Engine Heating up on the beach

[dazmicho]

Has anyone had any experience with the 4.2tdi motor heating up on the beach? The radiator seems a lot smaller than the ones in the 3.0L versions. Any suggestions for a fix would be greatly appreciated :)

[the ferret]

Mate, it could just be a dirty radiator, how long since it had a good clean out? or it could be the fan is not cutting in early enough.
do you have a big set of spotties in front of the radiator? sometimes all or some of the above can cause overheating at low speed and hard work as is beach driving.

[Neesmo31]

Radiating heat from the sand will raise temps also you are generally driving alot slower on the sand then anywhere else.

If its a major issue then you could look into an aftermarket radiator if its not a 'problem' somewhere else in the system.

[Finly Owner]

Maybe time for cooling system flush, checking thermostat, radiator cap, hoses, radiator core is free from debri, fan is working properly. Then use correct coolant to fill system again. NB: take radiator out and reverse flush it while it's upside down and do the engine to.

Tim

[Alooke]

Hi,
Also when you replace the thermostat and radiator cap buy genuine Nissan only...

I had issues till I did this.. Not sure why.. The look exactly the same.. But geez it makes a difference.. yep radiator clean and flush should get you fixed up.. I actually took my radiator to a specialist and It only cost $90 and that was to pull off the top and bottom tanks and clean it properly. It was 60% blocked!

Once again.. My 2 cents worth!

~Allan~

[Neesmo31]

I agree. Just recently I have done a coolant flush with MUKOWT, backflush, new thermostat, gaskets, hoses, cap, 50% glycol mix. A healthy cooling system is paramount.

[MudRunnerTD]

If you have had your TD42Tdi on a Dyno and had the boost and fuel raised to give you the Power that you should have (from 62KW up to 95kw) then you may well just be on Max Boost too long at the wrong revs. Change gears mate, it will likely make a huge difference.

Mine gets hot when i try and just power on for a long stretch at around 2000 to 2500 revs but if i have it up around 3000 using the good torque curve then it is not laboring and does not get as hot as fast.

Not sure if you have done allot of sand driving? sorry? not telling you to suk eggs, but you may well get a better drive if you go to a lower gear or even into Low range but a higher gear works a treat.

Cheers if that helps.

[dazmicho]

Come on now, do i really need to do car maintenance??? lol.. thanks for the tips guys, i have never put it on a dyno, so i might give that a go, it is overdue for a coolant flush so i will give that a go as well. I usually use low range on beach, mostly 3rd gear and above. I also have a dual cab navara that has no trouble on the beach...different vehicle of course.