| Author | Message | ||
     Michael G. Duckworth (Hampton_89rr) Member Username: Hampton_89rr Post Number: 46 Registered: 04-2003 |
I was recently driving my '89 RRC on the highway at about 75 mph. After about 10-15 minutes, the temp. guage started moving towards the red. It went to about 3/4 at which time I switched on the heater to see if that would hold it. It seemed to stay there the rest of the trip. It does not usually do this around town. The only recent modification was the installation of a Mallory Distributor. Could this be a plugged radiator? Thanks for any suggestions. Michael | ||
| Aaron Richardet (Draaronr) Senior Member Username: Draaronr Post Number: 516 Registered: 09-2002 |
that or the thermostat. If it is the radiator, take it to Boney's in town, they are real fair. | ||
| Michael G. Duckworth (Hampton_89rr) Member Username: Hampton_89rr Post Number: 47 Registered: 04-2003 |
Hi Aaron, Thanks. I think I may just change out the thermostat first and see if that helps. The radiator route is very pricey no matter what you do. Any luck on selling the Range Rover? Michael | ||
| Aaron Richardet (Draaronr) Senior Member Username: Draaronr Post Number: 519 Registered: 09-2002 |
Few offers here and there, but nobody serious enough yet. Not really in a hurry as I have 4 months until the baby gets here. If all goes well I will be able to keep it anyhow. | ||
| Gordon Turner (Gordo) Member Username: Gordo Post Number: 76 Registered: 07-2003 |
Michael you can pop out the rad and have it rodded for less than 100bucks. If it is running hot on the interstate then it is possible that is your problem. Ive also seen the gauges go batty in Classics. Might be worth stopping at a rad shop and having them put a lazer thermo on it to see if it is really hot. I ended up popping in a manual gauge as my gauge was giving incorrect readings even after I changed the sending unit. Of course change the thermostat first. Also since it is an 89 you should change the cap to a 7lb cap instead. The guy that 4cored my radiator said it would blow sooner, and hopefully before I had any problems. I know you can measure the resistance at the sending unit to see if it is working but I do not have the values anymore. Gordo | ||
| Sean Roberts (Luckyrover) New Member Username: Luckyrover Post Number: 1 Registered: 03-2004 |
I have had similar problems on my 89, when the temp gauge started going up I pulled over and pointed my laser heat themometer at it and found out the the gauge was wrong. I found that the the gauges sense resistance to ground and that my ground strap for the engine was corroded. After I cleaned that up, everytthing worked fine. | ||
| Nicholas (Landrovernick) Member Username: Landrovernick Post Number: 59 Registered: 05-2003 |
I just had the same problem on saturday night. I have read that the guage (when working correctly) points straight down? Is this correct. If it is mine sits at the very end of the guage, it reads cool then. I was driving down the strip and all of the sudden the temp guage rockets towards the red. I checked the coolant on sunday after it began to do the same thing. When I opened the coolant tank the fluid was boiling. So I couldnt get an accurate fluid level reading as I lost a great deal of fluid due to the pressure buildup. Much like Michael's question is this some other problem other than the thermostat? It is going to be replaced today. And what do I do about the temp guage? Is it just a bad design from LR or will a new one work as it's supposed to? Thanks in advance. | ||
| Michael G. Duckworth (Hampton_89rr) Member Username: Hampton_89rr Post Number: 48 Registered: 04-2003 |
Any thoughts about how the timing could affect temperature. The only change I have made is the Mallory Unilite Distributor. I have tried to set the timing at idle, however it appears to advance more at higher revs. than the Lucas. Could too much advance at higher revs. cause the temperature to increase. The workshop manual does point to timing as a cause of overheating. Has anyone installed the Mallory Distributor and had any issues with timing? | ||
| Sean Arney (Seana) Dweb Lounge Member Username: Seana Post Number: 118 Registered: 05-2003 |
Retarded timing is supposed to make it run a bit hotter I believe - might be the other way around. Sounds to me like the radiator is going bad. Mine did this too. I just spent 100 bucks getting it rodded, cleaned etc., only to find out on the road that this is not sufficient to properly cool. Older RR radiators are notorious for getting clogged up and not being able to be cleaned very well. You may have better luck than I did but you should consider having the whole thing rebuilt with 4 core high flow - Im having mine done for about 450$. LR is way too proud of their new ones - 650 or so. I have been messing with the 3.5 and its temp for a long time, it is getting to really suck. Changing the thermostat will not help, unless it is stuck shut |
