Overheating with sand driving

[dannypatrol]

Hi everyone, I have been today out to the beach (Bribie) with my beautiful Patrol. It was the first time for me to drive 4x4 on the beach and it was awesome. Bit of driving (4H, tyres 22psi, no speeding), bit of fishing, the perfect life! After fishing, driving the car for 10km and the engine was overheating. Water in the cooling reservoir was boiling (really boiling). So I let it cool down with the bonnet open and filled up the water level (without coolant because I didnt had any). I reduced the tyre pressure even more (from 22 to 20psi) and tried to take the 25km back slowly, just in 4L (I have Nissan Patrol low range gears - 43%) and average speed of 30km. It got hot but just on the border of too hot. On the highway everything was fine and the engine was nice cool. My feeling is that it must have been a combination of factors: very soft sand, hot day, slow speed so not much wind. But I am still wondering if I should be worried (it is my first car).

I am wondering which things are best too check. I looked at this topic http://www.nissanpatrol.com.au/forums/showthread.php?243-Reasons-why-your-4x4-is-Overheating
but I wonder if anyone else might have run into the same issues.

[the evil twin]

If it is "really soft sand" then your tyre pressures are too high.

I would suggest 16 to 18 PSI or lower depending on the tyre

What year Patrol and what engine?

[megatexture]

I'd just flush the radiator and make sure its not got mud blocking flow to start with.

[dannypatrol]

If it is "really soft sand" then your tyre pressures are too high.

I would suggest 16 to 18 PSI or lower depending on the tyre

What year Patrol and what engine?

Its a 97 and 4.5l petrol/lpg. Tyres are 285/75/16
One gauge was saying 18 psi and the other one 20 psi so I didnt want to go to low.

[Dazzalco]

Was it soft sand or hard sand I have gone down to about 10psi on soft sand before and all ok just don't turn to sharp otherwise roll tyre off rim

How clean is the radiator

[lhurley]

Big spotties will bloke a heap of air. Plus make sure your rad is clean. Pull it out and flush it, while your at it, change your hoses and thermostat. Clean rad and fresh coolant will help.
It has been pretty hot in bris lately, make sure all your cooling components are up to scratch.

What fuel where you running?? If you where running on gas, how recent was the gas system serviced?? A out of tune gas system will suck power out of the car needing it to work harder.

[the evil twin]

Its a 97 and 4.5l petrol/lpg. Tyres are 285/75/16
One gauge was saying 18 psi and the other one 20 psi so I didnt want to go to low.

If the car runs OK elsewhere and you only had trouble on the beach...

As mentioned by others your truck will run hotter (sometimes significantly so) on LPG depending on the tune etc.

You need a reliable gauge as even 1 or 2 PSI on sand can make a large difference.
I have seen, (and when teaching students to 4WD we demonstrate) that a svehicle negotiating a sand patch or dune you can't get thru on say any pressure above 16 PSI the truck will sail thru at 14 PSI.

It can be amazing the difference a couple of pounds makes also tyres with stiff sidewalls need an even lower pressure than those with more flexible walls.

One way to check your tyre pressure is to let the car coast to a stop and get out and check the front wheels. If the tyre is kinda "floating" on top then thats fine. If the tyre is "buried" and there is a bow wave of sand in front of it then the pressures are too high.

If you can totally rule out your tyre pressures and driving techniques... which are free to fix... then it is time to go hunting for mechanical issues

[Stropp]

Also if running bigger tyres (than std)it will work the engine harder

[BigRAWesty]

Good to hear you had a good day out.

But yea, I've never had heating issues down my way.
As mentioned tyre pressures are paramount. Invest in a decent gauge and just use the 1 so all 4 wheels are the same.

But I'd do a little maintenance just to be sure.
Taking the radiator out is as simple as drain fluid, remove hoses and 2 bolts. Unclip the bottom section the shroud and lift it out.

Once out completely remove the shroud and give it all a good high pressure clean..
're assemble and refill with good coolent.

[NP99]

That's a terrible radiator you have, I'll swap my good plastic one for your bad aluminium one..... :)
I've seen the radiator guys.....it's a solid built aluminium job :)

[Figjam]

Agree with all above.
Reduce tyre pressures if car is "working" on level beach
Pull radiator for external clean and flush if coolant is poor

[dannypatrol]

Was it soft sand or hard sand I have gone down to about 10psi on soft sand before and all ok just don't turn to sharp otherwise roll tyre off rim

How clean is the radiator

It looks clean but I will have a better look at all components

[dannypatrol]

That's a terrible radiator you have, I'll swap my good plastic one for your bad aluminium one..... :)
I've seen the radiator guys.....it's a solid built aluminium job :)

Haha ofcourse mate ;)


Thanks for all the replies guys. This give me somewhere to start.

I actually have two air gauges, a very cheap push on from repco and a more expensive gun from bunnings. We used them both so likely that the car wasnt in balance either. I reckon 20psi was too high, but I didnt want to risk running my tyres off. Next time I will go lower and just watch my turnings. Like I mentioned, its all new for me so I have a bit more the scares of things going wrong lol.

I will give it a service job as well (with NP99).

[ben ren]

I'd be looking at air flow problems if all is well at high way speeds.
Not sure what the petrols use(viscous hub or thermo fan?)
I go straight to 15psi on sand,so much easier to drive and I find water temp is no more than easy highway cruising which is 86degrees C for me

[Bush Ranger]

If the water in the reservoir was boiling, tells me that there is some thing else is wrong. I`d get it checked out. It could be an air lock in your cooling system which may need to be bled out like the V6 Holden motors, thermostat not operating properly, split head gasket (if water is needed to be refilled, check your oil for milky white colour), check radiator fan and - thermo fan to see if it`s working and check the water pump, check radiator hoses / heater hoses and clamps, what`s in front of the radiator blocking the air flow, radiator might be clogged up or fins are bent up, radiator cap, etc etc. At constant speed / high way speed, the coolant will be cooled, but at low speed like beach driving, the cooling effect isn`t great. Start looking at the fan is working and then any thing cooling related. I have heard that gas makes the motor run a bit hotter than petrol and may cause the motor to run hotter a bit more in sand I`m assuming. If so, get the gas checked out too and see if the motor is timed in correctly.