vn s1 v6 in hiace overheating.

[thek]

first i'd like to say this forum has been great for me to learn about the engine in my new van.

you guys seems to know whats up with the vn v6 so i thought i'd throw this one at ya;

the previous owner has installed a thermo fan override switch to keep the thermo on at all times. with this switch on the temp stays at around 85C in normal suburbs type driving.

but as soon as i hit the freeway it starts creeping up to 100C. today while i was driving to a job in Ballarat (with a van full of carpet) on the freeway, the temp went up past 100c and was even pushing 110c, was getting very hot in the cabin and am sure it was on its way to overheating. backed off the speed a little and the temp comes down accordingly.

the radiator is standard hiace i believe, on lpg, with 3.58 diff

so you guys reckon its just a case; of too small radiator/too much revs/too much weight/bad wind resistance etc for the motor or could it be something else?

any ideas would be greatly appreciated.

thanks.

[savage1987]

I'd get the thermo fan put on a temp setting if you can..

apart from that (should have no impact at high speed anyway) what rpm does it cruise at?

crappy airflow in a van

check coolant level, thermostat functioning, all usual suspects.. if you're really stumped go to a radiator joint and ask for a free checkup, might get lucky

[VrWagz1]

The hilux's normally come with 4 cylinders, my guess is the radiator is way to small for the v6. Id be looking at making some brackets up and fitting the standard vn/r v6 radiator and thermo fan.

I'd also be looking at rigging up thermo switch to if ya can for the fan, not to hard to do if you got a bit of elec knowledge, if not see a radiator joint, they usually got some sort of pre-made units you just bolt in to operate thermos.

[thek]

I'd get the thermo fan put on a temp setting if you can..

apart from that (should have no impact at high speed anyway) what rpm does it cruise at?

crappy airflow in a van

check coolant level, thermostat functioning, all usual suspects.. if you're really stumped go to a radiator joint and ask for a free checkup, might get lucky

will check the thermostat, coolant levels are ok

cruises at;

2000 rpm at 98kph
2250 rpm at 110kp/h

usually im somewhere in between those two.

i forgot to mention that if i keep the thermo fan switch off, the thermo operates as normal (comes on at around 100c and switches off around 95c) thats normal isnt it?

for me this happens after driving for 20 min or so in all weather conditions at all speeds (but gets hot quick at freeway speed). does that happen with your cars? or does the thermo come on only if your sitting in traffic on a hot day etc?

thanks

[savage1987]

ok yea so the fan does work.. good

those rpms sound ok, not revving too much at all.

I'd say it's airflow.

Thermo only comes on in commos (if at all) in traffic on v hot days. And if anything it should cool right down at freeway speeds.. I'd say vrwagz was spot on with the radiator thing.

[pow3rslave]

could it be that the radiator height is different to in the commodore, so air pockets are collecting differently? i know this was a problem in the vl's but don't know if they had a bleed screw.