Heading west, what to do?

[tatty]

I've driven Perth to Melbourne before, but I did it in the winter last year. Now that it's summer, and going to be scorching hot, what kind of precautions and prep should I take?

I'll be leaving towards end of Jan to get to Perth by the beginning of Feb. I'm just worried about overheating the engine, as once the engine works a bit hard up hill, it never drops back down to a lower temp (according to the gauge). Is it worth fitting in a thermo fan to counter the crappy crank driven fan?

My cooling system is my only concern, so far, anyway.

 

[KraftyPg]

Having done this trip and got into 45 degree days I'd say do nothing out of the ordinary.

If you aren't towing you can easily get from town to town without extra fuel, if you drive sedately (i.e. at constant speeds not necessarily below a set speed) and you keep an eye on things you will be fine. These cars are made to handle a lot more than a drive in 45 degree heat on the black top, sure the periods of driving will be longer than if you were at home but once again the engines are made for such things.

Keep an eye on your temp gauge, expect a little rising (especially if towing) and drive to the conditions, the biggest problem you'll have is keeping yourself cool because even with an A/C running 45 degrees through the windscreen makes it bloody hot.

If it were me I'd be focusing on water not the car, you need to stay hydrated and in the worst case scenario you need to have water if something bad happens and you're stopped out there. Forget about the car it will do what you ask of it and think about the occupants. Also there is so many cars on the Nullarbor these days if you stick to the road you'd be unlucky to go 30 mins without seeing someone who will help you so once again forget about the car and enjoy the drive.

 

[Dion]

Is it worth fitting in a thermo fan to counter the crappy crank driven fan?

In flow performance, the crank driven fan will shit all over any aftermarket thermofan any day.

 

[KraftyPg]

So the shit really does hit the fan?

 

[Dion]

So the shit really does hit the fan?

 

[KraftyPg]

That's not shit

 

[tatty]

If you aren't towing you can easily get from town to town without extra fuel, if you drive sedately (i.e. at constant speeds not necessarily below a set speed) and you keep an eye on things you will be fine. These cars are made to handle a lot more than a drive in 45 degree heat on the black top, sure the periods of driving will be longer than if you were at home but once again the engines are made for such things.

Does the Nulla desert only reach about 45? I thought it got up to 50 at times...

Keep an eye on your temp gauge, expect a little rising (especially if towing) and drive to the conditions, the biggest problem you'll have is keeping yourself cool because even with an A/C running 45 degrees through the windscreen makes it bloody hot.

Not towing this time. When I went from Perth to Melb in winter I had 500kg on the back, which was a strain, but this time it'll just be a lot of stuff to help my relocation. I worried a bit as the temp gauge was sitting at half way almost the entire time, and on the uphills she went to about 3/4 point (in which I would slow down). Once it got to about 3/4+, the water was spitting out the overflow bottle.

If it were me I'd be focusing on water not the car, you need to stay hydrated and in the worst case scenario you need to have water if something bad happens and you're stopped out there. Forget about the car it will do what you ask of it and think about the occupants. Also there is so many cars on the Nullarbor these days if you stick to the road you'd be unlucky to go 30 mins without seeing someone who will help you so once again forget about the car and enjoy the drive.

Yeah, I've learnt my lesson from last time. I survived on 2l of apple juice and a few beers for 2 days of trekking in the desert. I refused to pay three times the amount for bottled water, I'd rather dehydrate (not literally).

In flow performance, the crank driven fan will shit all over any aftermarket thermofan any day.

This is the thing, though. On uphills, and big strains, the fan doesn't cool down the radiator quick enough. I either have to drive at a ridiculously slow speed, or stop, to get it down to a decent temp again. This is why I was asking about a thermo fan. I'd hook it up with a switch to flick it on when I felt it needed it. I felt the blistering heat in the desert wouldn't help, either.

Oh, I presume about 30psi should be low enough for the hot roads, if needed?

 

[KraftyPg]

There is record high temps but you'd have to be unlucky to cop to many of them and headed east to west you are heading into most of the weather which means it changes often. Heading West to East you can nearly follow a weather pattern across the country the other way you are against it. Even during this weeks heatwave Ceduna only reached about 45 and in most cases while it happens more often out there than it does in the east it's not an every day occurrence.

Temp gauges in cars are not really the best thing to describe to others because it's hard to know exactly what you mean. For instance on my gauge the needle doesn't move until the water temp gets to 45 degrees then the temp difference between the bottom line and the top line is approx 70 degrees, as normal my car sits at 90-94 degrees and that leaves the needle a bit over 3/4 of the way up the larger section of the gauge. Even on the hottest days the highest I saw my temp reach was 97 degree but still not at the top of that large section on the analogue gauge.

That larger section of the gauge would be considered "normal" of course the higher it goes there is some reason for concern but realistically there is no reason to get worried until it hits the top and moves into the second section which takes very little of the dial. The analogue gauge can be deceptive if you don't know how to read it. After adding a scangauge to my Nav I felt more confident driving it as the needle rose because SG was telling me the water temp and since it's been there I also know that until the needle gets within one width of that top line the most I need to do is slow down and consider things i don't have to jump out and take any action.

Get a 5 litre bottle from Kmart and fill it up before you leave, cost you all of about 7 bucks and you have water without paying a high price. Also given that up to Ceduna and beyond Norseman all places have fresh city water you can always refill. Even the desal water at Eucla is drinkable, better than paying out your arse for water or going without.

