2011 gu auto zd30 crd getting hot whilst towing

Gday Lads and Ladette's

My patrol does not seem to be a fan of towing especially in OD 100kmh can watch that temp gauge climb but if i switch the OD off the effect is immediate and she comes straight back down to normal temps. this happens if weight is generally anything over 1000 kg in load flat land or a hill ( i live in Darwin not many hills here). Have also had it happen once with a massive head wind whilst not towing.

My tyres are 305/70R16 no spotties on bull bar and no winch so shes getting airflow. i have no after market gauges what so ever and she is completely stock other then a provent catch can.

It has been like this since the day i bought it this time last year. it happy and runs well unless she tows.

Please help and note that money is tight for me.

Towing in OD is your issue. I believe. The lil 3Ltrs don't like to be stressed in overdrive.

Hi,

Just finished towing 2300kg caravan over 9,000km and highest the temp got was 93c, sat on 89-90c most of the time. Outside temp was 38c when we peaked and that was up a reasonable steep hill in the West McDonnel ranges. I was sitting below 100kph and trip also included a lot of H4WD on sand

As Mudski said, never use OD and I always had the Power button on. Mine is an automatic with 17" tyres, Bullbar, Rearbar, Winch and Spotties.

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Originally Posted by jack

Hi,

Just finished towing 2300kg caravan over 9,000km and highest the temp got was 93c, sat on 89-90c most of the time. Outside temp was 38c when we peaked and that was up a reasonable steep hill in the West McDonnel ranges. I was sitting below 100kph and trip also included a lot of H4WD on sand

As Mudski said, never use OD and I always had the Power button on. Mine is an automatic with 17" tyres, Bullbar, Rearbar, Winch and Spotties.

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What speed and revs you sit on doing 100?

About 3000rpm for 100kph, but we weren’t in any rush so sat about 2500rpm on the blacktop.

Darwin eh... I lived there for 13 years from 88 to 2000.

As others have said don't tow in OD or if you do then use OD judiciously.
I would use OD in mine (07 CRD) but only downhill or lighter loads on the flat, smaller camper trailer or a little tinny for example

I would highly recommend a Scangauge or equivalent.
You mention money is tight but it will pay for itself in fuel savings alone and fairly quickly.
Big advantage is that it shows actual coolant temp and boost.
Coolant temp lets you stay ahead of the overheating and boost will let you know if the boost is down at all which won't help.

The CRD's have a BIG rad so if as you say air flow is adequate then there isn't much to do in that regard just make sure the rubber skirts in the wheel wells (between the chassis rail and the wheel well) are OK and that the bottom 1/4 of the rad fins isn't blocked with that top end dust/mud that dries like concrete.
It is a bit of a bitch getting at the bottom of the core between the Rad and the A/C and I made an attachement that went on a garden hose like a lance from a bit of ally pipe... squashed the tip and drilled a couple of small holes at the tip so water came out at 90 degrees to the axis

Cheapest way to see what stats are being put out by the computer is to get a bluetooth ODBII dongle and a phone app such as Torque and set that up. You can, from memory when I did it about 3 years back get it setup for about $25.00.

Forgot to mention, I run an Ultraguage and the first screen is Engine Temp and Engine Load.