Outer Limits 4x4 Board

Hey guys

Recently bought a 92 gq 4.2 diesel and the temp guage sits at about a quarter till I'm going up a hill with some weight loaded in the car then it seems to climb to around half on the guage.

Is this fairly common or should I start chasing causes. Ive heard the temp guages aren't great, perhaps I should chuck an aftermarket one in?

halfs OK
worry when it hits the top line.

But I was sort of wondering if there should really be that much movement in the guage. At "normal" operating temp it sits at a quarter or less and with weight up hills she rises to half.

If the guages aren't really accurate that might be a substantial differ in engine temps.

between hot and cold is only very minimal, only a few degrees, wouldnt hurt to fit a new guage, its cheaper than going through the cooling system if its fine.

on mine 1/2 way on the guage is about 90 deg , 1/3 would be about 80

i found on mine a standard thermostat was too restrictive when under load ( like on the hwy) it wouldnt flow enough when partialy opened to maintain the around town temps , so it heated up more till the thermostat opened enough to allow more flow , now i fitted a high flow thermostat which allows more flow when partially opened , the result is a more stable temp guage


but ..... 1/2 way on the guage is nothing to worry about

its aford not a nissan wrote:now i fitted a high flow thermostat which allows more flow when partially opened

Is there a modification to the standard thermostat, or where are they purchased?

- David.

I find with my TBET, that on the downhill runs, it will head off to a 1/3, however, normal running temp is half a gauge. Working it on the sand for the first time last weekend, it went up another small amount past half, and i heard the fan roaring for the first time, and it went straight back to half.

But as a suggested, if you are worried about it, head off and get an aftermarket item.

This post is more of a back up than anything else

My 96 4.2 Diesel GQ gets hot going up long labouring hills as well I thought it a bit strange but now i'm glad to hear i'm not the only one.

Guage goes to about 3/4 maybe a little more, boiled once on a rediculously long hill but temp never even went right to hot.

If i climb a long hill i usually stop at the top and let it idle for a few mins to cool down, generally it cools down again fairly fast.

also curious about this high flow thermostat.....

toy77 wrote:also curious about this high flow thermostat.....

i got a high flow to when u ask for a new themstat just say u want a high flow. if says it on the packet. if they tell u they is no they dont know wat they are talking about, i would fush ur radatior new themstat and coolant just for a good piece if mind,and away u go, they should normally sit on a quater but do get upto half way so i would not be bothered .

i also just fitted a aftermarket gauge send into the top of the hose just before the themostat housing but yet to take it for a run and compare that temp to the factory gauge, idleing for a while was only like 50 degrees.

aaron

the highflow thermostat basicly has a bigger opening ie : instead of being say 25mm across the part that opens its about 35mm , this bigger opening simply allows more flow once the thermostat starts to open , this thermostat should help stablize your temps as long as your radiator is in good nic , if it is half blocked then it wont do jack

but i did notice this weekend towing the camper trailer with the a/c on that my temps still rose to about 1/2 way but that was sitting on 115 kph going up a big hill and 1/2 way on the guage is where i have the thermo fans set to come on full power , a couple of mm below 1/2 is where the thermo fans come on 1/2 power but they are on 1/2 power with the a/c on anyway , yet to test towing the camper trailer on the beach which will be interesting

Dirty wrote:

its aford not a nissan wrote:now i fitted a high flow thermostat which allows more flow when partially opened

Is there a modification to the standard thermostat, or where are they purchased?

- David.

most auto shops will be able to get them in ( if the pimply faced kid knows what he is doing )

i used to mod the standard thermostat so it ran hotter ie: 90 deg , that stopped my water temps from hitting the 3/4 mark but sinse fitting thermo fans i found the motor relying on the fans to keep cool where i wanted just the air flow from driving to keep the temps in check , originally i thought there was too much crap infront of the radiator blocking airflow but when i fitted the highflow thermostat the fans didnt need to come on any more when on the hwy unless pushing it towing

My old Patrol used to do the same thing. Up hills and on the highway with a load it would climb up to half or a bit over. On the beach doing say 90kph it would sit on a half in 5th gear but 1/3 in 4th gear doing same speed. It is common in the td42 and its just something that I used to keep an eye on but not worry to much. I have heard that the difference between a 1/4 and 3/4 on the gauge is not that much. I was worried when I turboed mine it might get worse but it didn't. I always just drove to it and was aware when loading up the engine.