Shogun....reasons for 'intermittent' overheating....

Any obvious reason why a 1994 Shogun would *occasionally* overheat when
driving at 70mph? Sometimes it does. Sometimes it doesn't. It did last
night when driving ten miles along a dual-carriageway. It didn't quite
reach the red, but it wasn't far off at all. I panicked and dropped my
speed dramatically until I could get off the road. I noticed the heater
was blowing cold air into the vehicle despite the worryingly high
temperature.

The temperature went down a little when I let it stand ticking over. I
started back on trunk roads and went 40mph all the way home in fifth gear
(to keep the revs low). This was sufficient to bring the temperature down
to normal (halfway up the gauge) and the heater started blowing out warm
air again.

This morning, for the first time since I've had it (nine months and used
daily), it wouldn't start. Not even turning over. I push the transfer
lever into 4x4 (Ordinary driving) position, and then it started. I put it
back into 2 wheel mode and it's fine. I've just driven up the
dual-carriageway and it's *not* overheating. Weird!

The oil level is fine, it's not wanting water, etc. A very well
maintained vehicle overall that really did me justice on the recent snow
and ice covered roads (regular cars simply can't get up the hill) so I
hope this isn't ominous of a serious problem.
--
Lee John Moore

On Tue, 03 Feb 2004 12:56:42 +0000, Lee John Moore wrote:
//
> The oil level is fine, it's not wanting water, etc. A very well
> maintained vehicle overall that really did me justice on the recent snow
> and ice covered roads (regular cars simply can't get up the hill) so I
> hope this isn't ominous of a serious problem.

Oh erm, this got worse and I'm suspected more than the worse. When the
engine is idle, smoke starts billowing out the back and when I'm climbing
hills it starts overheating. When I went to re-start it, it just made a
'clunk' noise. I had to roll it forward in gear slightly and then it
started by ignition. The heater has also stopped blowing warm air into
the car again.

My Dad's suspecting a cylinder head gasket problem. Thankfully I can get
the job done without labour costs, but still expensive.

--
Lee John Moore
"All thinking men are atheists." - Ernest Hemingway

I've had a shogun myself for almost a year now, and had similar overheating
problems though not to do with the internal heater, I eventually traced it
down to a leaky rad cap, although it looked fine and I didn't seem to be
losing any water, I was actually losing pressure.

As to your other problems it does sound as though you may have cooked the
engine, but not knowing if you have a diesel or petrol model there could be
a number of causes.

Hope this helps.

On Wed, 04 Feb 2004 15:13:48 +0000, Ian Moore wrote:

> I've had a shogun myself for almost a year now, and had similar
> overheating problems though not to do with the internal heater, I
> eventually traced it down to a leaky rad cap, although it looked fine and
> I didn't seem to be losing any water, I was actually losing pressure.
>
> As to your other problems it does sound as though you may have cooked the
> engine, but not knowing if you have a diesel or petrol model there could
> be a number of causes.

Thanks. It's diesel. I'm relying on one of my Father's mechanics to come
and take a look at it so I'm in suspense in the meantime.

It loses water and the grey/white smoke comes out of the back when it's
idly ticking over. I've not started it since yesterday (and don't intend
to until it's been looked at). The odd thing is that, when it's running
it drives fine (no obvious loss of compression or anything) except when
going uphill when it starts to overheat or when standing still due to the
smoke pouring out of the back. The only other thing is that, when turned
off, it seems to slip into straight into any gear you desire (no clutch
depression required or anything). I'm sure it wasn't like that before.

--
Lee John Moore
"All thinking men are atheists." - Ernest Hemingway

"Lee John Moore" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news[email protected]...
> Any obvious reason why a 1994 Shogun would *occasionally* overheat when
> driving at 70mph? Sometimes it does. Sometimes it doesn't. It did last
> night when driving ten miles along a dual-carriageway. It didn't quite
> reach the red, but it wasn't far off at all.

snip

When I had a similar problem it turned out to be a cracked cylinder head.
Howver it misbehaved on and off for several months before getting really
noticable.

Tony

One may as well begin with TMC's letter to the newsgroup:
//
>
> When I had a similar problem it turned out to be a cracked cylinder head.
> Howver it misbehaved on and off for several months before getting really
> noticable.

Likewise, mine had misbehaved for months before the major event happened.
I'm just glad it didn't cause more serious engine damage during that time.
A cooked engine was my worst case scenario really, and I had visions of
it being scrapped, but thankfully I've only had to pay for parts and
head skimming (£400 in total) and slipped the mechanic (my Dad's
colleague) £100 for doing it during lulls at work. He only asked for
£50 but considering the money I'd saved if I'd taken it to a garage, I
thought what the hell.

We took a good look at the engine last year after it was bought (we
recovered it as a stolen vehicle and got it really cheap from the former
owner's insurance company) and discovered it had had a new engine block
during the time it had been running stolen (two years!). The mechanic
discovered that cheap crap gaskets had been used when it was put back
together. I only ordered a half-set of gaskets but they accidentally sent
a full set for the lower price, so we're going to see about applying the
rest in a few weeks just for the hell of it.

In a couple of months, once my bank balance recovers, I'm thinking of
getting a second (SWB this time) 4x4 to **** about with on nearby 4x4
tracks. My Dad's Isuzu Trooper hardly ever breaks down despite ten years
of dragging cars out of fields, ponds, etc., on pretty much a weekly
basis, yet the engine is reliable (despite the high mileage) and sound. I
wonder if it's a one off or whether Isuzu are generally *that* reliable.
--
Lee J. Moore