Heavy towing

[Smego]

My 30 year old 110 with a defender 200tdi in, when driving or towing a light trailer I get a tiny bit of movement of the temp gauge but otherwise all normal but when I tow a heavy load a fair way the area around the seat boxes and gear stick get as hot as I would love the heater to get on full chat, too warm to leave your leg there, is this normal? It has just had a full service so all fluid levels correct. This was in hot weather last Fri and the engine gauge had crept to the top quarter. Only tow the heavy horsebox full of scout stuff once a year but have noticed it with the loaded caravan on hills too. Is it just the wash of hot air channeled from the engine bay?

[reb78]

Sounds like mine of the same age. Fit a vdo temp sender and guage and you  will worry less as you can see the tenp variations in degrees and they are all ok.   

 

(And i tow stuff close to the trailer/ vehicle limit with mine so heavier than yours). 

Edited August 1, 2018 by reb78

[Smego]

So a hot gearbox is normal?

[miketomcat]

Sounds normal to me I also tow heavy loads with an older vehicle. My gearbox does get quite hot. The engine fan is electric and manually switched if I don't keep an eye on it it will creep past 3/4 on the temp gauge but flick the fan on and it starts coming down.

Mike

[ThreeSheds]

7 hours ago, Smego said:

So a hot gearbox is normal?

Hot gearbox (and diffs) is normal after a longish trip in my experience, whether towing or not

[Arjan]

Hmm..... what is hot ?

Get some temp indicators - or a IR Gun - to measure and be sure.

We're towing all the time and measure all the time to make sure we can keep towing..

If the cooling system is in good working order - rad / thermostat / hoses / pump / etc. - it should be OK

[Lightning]

The gearbox on my TD5 gets hot after longer motorway trips.

lf you have the correct oil in your gearbox there’s not really a fault that can cause it to over heat.

lt’s getting hot because the outside temperature is high and you are working it hard.

[FridgeFreezer]

Temperature indicators for great justice!

 

Gearboxes etc. can run pretty hot, well over 100deg, and still be in their "happy" zone, it feels bad as it's too hot to touch (much like your rad at normal temperature). You can see my R380 has hit ~88deg at some point, well below worrying.

[neil110]

If you are seriously concerned about temperatures there are solutions available. 

First is the A/M laser thermometer, for a few pounds they are a very good tool and enable you to take spot temperatures pretty much anywhere you can see. Not that I really needed to know that the temperature of my drivers footwell was 55 degrees last friday but it was interesting. Equally, the temperature of my hubs was 39 degrees, not essential to know but interesting, the engine? Bang on the money at 82 even though the temperature gauge was showing a higher value. Then again it is a 35 year old Land Rover instrument which simply gives an indication rather than a specific value.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Etekcity-Lasergrip-Non-contact-Infrared-Thermometer/dp/B01AT9TM3M/ref=sr_1_2_sspa?ie=UTF8&qid=1533208287&sr=8-2-spons&keywords=laser+thermometer&psc=1

There are gearbox oil coolers available for the LT77 gearbox and you can buy an enlarged sump for the LT230 which increases the oil capacity by a litre and incorporates cooling fins 

Edited August 2, 2018 by neil110

[Eightpot]

The trick is on hot days, only use the front bulkhead vents to get air in the cab.

If you open a side window, it creates low pressure inside and the hot air that normally passes underneath gets drawn up through the floor/gearbox tunnel and in the cab.

Close the window and the floor will slowly cool down again. 

 

 

[Lightning]

That’s interesting l never thought of air flow in the vehicle and only using the vents below the screen.

Not much use if you drive a TDCi though! (And the transmission can get very hot on a long run on those!)

[Eightpot]

I guess in a tdci you might have aircon, and it may be a reason they started using the moulded rubber mats on floor/seatbox?

From new they do have some foam sealer on the floor and tunnel at least, which tends to disappear as they get older, along with the obligatory missing screws and a couple of holes drilled for accessories long since removed, missing foam from the gearchange turret & a split gaitor, seatbox centre panel just resting in place for easy access etc etc..

[FridgeFreezer]

Proper foil backed matting made a hell of a difference to heat & noise in the 127:

[Ed Poore]

I've got to say that in my 110 I've never noticed the temperature gauge go above it's normal resting position about 1/3rd of the way up. I've towed the Full Fat a reasonably short distance (~20 miles) up and down some small but very steep (low range required) hills. But also towed the Hampshire Air Ambulance's 'pod' for many miles. Maybe the 1.2 transfer box does something for that in that the engine is potentially working less while cruising.

I've got what I think might be Silent Coat across the engine vehicle (floors, sides and roof) and it does make a big difference both to noise and also internal temperature even though it's fitted on the inside of the vehicle unlike John's. There are also (ragged) carpets on top.