99 D1 overheating up hill only.

[discocolin]

Hi

First I want to say I have been searching all over and have not found my exact problem, so that is why I am posting this. I have tried all the common things I can think of.

I have a 99 D1 with 135k miles on it. It has a 2" ome lift and full rock slides and bumpers (so it weighs a bit more) Its stock engine wise. My overheating problem started a few mo. ago. (its my fun or snow car only so I dont use it much.) I noticed that it would start to overheat only when I went up hill for more then a few min. ( I live in cloudcroft NM in the mtns) I never let it get out of the white lines so not to meltdown the motor. I took it into my friend and mech. and told him I think its the fan clutch, from what I read on the forums that made sense. We ordered one, then noticed my water pump bearings were bad and loose so I put in a new water pump too. Put in all the new parts and noticed I now have a hole in my radiator (gee I wonder how that happened) So I got a radiator and all the new parts in, filled it with coolant and water and took a spin. It was fine for a few min, Then shot up to hot. So I figured air bubbles. I spent the next 3 hrs trying to get all the bubbles out. I tried everything to get them all out... flat ground, a little angled all the way up to a crazy 45* angle. Its much better now, I can drive it on flat land up to 65mph and I can use the AC for a while, I can even idle for a long time, But as soon as I try climbing up the mtn road it overheats. I HAVE NO IDEA WHAT TO DO NEXT! Please help me. The thermostat seams to work. The heater is HOT. There is no coolant in the oil or vise versa, and the exhaust still smells like normal, not sweet. Could there be more air bubbles trapped in there? Any other ways to clear it out? EDIT--- The 2 electric fans do turn on when really hot or when the ac is on.

Any ideas or help would be much appreciated. I'm sure I must have missed something.

Thanks,
Colin

Here is a picture of it flexing so you can see how much weight has been put on.

 

[109 Pretender]

Disco,
It seems that you've ck'd the obvious already so here's a couple of additional items to look at:

1. Based on your symptoms I'd make sure that your timing isn't over advanced. Too much timing will cause exactly what you are experiencing. Something to ck and eliminate anyway...

2. Rover V8's have had problems with cylinder sleeves/head gskts, etc. Generally, you should notice problems there w/over heating most all the time - however, it would always be worse under a heavy load like going up a hill.

Hope this helps

Good luck!

 

[adrenaline503]

Is it an auto? If so are your radiator and transmission cooler tied together?

 

[mud ruts]

It sounds like it could be head gasket or a liner. Does the system presurize fast?

Are you having to top off the coolant?

You do have bigger tires and I assume stock gears which could aid in over heating on hills, the trans could be getting hot rasing the temp.

Check it all.

Chris

 

[discocolin]

Thanks for the quick reply's. First how do you change the timing on a 99 D1 I dont remember it having a distributor like my 95. As far as the head gasket I have checked for the oil in the water and a sweet smelling exhaust. Anything else I should check for? Runs great, no pinging or anything either. Same underpowered engine its always been. LOL.

It is a auto and there are oil lines connected to the radiator. I believe the trans lines are also in there too. Would the trans getting hot overheat the radiator? The trans (up by the shifter) does get really hot to the touch after driving for a while, but it takes a bit for that to happen.

 

[discocolin]

It sounds like a head gasket or a liner. Does the system presurize fast?

Are you having to top off the coolant?

Chris[/QUOTE

Well what do you call fast? its been setting for a few days and is cold right now, and I can go check. Cant really tell about the coolant topping yet. I cant tell cause I have been trying to burp the air out.

 

[UnfrozenCaveman]

You're presuming that the o.e. gauge is correct, right?

Does turning on the heater <hot + fan on high> make any difference?

You've washed all the crud out of the a/c condenser, right?

And you've operated this vehicle in this situation previously when it did not "overheat", right?

Oh, and you did replace the thermostat when you replaced all the other bits...including the hoses....right?

There are so many variables here...could be anything from a wacky thermostat to a collapsing hose to crud blocking the a/c condenser to something much more unpleasant.

Have you visited with Rob Dassler about it? Where's his new place...8700 San Pedro NE I think???

 

[lake_bueller]

If it was a HG or liner, wouldn't it over heat ALL the time. Not to mention, the GEMS motors used in the DI were much less problematic (IMHO).

How are you "burping" the system? I believe you're supposed to fill via the overflow with the front of the truck elevated. At least that's the method I've used on my DII.

 

[adrenaline503]

I think your trans is cooking the system. Hows the auto trans fluid looking?

 

[discocolin]

ok, lots of good stuff guys. I will check the trans, cause the fluid is old and dark looking, and does get hot.

It has been regeared with 4.10 if I remember right ( I bought the truck used a few yrs ago) Its def. not stock. It runs 400 or so rpms higher then my 95 thats all stock at the same speed.

I have been burping it with the overflow tank while the truck was angled nose up.

 

[05LR3AZ]

D1 overheating

This might sound silly but is the belt routed correctly? When I bought mine that was the source of overheating (and the timing was off also). Do you have the RAVE manual?

 

[discocolin]

Yes the belt is routed right. I have the shop book on PDF (if anybody needs it let me know)

OK GOOD NEWS!---- I just did a block test for exhaust in the coolant and its not leaking into the coolant. So it looks like the head gasket is fine.

bad news. still no clue. but I am going to try some more stuff tonight hopefully and see if any of your other ideas help. Great stuff so far thanks alot.

 

[baca327]

I think your trans is cooking the system. Hows the auto trans fluid looking?

x2 Sounds like your torque converter is causing your overheating especially under load i.e. hill.
Edit: Sounds like its not locking up. Notice any loss of power during those hills (more than usual)

 

[evilfij]

Do the two electic fans come on?

They should be on whenever the AC is on and when it gets really hot.

 

[burn_e]

You might want to ensure that the filler cap on the overflow tank works properly. Went through almost same valley of tears to find out that it is the cap.
Cheap and quick fix - worth a try.