flow was only 40% and showed me the tubes after tank had been removed some were quite restricted. in the end with their special cleaning rods and re solder, like a new rad now and rarely goes past 1/3 on gauge.

[FalcoColumbarius]

This is coming a little from left field but have you checked your front axle hubs after driving around for a bit? If they're hot (I mean so hot it's uncomfortable to hold your hand against it) they you could have sticky callipers.

I just regreased my guide and locking pins on the callipers ~ they were totally dried out. This has helped a little. If I go for a long drive, like up to Furry Creek, which is where I've been working, when I get there I check my hubs and they are pretty cool. Drive back to North Van, stop at my place near the highway ~ they are pretty cool. Drive though North Van to the Quay, check my hubs and they are hot. On the highway I typically do not use my brakes, Driving through North Van I do use my brakes.

When I greased the calliper pins I noticed that my fuel economy improved a little. I'm figuring if the brakes are sticking then the motor works harder, which would use more fuel and also cause the engine to run hotter, which is something that I have noted with my wagon. What I'm going to do next is jack the front end up to get the wheels off the ground, manually spin the wheels, put the brakes on to stop them, then spin them again and see if there is any resistance from sticky brakes.

The thought occurred to me if my calliper pins had dried out... what about the calliper piston? I'll bet the calliper pistons have never been greased since she left the factory in 1992. Certainly not in the last seven and an half years since I've owned her. Gotta do your maintenance to keep your wagon on the road and maintenance means more than just changing the oil.

Falco.

P.S.: I'm moving this thread to L300 Technical.

[lauracuthbert]

Thanks for all of the wonderful replies.
Yeah, it definitely runs hot on hills, took it on another two adventures, and both, after steep caribou hills, the delica was almost overheating.
On Idaho peak (in Sandon) it did overheat, but that is an insane trail...

I flushed the radiator before I left, and it helped with day to day driving, but hills are still crushing it. The fan was also replaced. New oil. And a/c recharge which worked magnificently. So I'm cool when the van is not.

I think I'll get a new radiator at this point. I want this to be my full time car, and don't want to kill the engine.
LC

[lauracuthbert]

Oh, and @Falco, I'll look into the caliper pins, I haven't noticed the heat from the callipers, but will keep an eye on it.
I'm still getting used to healthy delica vs. unhealthy.