Gq (intercooler) overheating probs

Submitted: Wednesday, May 14, 2003 at 18:52
ThreadID: 4912 Views:3212 Replies:7 FollowUps:4
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Just a quick question to find out if anyone with a Safari intercooler on Gq trayback (or the like) is experiencing probs with engine overheating? Thinking of fitting one to mine, but have heard reports of problems...
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Reply By: Flash - Wednesday, May 14, 2003 at 19:33

Wednesday, May 14, 2003 at 19:33
No probs IF everything else is up to scratch, ie: you need a good thermostat, good radiator (not corroded fins or blocked) and your viscous fan needs to be working well (ie: cutting in when your donk gets hot.
I have no probs at all- no more than non-turbo mates!
AnswerID: 20056

Reply By: Member -BJ (Sydney) - Wednesday, May 14, 2003 at 19:36

Wednesday, May 14, 2003 at 19:36
Muzza i run trucks & this happens if radiator is blocked or to lower a capacity so if you fit one it is good insurance to have radiator pulled out & checked by specialist at same timeWish i was still here / Gulf in July
AnswerID: 20057

Reply By: Truckster (Vic) - Wednesday, May 14, 2003 at 20:38

Wednesday, May 14, 2003 at 20:38
GQs with Turbos and overheating. intercooler wont make it overheat... Snails usually do. Its common specially once you put a snail on.

I spent over $1000 chasing mine, to the point the car was nearly up forsale.

new 3 core radiator, themo fan, radiator capS, water pump, hoses, thermostat, temp guage sender, everything but the temp guage on the dash!!!

The clutch fan is a problem usually.

The issue is the radiator, which is ONLY JUST big enough, thats why the latest intercooled GU has the 4.8 radiator
AnswerID: 20062

Follow Up By: Member - Martyn (WA) - Wednesday, May 14, 2003 at 21:51

Wednesday, May 14, 2003 at 21:51
Truckster,
Maybe it was a bad three core I had but I had to take it out and put the two core back in again, with the air con rad and the three core the engine got hot when towing, I'd checked all the usual things, fan, thermostat etc etc but the engine ran cooler and has been really good with a genuine replacement aftermarket 2 core if there is such a thing, a guy at our club has also gone back to a 2 core rad and he has an intercooler. I'm running a really cool thermostat 73 I think. The three core I had had a problem with the neck height where the rad cap locates, it was two mm shallower than the original rad which in turn raised the cooling system pressure higher than the hose clips could contain I never found out how high the pressure got but some of the tubes (4) in the rad expanded and crushed the fins, as I mentioned earlier I think / know I had a bad three core rad, it was made in Taiwan, I now have an Australian ADRAD fitted. Keep the shiny side up
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FollowupID: 12796

Follow Up By: Member - Martyn (WA) - Wednesday, May 14, 2003 at 21:57

Wednesday, May 14, 2003 at 21:57
I also took the ruddy great NISSAN badge off the front, that takes away 17% of the cooling efficiency I've been told, I wasn't smoking anything and hadn't drunk much when I was told either. Keep the shiny side up
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FollowupID: 12798

Follow Up By: Truckster (Vic) - Wednesday, May 14, 2003 at 22:10

Wednesday, May 14, 2003 at 22:10
Dont worry I was told the same thing 17% of air flow is blocked by it.

mine went 12 mths ago!
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FollowupID: 12799

Reply By: Rob - Wednesday, May 14, 2003 at 22:02

Wednesday, May 14, 2003 at 22:02
Safari Intercooler is about 3 inches thick and restricts airflow to a large percentage of the cooling surface area of the radiator. Add to that the engine is now producing more heat due to the greater power output. It stands to reason your capacity to keep the engine cool will be diluted.

Ours will creep up noticeably on steep hills, especially when towing. I have taken to dropping down a gear or two sometimes and this helps a lot. Also, the cooling fan should be checked. Just had a tune-up at Berrima and they refilled with oil stating they see a lot that aren't functioning as they should.

