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AW4 in THICK sand

P

Pharaoh XJ

NAXJA Forum User
Location
Cairo, EGYPT
Yesterday I went on trip in the desert & i had to do around 20 miles in very thick sand, I was in second gear around 2000 to 2500 rpm with aux fan all the time, going 25 mph with an outside temp 60 F.

I couldnt stop it from overheating the needdel was climbing untill i had to stop to cool it down a bit.

I was driving in D , in that case is it better to lock the torque converter or let it slip ??

All the guys were driving diesel land cruisers, they said i needed an ENGINE OIL COOLER, I know there are tranny coolers available, has anybody tried an engine oil cooler ?
 
Yeah, I've heard of them - theres one i know that mounts around the oil filter adapter...

I'll see if I can find it...

However...your AW4 "transmission cooler" runs thru your radiator right now (unless you have an auxillary one) - so, if you were really pushing your tranny, it could have heated the fluid up high, which in turn would have put more strain on your radiator, which would have impeded your cooling ability for your engine...

You can also try some products like water wetter or purple ice, which are antifreeze additives that help with cooling to a degree...

Again, I'll see if I can find that oil cooler....
 
purple ice works great water wetter not so much just my opinion after trying both the purple ice was head and shoulders above
 
Definately get a tranny cooler. I'm in the sand a lot, and the tranny cooler helps cool everything down.

Make sure you're cooling system is 110% as well.
 
93XJLI said:
Make sure you're cooling system is 110% as well.
Click to expand...

thats the most important thing.... low speed overheating makes me think you might have a bad mechanical fan clutch. auxiliary trany cooler in front of the radiator is, in my opinion, a required mod for any trauil-driven rig. engine oil cooler is a good idea but i doubt it it will solve any problem for you. 2500 RPM isnt really that high, oil tends to retain more heat from sustained high RPM like racing applications.
 
SnagglePuss said:
Wow. Words strung together.
Click to expand...

You must be new here :) wait til you see a 24 line paragraph with no capital letters and NO punctuation....thats when it gets fun. You get out of breath trying to read it.
 
Pharaoh XJ said:
Yesterday I went on trip in the desert & i had to do around 20 miles in very thick sand, I was in second gear around 2000 to 2500 rpm with aux fan all the time, going 25 mph with an outside temp 60 F.

I couldnt stop it from overheating the needdel was climbing untill i had to stop to cool it down a bit.

I was driving in D , in that case is it better to lock the torque converter or let it slip ??

All the guys were driving diesel land cruisers, they said i needed an ENGINE OIL COOLER, I know there are tranny coolers available, has anybody tried an engine oil cooler ?
Click to expand...
What gears,tires,and psi?
 
A BIG tranny cooler should be one of your first modifications if you intend to wheel an AW4.
 
3 Core Rad. Electric Fans. Tranny Cooler.
 
sidriptide said:
thats the most important thing.... low speed overheating makes me think you might have a bad mechanical fan clutch. auxiliary trany cooler in front of the radiator is, in my opinion, a required mod for any trauil-driven rig.
Click to expand...

QFT.

This past summer I was on the beach in 90 degree heat, 4 people in the XJ, A/C on, 20 PSI in the tires (usually I go a bit lower if I'm out there all day).

Never went above 210, and the only aftermarket cooling I have is a CSF 3-row rad and a tranny cooler.
 
defnitely grab the largest tranny cooler that you can find. oil cooler wouldn't hurt, but I'd be willing to bet that it was the tranny that was causing the overheating. I'd change the tranny fluid if I were you!!

Also, you probably want to have it in 4lo when you're running through deep sand and keep the rpms up high. your motor won't have to work as hard when in 4lo.

lastly, although you said that the aux fan was on the whole time, wiring a relay and switch so that you can run the aux fan on constant will help. Here in new england I used to overheat on trail runs from lack of airflow, just from stopping and slow speeds, no airflow going through the radiator, ya know. I had an aux tranny cooler, but after i wired in a manual switch for the aux fan and kept it on all the time, i never get hot anymore, always runs real cool in the harshest of conditions, heat, and abuse.

you could also look into venting the engine compartment, removing the rubber gasket at the back of the hood lets some heat escape, or you can put spacers on the hinges which raises the back of the hood and lets heat out......although I don't know how good of an idea that would be for you in the desert with all that sand blowing around?? Just some suggestions though.
 
ECKSJAY said:
I have one on my roof.
Click to expand...

That is becasue you are so very special. :clap:

I think I will move mine under the carriage, with a nice fan to suck air.
 
Specs:
94 XJ AW4 3.55 TracLoc 8.25" ,235s @ 20psi

I have the fan override switch.
Had hoodspacers for a while but took them off (thought they were dangerous)
I dont know about 4LO but I dont think this going to help me drop the RPM too much
This is very thick sand I m talking about the kind that if you loose inertia your STUCK
As for my fan clutch it is funtional

I couldnt determine which was the source of overheating is it the engine or the tranny ?

any opinions on this tranny + engine cooler + filter relocator http://store.summitracing.com/partdetail.asp?part=SUM%2DG4978&view=1&N=700+150+
 
It's always good to have a tranny cooler. The trans can heat up when the torque converter isn't locked up, which happens all the time when off roading. Running through soft sand or up steep hills at slow speeds is hard on a tranny and they will heat up.

As far as the engine temp climbing, keeping the trans fluid cooler will help, but the real issue is that your cooling system is not up to snuff. I'd pull the radiator to have it checked and make sure the fan clutch is working as it should. One of those two things is the likely problem.
 
mjma said:
Also, you probably want to have it in 4lo when you're running through deep sand and keep the rpms up high. your motor won't have to work as hard when in 4lo.
Click to expand...
Definately not. Rev it up and you'll sink in no time, keep it in 4HI and stay in the torque band, and go smoooooooooth. Flotation is what you need. I can run my 31x10.5 BFG ATs at street pressure (35 PSI) on the LI sand and have NO problems whatsover. They're on a 7" wide rim so I have a bit of ballooning to keep flotation up.

When weighted down with gear and people, I drop to 10 PSI. And if its just me air waaaay down, with the locker in 2wd I'll walk up and down the beach.
 
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