Two weeks bush trip

[tashtego]

We have just returned from a two weeks trip around Mozambique. Around 4000 kms on some of the worst maintained, most potholed roads in the world. Plus lots of rocky paths,mud and a100 km round trip to the Pomene estuary on a deep sandy track.. The surf did so well, considering its an old car, with no modifications whatsoever, and that it was packed to the gunwhales with 5 passengers and lots of kit. On a couple of occasions it attracted the attention of the South African 4x4 crowd, with they heavily modded up D4D hiluxes and LCs!The kz-te went like a dream and used no oil, the auto was excellent on deep sand, much easier to negotiate than with my previous manual 4x4s. - have however a couple of questions:
1) The weight of the load made the truck sag badly, the axle was touching the rubber blocks. The shoicks are new but the spring have never been changed , I don't think. Should - change the springs?
2) The coolant level in the expoansion tank has gone down by about 5 mm overall over the 4000 km trip. Is this normal, considering the extreme heat the engine must have been working at? Or should I look for a leak somewhere? It seems a very small amount...
Cheers and thanks for your suggestions

[NiftyNev]

Yeah, replace springs if they look original. Either get uprated springs for load carrying or standard with air bags if you do not have it loaded up often.

I wouldn't worry about 5mm drop in coolant. That's not bad for that kind of distance. Maybe a pressure test just to rule out any leaks.

Nev

[budweiser]

got this done
http://www.hiluxsurf.co.uk/showthread.php?t=72628

[tashtego]

coolant

Thanks for you replies, I will look into some uprated springs.
Following my posting here I was having a chat with my mechanic about coolant level etc.
He reckons that most cars he services, whether petrol or diesel, need a little coolant top up ( which he does with distilled battery water) at every service.
His argument is that the expansion tank is not a completely air tight system, and therefore a certain amount of water evaporates and escapes through the tank cap.
If I think back to all the cars I've had I actually remember topping up the expansion tank every now and then,to bring it back to the desired level(the "full" line in my case) just as a matter of routine. Mostly 1/2 pint or so once every 6 months or even longer. And none of them ever had any problems.

Water evaporates even at low temperatures, let alone the engine running temps, and if the expansion tank cap is not totally airtight.... The problem, he says, is when larger amounts of coolant are lost in a short period, or coolant fills up the tank and possibly overflows, that is usually a symptom of head or gasket problems.
Also, could it be possible that even if there was a small leak/weep from some pipe, as long as it was compensated by small regular top ups, the car could go on for years without any ill effect?

I am wandering if surf owners become a bit paranoid over coolant levels, measuring, as I do, the actual millimetres!Drivers of other cars don't seem half that worried...The amount of threads and posts related to cooling issues and coolant loss on the forum seems very high.

I'd like to know people's take on this, I am not a mechanic but find the topic quite interesting.

Cheers and Happy Christmas!

[TonyN]

I am wandering if surf owners become a bit paranoid over coolant levels, measuring, as I do, the actual millimetres!Drivers of other cars don't seem half that worried...The amount of threads and posts related to cooling issues and coolant loss on the forum seems very high.

Very definatly!

On a Surf the expansion tank isn't a very accurate way of monitering coolant levels, always check it from the rad cap.

The motor can only ever take coolant from the expansion tank if it puts it there on that time running the motor, its not part of the sealed system, it only puts coolant in the tank when the coolant gets to hot (therefore to much volume for system to hold, hence the need for an expansion tank) and will only suck it back as the coolant cools enough to create a vacuum to suck it back. once pressure in the cooling system equals atmospheric pressure to stops.

It's not even very good at topping up system if you have a leak, as the system usually sucks air back through the leak before enough vacuum can be created to open the cap and suck coolant from tank.

The only time you need to worry about expansion tank levels is if its full up to the top after a drive, this usually means you have a duff head/gasket/cap. Empty is fine, as long as rad is full.

Don't get it confused with expansion tanks that are part of the sealed system, these will have sealed caps, and rad won't have a cap. The Surf Expansion tank is open to air, so you will get some evaporation over time too.

On the Surf its really just an overflow tank, to stop you dripping coolant on floor if you over fill the rad.

[tashtego]

Right, I see...

Thanks for the reply Tony, I am glad to hear it, means that my mechanic seems to know what he's talking about and I can trust him with the surf.

The idea that small amounts of water can be lost simply through evaporation out of the expansion tank makes a lot of sense and it seems to happen in most cars ( unless,as you say, they have a sealed exp tank type system) .

Hopefully it will make us all relax a little bit and enjoy our cars more.

On a different note,my son insists that I mention that we saw two newish LR Discovery on our holiday. One was being towed and the other one was on the back of a recovery truck...



Cheers :o)