Be aware that as you are hooting up these hills in 5th building up heat, other naturally aspirated diesels are nearly out of site behind you down 2 gears. If you went up in 3rd as slow as they do (which isn't any fun), you probably wouldn't build up any heat so it is relative.

rob
AnswerID: 20074

Reply By: Truckster (Vic) - Wednesday, May 14, 2003 at 22:13

Wednesday, May 14, 2003 at 22:13
If your looking for THE best intercooler there is $1800 fitted, goes across headlight to headlight.
Safari ones are too small.

Total4wd in Epping Vic does them.

They work that well, that the in-side is HOT, the return is VERY COLD...

Awill4x4 on this list also makes intercoolers, over the engine type like GU 3.0, but very similar to the DTS system. uses a GU bonnet scoop, ($100), and not sure on cost of the intercooler, but they are heaps more efficent than the Safari would be at a guess, going on size, and thickness. Awill also has a GQ!
AnswerID: 20077

Reply By: John Boy - Thursday, May 15, 2003 at 10:16

Thursday, May 15, 2003 at 10:16
I am toying with ideas in relation to intercooling my 4.2TD. My engine has 320,000k on it and has been running fine, turbo only. At one stage it was getting on the hot side so I put more fluid in the viscous fan cluch. This helped but didnt solve the problem completely. Next I had my local radiator guy build me a three core radiator (cost $550). Since then it has run very cold, so much so that I took fluid out of the fan cluch to free it up. I guess the three core radiator that 'Truckster' got was a dud. Now it runs fine but I am starting to get ideas about upping the performance.
Due to the number of KM's I am not sure if this is a good idea. As it stands the turbo runs low boost, around 7psi I think. From what I can gather, simply fitting an intercooler on its won't do much—if anything. The extra plumbing of the IC adds restriction and looses boost—in theory this will negate whatever density is gained by cooling the air. As far as I understand the boost needs to be turned up and fuel added to deliver a decent increase in performance.
What I am trying to figure is whether upping the boost to 10 or 11 psi and adding the IC to cool the air will increase the stress on the old 4.2D. Yes the intake air will be cooler with a well designed IC, but to put out more horsepower the old engine be creating more heat and therefore suffer from a shorter lifespan — that is my guess???
The alternative route I am looking at is just making the most out of the 4.2 turbo diesel, ie: good airflow, bigger exaust etc. At least these mods won't over stress the old girl.
Am I going down the right track with this?
Intercooling can make big horsepower but not without upping boost and increasing engine stress — therefor reducing engine life???
AnswerID: 20103

Reply By: Wazza (Vic) - Friday, May 16, 2003 at 03:33

Friday, May 16, 2003 at 03:33
Just as an aside, a pyrometer is a good idea to preempt the overheating up hills, or when towing, allowing you to change down or slow down. It measures exhaust gas temp just after the turbo and it will go up heaps and a long way before you will see any movement in the water temp gauge. Cheap insurance as a cooked motor would be $$$$. Especially critical when you change stuff like boost and add intercoolers. I got mine from the States for around $180. Exhaust guy fitted it for free a while after I got the 3" put on. Talked a bit about it on post 3527. Looks like this:

http://www.egauges.com/vdo_mult.asp?Type=Pyrometer&Series=Ultra-Lite

Talked a bit about it on post 3527

Got mine from the US, as they are about $500 in Oz ($200ish gauge and $300ish sender from Autobarn). They are here for US$109 to show you how much we get ripped off:
http://fu#ck#enfast.com/parts/autometer/

remove the #'s around the #ck# - got to love the name of the site! Lots of other cools stuff there as well.

I get 400-600°F around town(it goes up and down as you accelerate), 600° at 110kmh on flat and it rises up to 1100°F up hills at 100kmh in 5th gear. I think around 1300°F is a critical limit on a turbo deisel. Doesn't really matter if it is in °F, as long as you know what is too hot for your donk. I keep an eye on mine when it goes over vertical, or around 900-1000°F. Also, I don't turn the car off unless the temp is below around 300°F. (a minute or so after normal driving, so this is usally taken care of by the turbo timer).

Truckster, you got off your bum and got yours in yet?Cheers,
Wazza
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AnswerID: 20175

Follow Up By: Wazza (Vic) - Friday, May 16, 2003 at 03:37

Friday, May 16, 2003 at 03:37
Did I mention 3527? Dunno how that happened.Cheers,
Wazza
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FollowupID: 12909

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