 

[Dion]

This is the thing, though. On uphills, and big strains, the fan doesn't cool down the radiator quick enough. I either have to drive at a ridiculously slow speed, or stop, to get it down to a decent temp again. This is why I was asking about a thermo fan. I'd hook it up with a switch to flick it on when I felt it needed it. I felt the blistering heat in the desert wouldn't help, either.

At highway speeds, the fan is of limited relevance. I'd be getting your radiator serviced (internal flush and external clean, check for busted fins etc) or replaced, as this sounds more like the culprit. Also get the fins of the air con condensor cleaned out. A thermofan is just a band-aid solution, and will mostly just increase obstruction in front of the radiator and make the problem worse. If it were getting hot under the collar while 4x4ing at 5km/h, I'd have something different to say, and would recommend a supplementary fan, esp. if you have air con.

 

[Tappet]

At highway speeds, the fan is of limited relevance. I'd be getting your radiator serviced (internal flush and external clean, check for busted fins etc) or replaced, as this sounds more like the culprit. Also get the fins of the air con condensor cleaned out. A thermofan is just a band-aid solution, and will mostly just increase obstruction in front of the radiator and make the problem worse. If it were getting hot under the collar while 4x4ing at 5km/h, I'd have something different to say, and would recommend a supplementary fan, esp. if you have air con.

+1 to that. Plus check the thermostat opperation or even bung in a new one there cheap enough.
Don't overdose with coolant, it may raise the boiling temperature but there is less heat exchange taking place with high concentrations of coolant. In fact plain water will exchange heat faster. Minimum requirement is the go.

 

[tatty]

Temp gauges in cars are not really the best thing to describe to others because it's hard to know exactly what you mean. For instance on my gauge the needle doesn't move until the water temp gets to 45 degrees then the temp difference between the bottom line and the top line is approx 70 degrees, as normal my car sits at 90-94 degrees and that leaves the needle a bit over 3/4 of the way up the larger section of the gauge. Even on the hottest days the highest I saw my temp reach was 97 degree but still not at the top of that large section on the analogue gauge.

I took a picture;
http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/23/img02571z.jpg/

Half way is the line, IMO. And anything over half way means boiling point, which means it's pissing out of the overflow bottle, which means I'm loosing coolant.

I have another temp gauge with pin, maybe I might just plant that into the system somewhere?

That larger section of the gauge would be considered "normal" of course the higher it goes there is some reason for concern but realistically there is no reason to get worried until it hits the top and moves into the second section which takes very little of the dial. The analogue gauge can be deceptive if you don't know how to read it. After adding a scangauge to my Nav I felt more confident driving it as the needle rose because SG was telling me the water temp and since it's been there I also know that until the needle gets within one width of that top line the most I need to do is slow down and consider things i don't have to jump out and take any action.

That's the thing. As I said, above the line means its boiling and water is flowing out. It's not a nice spot to be in, as I have lost a lot of water in the past from neglecting it.

Get a 5 litre bottle from Kmart and fill it up before you leave, cost you all of about 7 bucks and you have water without paying a high price. Also given that up to Ceduna and beyond Norseman all places have fresh city water you can always refill. Even the desal water at Eucla is drinkable, better than paying out your arse for water or going without.

Oh I know now to bring a lot of water. A good 10l between two people (cooking water included) should be enough to get you through. Biggest issue is it will be warm. I need an Engel fridge ASAP!

At highway speeds, the fan is of limited relevance. I'd be getting your radiator serviced (internal flush and external clean, check for busted fins etc) or replaced, as this sounds more like the culprit. Also get the fins of the air con condensor cleaned out. A thermofan is just a band-aid solution, and will mostly just increase obstruction in front of the radiator and make the problem worse. If it were getting hot under the collar while 4x4ing at 5km/h, I'd have something different to say, and would recommend a supplementary fan, esp. if you have air con.

It's at highway speeds the engine runs hotter. Daily driving is stone cold, but once I hit 100k the thing just starts to get warm. Nothing dangerous or to worry about, but it's not as cold as the streets.

The fan was really just a quick fix idea. Mostly because the radiator isn't in best shape. The idea was to rip out all the aircon gear (since it doesn't work), fix the fan to the front and get a flush. I can't get too much servicing gear done before it starts becoming impractical.

 

[KraftyPg]

Listen to Dion, yours behaves a lot different to mine (to be expected) and his advice is more directed at fixing problems mine was about not being worried about the actual drive just because of distance and heat.

 

[gadgets]

I've had a trailer with 2 tonne in it on 40degree days, foot planted to the floor and my temp gauge has never moved from its usually position. My digital temp gauge usually sits on 80degrees and the highest I've got it to is 99, even then the Nissan gauge has still not moved. I do flush the Rad fairly often just to be sure.

 

[Old.Tony]

I'd be concerned about that radiator. +1 on Dion & Tappet's advice for the engine, and +2 on Krafty's for carrying water.

We have towed our van (pics in my garage) through the middle of Australia. I have Ian Hawkin's "Torque" application on my phone which shows me in real time a digital display of the coolant temperature.

We usually hover between 91C and 97C depending on terrain without a load. Loaded and towing, we'll see coolant temps reach 104-105C. It's still nothing to worry about.

If your engine is overheating then I'd take a serious look at both the radiator, aircon condensor and the thermostat. You should NOT be overheating just by getting up to temp - in fact, anything over 45km/h and the cooling fan is doing the lesser of the work required to cool the coolant. Forward motion SHOULD be doing most of the work for you.

If you're still having trouble then maybe get someone to test your water pump. If it's not flowing 100%, it can't be cooling 100%.