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for some reason whenever i take my wgn off road it reachs a new equlibrium temperature level. and some times it creeps higher if im working my car hard. is this bad for the car? and is there maybe something im doing wrong or need in order to maintain the same offroad temperature level as on road?
my radiator needs to be replaced in the near futre but my dads good mate who is a mechanic said its aright. has it got something to do with my radiator? like the grill is crumbling off but other than that i keep my water levels up.

if you work a motor harder(ie off-road) it will get hotter, i wouldnt worry too-much so long as it isnt getting to extreme temps...

maybe as a precaution just flush the rad, if its blocked abit this tends to help..

alex

thanks. how high are we talking here? cuz i got about 3/4 my gauge

I hope u mean COOLANT level and not water. If u got water in it... take it all out... and put coolant in.

Also check the operation of your fans... main difference in your car driving on road and offroad is the amount of air flow cooling your radiator.... when you are offroad u have very little air flow because you are at low speed but high RPM. The fans are supose to help keep this air flow.

Dave

yeh its coolant. but people say check your oil and water. they never say check your oil and coolant. but yer nice fluro green coolant

Never use tap water. Never.

But demineralised or distilled water is ok, even as a top up. It wont conduct and cause electrolysis, gum up radiators etc. I even know a bloke who used rainwater for 15 years in an iron block Ford engine no worries with no coolant added, because its pure.

Coolant is only an additive in water for anti boil and anti freeze, and an inhibitor for corrosion.

I would recommend in getting your radiator flushed or rodded to get the best flow, because even partial blockage will cause the temp to rise. I found that out when it was about 25% blocked.

yeh i know never to top up your radiator with tap water. i have a bottle of distilled in my car anyway. my mum is really big on cracked heads and she just goes crazy when it comes to cooling the car. she even wants me to buy a brand spanking new radiator and im like wtf?

Coolant is used to stop water boiling off at the hottest parts around the combustion chamber, this causes 'hot spot' corrosion. This is why most modern cars use 50% clycol when water conducts heat better. A radiator/ cooling system temp guage show normal but the water is boiling off at the hottest points then mixing. The more power the greater the problem. There should be no voltage to conduct in a cooling system, if there is we call it 'stray current' and it will eat your head out fast no matter what coolant or water you use, it is caused by faults in the earthing circuits of the electrical system. We only use deminerilised because its pure as soon after its in the radiator its 'minerilised'.
Steve

When 4wdin' your temp will rise abit... my car has temp issues in hot weather, but when off road the most i've had it rise so far it a little above half way up the gauge, i haven't worried about it cos i know the 4wd works the engine harder due to the bit of wind up that occurs.

I've blown the side out of my radiator before (plastic fatigue i think) and found that the bottom 2cm was full of dirt, cleaned that out and my really bad temp problem dropped to an occasional temp problem...

Hope this helps.