jbr
Newbie
Posts: 5 
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Post by jbr on Jul 3, 2015 17:31:59 GMT -5
Good afternoon everyone! I've been doing hours and hours of research to find a similar experience, but nothing has come up, with the exception of a possible trans fluid issue. This is my first post on the forum, and I'm grateful for the resource. Thank in advance for reading and/or responding.
Ok, down to the skinny of the problem...
2000 Montero Sport XLS 4wd (3.0L)
When operating in 4wd on an incline, the temp gauge climbs. I never let it get to the high end of the scale, but it has certainly reached just above the 3/4 area of the temp range. This happens whether in 4H, or 4L, with the A/T switch ON or OFF. In 2wd, no overheating, even with the A/C on.
Anyone ever heard of something like this?? I can pull a small trailer over the mountain in 2wd (Oregon coast area) with zero temp issues. Coolant is nice and green, vehicle has been meticulously maintained, with the exception of some pretty dirty trans fluid. I've been recently reading that these vehicles are sensitive to poor fluid quality, so I wanted to check the forum to get a little more info before moving forward.
Thanks again in advance,
JBR
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Post by jkdv8 on Jul 3, 2015 20:00:18 GMT -5
Yea wheeling is hard on the cooling system. Make sure your fans are working right. If the clutch fails on the main fan it will overheat without a good airflow. Also I believe the electric one should kick on when it gets to a certain temp. Could have air trapped in the cooling system, sticking thermostat, or a block/clogged/dented radiator. Do you have lights or anything blocking the grill openings? Make sure the fluids and oil are fresh all around. There was something I read on here however that talked about the coolant sensors. There are actually two, one that the dash gauge uses and a separate one for the PCM. If you have an obll reader duplicate the scenario and look at the coolant temp (separate sensor) reading. Some have had the gauge read hot even though it wasn't overheating. Proceed with caution however.
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Post by ES_97Sport on Jul 6, 2015 14:34:35 GMT -5
... When operating in 4wd on an incline, the temp gauge climbs. I never let it get to the high end of the scale, but it has certainly reached just above the 3/4 area of the temp range. This happens whether in 4H, or 4L, with the A/T switch ON or OFF. In 2wd, no overheating, even with the A/C on. ... Welcome! Oh, yea!  In the order I would check ... 1) Air in the cooing system. Improperly or not bled cooling system. Follow the instructions in the FSMs. This is easy, quick and requires one wrench. You can usually tell this is an issue because you'll hear gurgling in the dash when you use the cab heater. 2) Blocked and/or restricted air flow. This is where I'd start. Exactly the problem I was having years ago - and BTW, #1 on the list of overheating problems with OHVs. The A/C condenser sits in front of the radiator which doesn't help things. Over the years its gets packed with bugs, debris, dirt, etc. restricting air flow to the radiator. The same thing happens to the radiator further restricting air flow. BECAUSE this is a low speed issue, it is almost certainly an air flow issue. Solution: Pull the radiator and condenser. Replace the condenser - its extremely hard to clean and very easy to damage in the process. For the cost, its cheaper and safer to just replace it. Take the radiator to the local car wash and FROM THE BACK (fan) SIDE use a high pressure sprayer and the engine degreaser to flush the crud back out the front (bumper) side. Bring LOTS of quarters. BTW, there will be a lot of crud you can't see in the fins and also between the condenser and radiator without disassembling everything. There's no way to 'check' this, you just need to do it. The radiator is not hard to remove and install. Couple hours to remove, clean and install. 3) Crudded up cooling system. There are no known issues with what coolant is run. Just that you run the proper ratio and don't mix the new stuff with the stuff we're supposed to run. If you're towing, I strongly suggest running a bottle of BG's BeCool. This is NOT a fix - it just improves cooling and antifreeze life. I use this in my big Sport and have for years and year - makes a difference. Cooling system flush - which should be done per owner's manual specs anyway. 4) Clutch fan clutch. Given the age, possible. I've never had a Sport one die but others have. There's not really any way to test this. Replace it. If that fixes it, then that was it. 5) Water pump. If its not leaking then it's probably not this. However, I did have a problem with one a few years ago. Replaced the pump and the problem went away. Neither the Mitsu techs nor I could figure out what or why. I don't know where you got this but its flat not true. ANY vehicle will have problems with cooling if the wrong ratio is used or the antifreeze is shot. The 3.0L and 3.5L do not suffer from that any more or less than any other engine. <edit> Dang. Almost forgot. 6) Make sure you're not running low grade unleaded. Should be mid-grade. In 4WD LO, timing goes up because of the gearing change. If you're running low-grade you could be seeing detonation which will drastically raise engine temps - besides doing other very bad things to your engine. <edit> Edward |
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jbr
Newbie
Posts: 5
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Post by jbr on Oct 11, 2015 2:58:39 GMT -5
UPDATE:
Sorry for the long delay in updating. The fix was simple. Replaced the fan clutch, runs as cool as a cucumber now.
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Post by jkdv8 on Oct 11, 2015 15:11:39 GMT -5
Glad you got it straightened out.
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Post by dirk on Oct 11, 2015 19:19:48 GMT -5
Love hearing when people here get things fixxed. And no one here has ever given the duhhhh response when answering questions. Sometimes I just troll the boards hoping I can give back a little of the knowledge that I have learned since joining these boards.
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Post by ES_97Sport on Oct 12, 2015 14:51:26 GMT -5
UPDATE: Sorry for the long delay in updating. The fix was simple. Replaced the fan clutch, runs as cool as a cucumber now. Good to hear! But ... ARG!!! I HATE those things!!! On my top ten list of part I'd wished where never created.  Edward |
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