7 replies to this topic

[duncanm]

Ok,

 

in Sunday's 'FMD that was hot' (45C) episode, I was powering up the rise on Putty Rd from the Colo river with a car full of kids and the AC at flat chat, and noticed the temp gauge climb above its usual spot.  Probably got to 2/3 rather than its usual 1/2

 

Admittedly, I was lugging it a bit it fourth (2500-3000) - easy to do with the TT torque - but this is the first time I've noticed the temp go up without some sort of problem (low coolant due to leak etc).

 

Temperatures recovered quickly at the top, and I made sure to use a lower gear for the other bits of the climb, which kept it down to normal levels.

 

I initially thought maybe the coolant was low -- but on checking it at home, its normal.

 

Should I be concerned -- have I got a partial blockage or something I need to look at?

 

Can't say this has ever happened before, and I've driven hundred of miles in that sort of heat (but generally not fanging it up hills with a load).

[Robert]

wouldnt worry they arent really designed to be operating in those Temps, especially under load

I couldnt drive more than 10 minutes with the ac on in my car without it getting warm (100c+ coolant temps)
Also has an alloy radiator and upgraded fans
Perfectly fine without the a/c though

[Barbbachello]

Unless it does it again i wouldnt worry. 

[duncanm]

cheers guys - its hard to know how sensitive the stock temp sensor is

[El_Freddo]

Get a watchdog temp monitoring system. It's on my to get list for all of our vehicles! This system monitors metal temps instead of coolant temps. An alarm can be set up at a given temp etc.

I really think that recent ambient air temps are going to test any cooling system that's in good condition. Also remember that if your TT is an auto the auto fluid passes through the radiator side tank closest to the cold side outlet. Work the auto and that heat will be transferred into the coolant right where you don't want it to be transferred to. This is what I think was happening with our commodore in the heat - towing a tandem loaded with house stuff, up hills the engine wasn't working hard but the temp gauge started to climb a bit.

All that said above, I'd still go through the usual checks of the cooling system just to be sure there's a new issue.

Good times this heat. Just wait until February's heat hits us!

Cheers

Bennie

[duncanm]

not an auto -- but I had a thought.. I can check coolant temp (in C, unknown accuracy?) via SSM.

 

Might give the rad a bit of a flush with the hose next time I drain the coolant.

 

Was a bit of an oddball situation -- bootfull from low speed in a relatively high gear up a very long steep hill. Had some retard teenage skank* in front of me who was too busy flipping off the truck driver in front of her to realise she had an overtaking lane opening up for her, so I decided not to wait for her either.

 

(She'd just done a U-turn right in front of him, and he had the effrontery to drive around her so she had to wait behind anyway).

 

* - pimply (almost meth-look), rank hair, badly kempt, abusive, probably smelt.

[Niko]

Yeah I run Torque app with OBD2 on hot days to monitor my temps, can you do it similarly with SSM?

[MolostovVA]

The AVO is supposed to be a stainless system and should not possibly look that bad. Stay away. The MXP looks about right as far as discoloration goes. A bit of surface rust on a steel system is fine and to be expected. Looks like they retail for about 900 in Canada so not a great deal but not horrible either. .