Series 3 new rad cap or just over zealous

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S

suburban

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w sussex
took the 3 (2.286 na diesel)' on a long trip to Exeter, daughter at the wheel sat nav showing 65 - i was gobsmacked and bricking it - with od engaged (7.50) wheels.

noticed brown liquid running along the passenger wing top so we hit the hard shoulder.

coolant bubbling out the rad cap.

made her stick to 50 and it stopped, got there hadn't lost much fluid and temperature stayed normal.

so do I need a new cheap as chips rad cap or was she just pushing it too hard?
 
suburban said:
took the 3 (2.286 na diesel)' on a long trip to Exeter, daughter at the wheel sat nav showing 65 - i was gobsmacked and bricking it - with od engaged (7.50) wheels.

noticed brown liquid running along the passenger wing top so we hit the hard shoulder.

coolant bubbling out the rad cap.

made her stick to 50 and it stopped, got there hadn't lost much fluid and temperature stayed normal.

so do I need a new cheap as chips rad cap or was she just pushing it too hard?
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New cap. It shouldn't overheat even if driven flat out all day, landrovers were designed to do that.
 
Turboman said:
New cap. It shouldn't overheat even if driven flat out all day, landrovers were designed to do that.
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wasn't overheating, just pushing coolant out of the cap at high speed. New cap on order

Blackburn said:
Run the engine with rad cap off to see if any air being pushed through rad , possible head gasket failure.
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hope she hasn't buggered the gasket, if she has I shall try and pick up a 2.25 petrol engine and swap it back to petrol given the stick diesels are getting and it smokes like a trooper :D, always has. going off the chassis number it was originally petrol. I shall give it a check when she brings it back in a few weeks assuming she has no problems down there with it.
 
rob1miles said:
Give it a good flush too as the high(!) speed run may have dislodged a lot of gunk in the block. Will probably run better from now on...
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hope so, has never run badly just always been smokey, you don't want to be standing close to the exhaust when it fires up on a cold day though :D

heater has always been warm as toast too
 
A standard 2.25 diesel was never designed to be thrashed at anything higher than 50 mph. What do you expect? It's an engine designed from the early 1960's with earlier design history.A new radiator cap costs about £5.00 including postage. A refurbished diesel or petrol top overhead will cost £400.
 
suburban said:
wasn't overheating, just pushing coolant out of the cap at high speed. New cap on order



hope she hasn't buggered the gasket, if she has I shall try and pick up a 2.25 petrol engine and swap it back to petrol given the stick diesels are getting and it smokes like a trooper :D, always has. going off the chassis number it was originally petrol. I shall give it a check when she brings it back in a few weeks assuming she has no problems down there with it.
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If the engine is in good condition, driving it hard will do no harm, the engines were designed to be driven hard, and to operate in very hot conditions. A diesel is meant to be operated at high throttle settings, and can not over rev, because it is governed.

The head gaskets will fail after a certain mileage, but 2.25 are less prone to head gasket failure than 2.5.

And injector service might deal with the smoking.
 
John S said:
A standard 2.25 diesel was never designed to be thrashed at anything higher than 50 mph. What do you expect? It's an engine designed from the early 1960's with earlier design history.A new radiator cap costs about £5.00 including postage. A refurbished diesel or petrol top overhead will cost £400.
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I have to agree with @Turboman as well. My series 3 with the same set up (7.5o tyres and O.D) will happily sit all day at 65 on the motorway until it gets to a hill. I have never had any problems. I have also always been taught/believed that any diesel engine was supposed to be worked hard at 3/4+ capacity by design and sitting tickling it along at low load and low revs is more damaging in the long run.
 
dag019 said:
I have to agree with @Turboman as well. My series 3 with the same set up (7.5o tyres and O.D) will happily sit all day at 65 on the motorway until it gets to a hill. I have never had any problems. I have also always been taught/believed that any diesel engine was supposed to be worked hard at 3/4+ capacity by design and sitting tickling it along at low load and low revs is more damaging in the long run.
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Even more so with modern engines, running low revs all the time contributes to the clogging up of DPFs.
It is a problem, cars designed to do 120 mph, and roads only allowing walking pace most of the time.
Fortunately, a Series can be driven at maximum power a lot of the time. :D
 
I find Henry’s diesel engine is fine as long as I stay under 95. It has however got a duckegg blue oil filter cover. I’m sure I remember seeing a radiator anorl but can’t remember if it has a cap fitted.
 
tottot said:
Brown gunge coming out,a good flush and new coolant needed [not just water ] at least.
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it isn't gungey, just brown water. the bits that I can see seem to be gunge free and I cleaned out the heater valve a few years ago when I replaced the water pump, clean water with blue antifreeze seems to just turn brown after a few days
 
suburban said:
it isn't gungey, just brown water. the bits that I can see seem to be gunge free and I cleaned out the heater valve a few years ago when I replaced the water pump, clean water with blue antifreeze seems to just turn brown after a few days
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I find the same thing, even after using various flushing/cleaning products it doe snot seem to stay blue for very long!
 
Sorry guys but I totally disagree with your comments on original spec engines. I've got a 2.25 petrol with overdrive. It's reconditioned Turner engine. I'd never contemplate driving on a motorway with a 30+ year old vehicle that struggles to cruise at plus 50 mph, yeah you can push it harder but it's simply not designed for that kind of sustained speed.
 
John S said:
Sorry guys but I totally disagree with your comments on original spec engines. I've got a 2.25 petrol with overdrive. It's reconditioned Turner engine. I'd never contemplate driving on a motorway with a 30+ year old vehicle that struggles to cruise at plus 50 mph, yeah you can push it harder but it's simply not designed for that kind of sustained speed.
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So what you disagreeing with. That they wont do 65 or people dont :confused:
 
I certainly had to do a double take on the sat nav, you can't read the speedo at that speed, tired old thing oscillates like mad :D (I know I could renew the cable etc)

wouldn't fancy doing an emergency stop in a series at that speed on standard brakes, if she is going to keep doing that I may have to treat the truck to a zeus disc kit or similar, at least on the front.

personally I am happy to sit on the motorway at a steady 56 in any car, my days of racing the evo 10 interceptors are long gone :D
 
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