couple of queries

[James 3LTD]

Hope someone can shed some light on the following two problems I'm having:

first my center consol is getting very very hot on long drives. I mean to the extent where you cannot hold your hand on it for more than a few seconds. The fan that supplies the back seats is turned off so I dont think its the electric motor.

Secondly my O/D OFF light sometimes flashes when driving with O/D on. To stop this I have to turn the ignition off and start again, although this doesn't always work.

Any advice would be much appreciated.

Cheers

James

[Tallyman]

The centre tunnel does get hot on these cars as the diesel produces a lot of heat which gets pushed backwards down the transmission tunnel, as well as the heat from the turbo, exhaust etc, however it shouldn't get too hot. I would check your ATF fluid for a start, as if the gearbox is getting too hot you could find the fluid starts to "burn" which will reduce gearbox efficiency. It should be a clear red and not a cloudy brownish colour ("burnt"). If it is, you'll need to get it completely flushed and replaced, including the ATF oil filter in the gearbox sump pan.

I would also look at your normal engine coolant temperature. Is the needle in the middle of the range or more to the right? The 3.0L does suffer from a poorly designed ATF oil cooler in the base of the radiator which restricts the flow of coolant back into the engine and also doesn't help in getting the ATF fluid cool enough as it goes back to the box.

First thing might be to check and flush the radiator and also check that you do have coolant (i.e. heat) flowing in the main and rear heater matrixs. Air locks can cause the system to overheat. If Ok, think about fitting a supplementary ATF oil cooler, to get the gearbox temp down. Additionally, Surfs get very hot under the bonnet, more so this weather if the viscous fan coupling isn't working properly. Mine had very little silicon oil in it, so I repaired it a couple of weeks ago and it seems to work fine now (although the car's developed a vibration at most engine speeds since I did it - need to take it off and check fixing).

One other possibility is to fit a powered bonnet fan. I'm looking at doing that to mine to get the underbonnet temp down and to improve airflow through the radiator. Cost is about £100 for DIY but should only involve cutting a fairly small hole in the bonnet (about 6in diameter) and a bit of 12V wiring to make it work. See details on http://www.pacet.co.uk/ re the PV200.

As regards the second query, that could be the result of overheating ATF fluid, so curing one will probably cure the other.

[ChasesDragons]

Tally,
It might be nicer to get some louvres cut on the bonnet, no? make it look like a TRD jobbie?

Oh please let mine heat up, just give me a reason!

Udhi

[TonyN]

Don't scare him to much! You have a A/T fluid temp warning light on the dash, if should come on with the ignition on, then go out when you start up. If things get to hot, it will come on.

The center tunnel gets hot, has done in my ex's V6 manual 4Runner, my 2.4 manual Surf and Lindas 3.0TD auto one. They all get very hot after a hour of driving, I wouldn't worry about it.

The O/D light could be a problem though, its a fault light for the Overdrive and autobox, check you ATF level and fluid condition, it may need changing, and causing the tranny to run warmer than usual.

Best to get it properly changed like Tallyman said, BUT, just drain it by removing the autobox sump and refilling will make a difference, then do it again in a month or so and You'll have shifted most of the the junk

[Linda]

Just as an indication of how hot it gets without anything being wrong... this winter I had a lipsalve in the little tray behind the gear lever. At the end of a three hour journey I went to use the lipsalve only to find it had melted completely!

[Rob]

Hmm, there must have been some sort of design change with the 3rd gens then cos although it's vaguely warmer than other areas of the car, it's really not obvious in mine.

[kitesurf_phil]

Hmm, there must have been some sort of design change with the 3rd gens then cos although it's vaguely warmer than other areas of the car, it's really not obvious in mine.

Get a 2.4 and you can use the centre console to heat your pasties. mmmmmmm

[TonyN]

Get a 2.4 and you can use the centre console to heat your pasties. mmmmmmm

Try one with a V8 in it, exhaust pipes either side a auto gearbox and no heatshields. It melted the sound proofing on the inside of cab floor!!

Kept my feet warm in the winter though.