d40 temperature issues

[Old.Tony]

Try this one at Supercheap.

None of them claim to be 100% accurate, but they're reportedly accurate a great deal of the time.

I have a ELM327 Bluetooth adapter (here's one example) that I bought on eBay. Combine that with the Torque app by Ian Hawkins (there's a free 'Lite' version and the full package for a massive $5). It queries the ECU and gets the figures from your car's computer and displays them on your smartphone. It's quite handy! Android only.

 

[matt87]

so I'm waiting for a few funds to come in so i can repair my car and hopefully replace rad with forefront one. While i have been bored i have been researching and without spending money on a test kit just yet wanted to check tell tale signs of a cracked head. I checked coolant for traces of oil, and oil for milky residue and couldn't see any. when i checked radiator for bubbles coolant just overflowed out of the top. Is this normal? sorry for dumb questions

Also my oil dipstick isn't showing a true level i don't think, is not a solid oil line its broken oil marks about 200mm up the dipstick. I've cleaned and tried again several times but just get same thing. what do you guys reckon here?

 

[Old.Tony]

You will only see oil-in-coolant or coolant-in-oil if there's been a breach in the head or head gasket between the water jacket and the oil path. A breach between the combustion chamber and the water jacket, for instance, will pressurise the radiator with exhaust gases but won't contaminate the coolant otherwise.

The expulsion of coolant might indeed be happening because combustion gas is entering the water jacket. You'll be able to tell if you siphon some of the coolant out so that there's just enough to cover the top of the cores, then start the engine. A waterproof inspection camera is handy!

Your dipstick shouldn't appear like that. Oil should be a solid brown-to-black film from the tip to the level it's at unless the oil is contaminated (or the engine is running, or there's a contaminant on the dipstick). Here's something to try: clean the dipstick in petrol, then rinse it in a bit of oil. Run the engine until warm, turn it off, wait 5 minutes then measure the dipstick. How's it look?

If you're still seeing odd patterns on the dipstick you'd have to wonder if there was something in the oil itself that was either partly emulsified (mixed) or being randomly thrown up by the movement of the crankshaft/oil pump. It would then be worth draining part of your sump oil and taking a look at it.

 

[matt87]

Finally got around to checking the oil with your idea tony and no different so I will have to maybe drop the oil and have a look.

I have also replaced rad and all cooling hoses. No overheating now but a foul smell in the cab when I work it hard when towing. Any ideas? It's an egg like smell. Also the cap on rad is pressurised even after not driving it for a couple of days?? And I have a white residue around top of coolant in overflow tank.

I have had 2 different mechanics do a pressure test or a teekay test to check for gases in coolant and both came back all good

Any ideas where to look next to stop smell and pressurising. It doesn't overheat anymore either even under heavy towing

 

[Old.Tony]

The smell isn't good, and I wonder if there's a problem with the heater matrix inside the cabin? There are two hoses heading into the firewall that feed this matrix, disconnect them and join them together with a piece of pipe. If the smell goes then one of two things has occurred:

1) You've stopped the coolant from leaking into the air conditioning system and this no longer get the smell. It means the heater matrix has a leak and needs to be replaced.

2) Something (small animal, insects or just atmospheric moisture and dust etc) on the heater matrix has died and emits the odour when heated. Mechanical removal might be necessary but you might also consider a can of air conditioning cleaner. I've used one in my car and it improves the smell for a good while. Try this one.

If the pressure tests and exhaust gas tests came back good, there's no leak from the combustion chamber but it leaves you wondering where the pressure is coming from.

Here's a thought, Matt. I've just tried checking around the place and can't tell if your car is an auto or not. The auto D40 has a different radiator to the manual - in the bottom of the auto is a transmission cooler. If there's a small leak in that, it might be pumping transmission oil into the coolant.

You can fit an external transmission cooler (I've done this) but I've discovered a caveat with it - my auto transmission doesn't like the cold any more, and my coolant temperature has to be sitting over about 61C before my torque converter will lock up. Fitting the external cooler will remove any possibility of the transmission impacting on the radiator and once you've disconnected the hoses, if you find coolant running out the transmission lines you'll need to do some more work - the transmission will need to be emptied, flushed and refilled.

 

[matt87]

Car is auto tony and the smell happens rarely when under high load, when I'm towing camper up steep hill so could be on the right track with trans. Only started happening since new rad and pipes went in.

How would I check if coolant is in trans lines ? And is there a link to external trans cooler install

 

[Old.Tony]

You could initially just try the auto dipstick and look at the quality of the oil on it. It needs to be a nice clear colour with no cloudiness or milkiness at all. If the dipstick comes out clean, it's probably good - and we're back to wondering where the pressure is coming from.

If there's a hint of trouble on the dipstick you'd have to drain both radiator and transmission. The radiator and the auto box hold about 10 litres of their respective fluids so you'll need a pair of large clean containers to do the job. You don't really want coolant in the auto box and ATF in the coolant system won't do it the world of good (but won't kill it - it will cause some overheating because ATF doesn't flow like coolant).

I wonder if there's an ATF leak on the side of the feed line in the cooler. There shouldn't be any back flow from it - even if the pump's not a one-way unit, ATF might be thick enough to resist coolant flow and a small leak should prevent coolant finding its way back to the transmission. You'll need to drop the coolant to figure that out.

 

[matt87]

Had a look at the tag fluid and it looks clear. So I ended up taking it for a run on the weekend. Got a slight smell but nothing compared to when I'm towing.

I don't know if this helps but now my heater doesn't work which being honest I don't know if it hasn't worked previous as I don't use it that often.

I would like to figure this one out without a mech but I don't know next option

 

[Old.Tony]

There are two hoses entering the firewall. One comes from the EGR valve - this feeds hot coolant into the cabin - and the other joins with coolant returns from the turbocharger and the oil cooler. Unplug both at the firewall, put a suitable piece of pipe in to join them together and clamp well (you might consider having a lip on the pipe so the pressure can't blow the hose off).

If the smell has gone, your heater matrix may be faulty/leaking or it could simply be some dirt/contaminant from the air sitting on the heater matrix that's being cooked under load.