Hi all. I believe I may have finally determined the root cause of the cooling issues I have been having for the past several summers.
Now, let me preface this with explaining that by "cooling issues", I mean the auto fan kicking on at 214. This would really only happen in stop and go traffic on my way home from work. Never in the morning when the ambient temps aren't too hot. Also, it has never to my knowledge, or at least during my ownership, suffered from a major overheat. Fan has always brought temp down to 210.
In an effort to fix the issue I have flushed and cleaned the system. I have replaced the thermostat/temp sensor/Radiator cap/fan clutch. Haven't done the water pump or the radiator.
After doing all this last summer, I still had issues with the system not keeping the Heep at 210. I did notice however, that my coolant reservoir was loosing fluid at what appeared to be an abnormal rate. Cracked head? Nope, oil looks good and no abnormal engine issues.
Fast forward 6mos. I return from a deployment on the dark continent and Heep is dead. New battery (re wiring to follow shortly), and she fires right up and I'm off to work.
I immediately notice the smell of coolant in the Heep. I see vaporized coolant coming from the vents. Heat off, still leaking. Hence the long cold ride to work. I had to leave my windows open so that I wasn't inhaling the vaporized coolant. Heat never worked that well in the Heep. It always seemed colder than it should be when I had been driving for a little bit and the heat had been on for quite some time. Come to think of it, I think that I smelled the coolant before, but it was never this strong.
Now, here is the million dollar question. Is the leaking heater core the cause of my cooling issues? I figured it was a good place to start this year. And once I finally get that tackled I can move on to bigger and better tires and gear ratios. Yay!
So please guys, any thoughtful insight helps. Even a hand with replacing it. Heard its a royal PITA if you've never done it.
Thanks,
Scotty
Now, let me preface this with explaining that by "cooling issues", I mean the auto fan kicking on at 214. This would really only happen in stop and go traffic on my way home from work. Never in the morning when the ambient temps aren't too hot. Also, it has never to my knowledge, or at least during my ownership, suffered from a major overheat. Fan has always brought temp down to 210.
In an effort to fix the issue I have flushed and cleaned the system. I have replaced the thermostat/temp sensor/Radiator cap/fan clutch. Haven't done the water pump or the radiator.
After doing all this last summer, I still had issues with the system not keeping the Heep at 210. I did notice however, that my coolant reservoir was loosing fluid at what appeared to be an abnormal rate. Cracked head? Nope, oil looks good and no abnormal engine issues.
Fast forward 6mos. I return from a deployment on the dark continent and Heep is dead. New battery (re wiring to follow shortly), and she fires right up and I'm off to work.
I immediately notice the smell of coolant in the Heep. I see vaporized coolant coming from the vents. Heat off, still leaking. Hence the long cold ride to work. I had to leave my windows open so that I wasn't inhaling the vaporized coolant. Heat never worked that well in the Heep. It always seemed colder than it should be when I had been driving for a little bit and the heat had been on for quite some time. Come to think of it, I think that I smelled the coolant before, but it was never this strong.
Now, here is the million dollar question. Is the leaking heater core the cause of my cooling issues? I figured it was a good place to start this year. And once I finally get that tackled I can move on to bigger and better tires and gear ratios. Yay!
So please guys, any thoughtful insight helps. Even a hand with replacing it. Heard its a royal PITA if you've never done it.
Thanks,
Scotty
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