Date:         Sun, 1 Jul 2012 11:27:58 -0700
Reply-To:     Poppie Jagersand <poppie.jagersand@YAHOO.CA>
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         Poppie Jagersand <poppie.jagersand@YAHOO.CA>
Subject:      BC trip aborted after 300km :( :( . 1.9l TD engine runs hot.
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Unfortunately we didn't get far into our BC trip yesterday. Left Edmonton and headed south on the expressway against a 20-30km wind (15-20mph). Outside was pretty hot by Canadian standards at 25-30C. I was driving 90-100km/h (55-60mph) and the wind made that require 30-35kw, so about 30-40% more than if no wind.

About 70km into the trip the temp gauge started creeping up about 1/8 more on the scale. (How to express this better? There are no marking s on the scale other than the ends and the LED in the middle).

Engine is a 1.9l Turbo Diesel IDI with 60,000km on it. I have an exhaust gas thermometer (EGT) between the manifold and turbo. EGT readings were quite normal at 400C and would climb towards 500C in headwind gusts. I've driven this van in the mountains before and haven't had an overheat problem driving uphill at sustained 500-550C EGT. (Temp gauge needle would not move a visible amount)

Another 20 or so km into the trip the temp gauge moved yet higher, from 1/8 over normal to 1/4 over normal. I dropped the speed to about 80km/h (50mph), which seemed to help a bit, but not bring temp down to normal.

We pulled off the highway onto what we thought would be a quiet country road and stopped, but turned out there were lots of big pickup trucks swishing by so not a good place to stop. Pulled onto highway again to next exit, and finally found a quiet parking lot and some welcome shade behind the Lacombe county offices.

Checked for air in radiator by running engine at 2000rpm and opening rad bleeder screw. No sign of air.

Opened back hatch. No sign of air or bubbles in the pressure tank either. Had the expected amount of coolant for hot engine in the overflow tank. There were no signs of coolant having overflowed in the previous hwy

Rad fan came on on low as usual after a few minutes of engine on while standing.

Pressure in cooling system seemed lower than usual when I squeezed the octopus hose with engine idling.

Stopped the engine with hatch open while we picknicked so the engine could cool down. On cool down coolant was sucked back from overflow tank into cooling system as usual. There were no signs of

I didn't see any leaks at that time, or hear anything suspicious, so had no good hypothesis of what could have gone wrong. We decided to go home. For some fun for the kids we went by the miniature railroad that the crafty members of the Lacombe Vintage Machinery Club had put together, then home to Edmonton.

On the way home in the evening the wind died down, and temps dropped from over 30C to 24C. The Diesel engine still ran a bit hotter than usual, but not alarming. With no head wind any more and only moderate hills I had no way of testing it mid rpm at full power/torque. Driving as fast as traffic permitted, 100-110km/h would not cause overheating, but at these higher rpm more coolant is circulated,

Came home about 9PM. Still a little light outside so idled engine. Temp settled to normal. Now I noticed a slow drip of coolant from the rear. I suspect it comes from the water pump shaft. It is hard to see with the engine installed as it is close to the muffler on the Diesel (and I use a wide 6x9" muffler in place of the round one.) However I didn't see any leaks from hoses or thermostat (which are better visible). Also heard irregular sounds which I thought were the water pump bearing.

So looks like I'm in for a water pump replacement. Searched garage and found a spare water pump and thermostat with respective gaskets. Looks like I can get to it even though we have an extended weekend in Canada. (Wife had feared delay through next week while waiting for parts.)

I also have some technical questions which I posted separately under "Questions: 1.9l Turbo Diesel Westy running hot. Weak cooling?"

Thanks,
Martin (and Diesel Westy 1.9l TD "Poppie")