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Howdy all,

Bought a 92 l series wagon about 3 months ago with 220 on the clock (getting a bit long in the tooth). Anyway, the deal is the engine seems to idle alright when cold but once warmed up it idles a lot rougher which i find quite odd. Not to mention the difficultly in starting the car sometimes, can take quite a long time to start turning itself over.

Anyway, my main reason for this is i find the temp is very variable. Although it is expected that temperatures change, compares to the 96 liberty i used to drive it is quite dramatic.

Within normal driving conditions (city), the temperature can vary by upwards of 1/5 on the gauge within the space of 30 second. It almost appear arbitrary, havn't really been able to pin it down to any specific driving condition. It maybe raises a wee on idle and perhaps maybe on acceleration sometimes. Either way, it rarely goes about 3/5 of the way up to the start of the red section.

Any answers would be appreciated..

Thanks,

Andrew

yeah my gauge never gets above 1/3 gauge, it is quite normal for the temp to incease a little if idling at the lights ect.

If it changes real suddenly, maybe you have an electrical problem like a high resistance joint, check the temp sensor on the thermostat for green/blue coloured corrosion.

Firstly, 220 000k is nothing to worry about at all. These engines really are amazingly resilient and youthful through to 500 000. My 91 L had 276000 on it when I bought it and it's got 330,000 now with no slowing down. It's everything attached to it that you have to worry about.. power steering pump, water pump, idler pulley...


Option 1 - It all sounds initially like the timing is out. It's a simple test on these subies, not a pain like others that have the timing marking on a pulley between the engine block and the wheel well, so long as you have a timing gun. If it's been set by the previous owner while cold then of course it will run ok cold but be a dog when warmed up. It should run best at 8 degrees BTDC on standard unleaded. Check the other basics while there - distributor rotor, leads & air filter.

Option 2 - The second cause may be that the electric fan isn't working until later (read: hotter) than it should or it might be slower at spinning than it should be. I replaced the electric one on mine last year after doing too many deep water crossings and the motor in it died. Also, it could be the clutch fan isn't spinning - the oil in the clutch section should lock up and spin hard with the engine. I had the oil replaced in it a couple of years ago. A simple job but unlikely to be the cause.

I remember a fellow who had an L-series he bought that didn't even have the clutch fan (engine driven one) and was wondering why it was getting so hot.

I hope yours has both fans on it. Unless, you don't have air con... then you won't have the electric one.

Option 3 - You might find that the thermostat for the coolant is clogged and needs replacing. If it doesn't allow the water to flow and lets the engine warm up too much then it won't idle well. When I bought mine, this was a problem and it was a simple fix. Until then, the temp would go rocketing up at random, then (when it finally opened and allowed flow) it would finally come back down quickly just before going into the red.

Alex

subalex wrote:
I remember a fellow who had an L-series he bought that didn't even have the clutch fan (engine driven one) and was wondering why it was getting so hot.

I hope yours has both fans on it. Unless, you don't have air con... then you won't have the electric one.


Alex

My previously standard non air conditioned L series had the electric fan but no clutch fan. Never got hot.

timmo

I got an air con model.

As for the suggestion, THANKS HEAPS! I'll try em out when i get the time

Cheers everyone