Isuzu Trooper Owners Club UK™

[suzu]

definatly phone i.m and ask about the campaigns, then post up here with what has been done it will give a clearer idea of what the problem could be.

[Google]

[Paul V]

Having now replaced the thermo and any dubious hoses I'd now be inclined to flush the rad, drop off the top or bottom hose and give it good clean out with the garden hose..then refill with about 4L of antifreeze..this should further improve matters...

Cheers Paul V.

[jbaker]

Thanks for all the advice with my cooling system overflowing problem. Here is an update.

Now I'm catching the excess coolant in the reservoir before it overflows. Currently 1/2 pint of coolant is being pushed from the rad to the reservoir tank every day (light work, no motorways - 40 miles mixture of 55-60mph on A roads and 10 mins hold up in traffic jams). Before setting out every day, when the engine is cold, I siphon the excess out of the reservoir & put it back in the radiator, taking the reservoir back down to 1/2 way between min & max and filling the rad back up. If I don’t let it overflow I don’t seem to have to add any coolant.

From what you say it sounds like having parts of the radiator feel cold is normal. I gave the rad a flush with Holts Speedflush and hosed it from top and bottom hoses (didn't see any rubbish come out). The water seemed to flow through OK.

I can't smell diesel in the water - it still smells of anti-freeze. Today I had it "sniff tested" at Research Garage, Nuneaton. This didn't show any hydrocarbons in the coolant. The test took about 5 mins with the device held in the radiator filler neck. Near the end of the test I revved the engine to 2500 rpm for a couple of minutes to see if that would show the problem but it didn't.

Three weeks ago Carstins did a block test and found no problem.

From what happened when they did the sniff test Research Garage say the cooling system is definitely over pressurised but are less sure it’s a gasket problem (before they did the test they thought it was the head gasket too). They wondered if system might have a blockage somewhere. There is no water in the oil and its level is constant. The engine runs OK & the oil pressure seems fine.

I've never used radweld in it, but I don't know about before I bought it.

The rad cap is new (changed at the same time as the thermostat) and is easy enough to put back on. I also got a new reservoir tank cap because I suspected an air leak in the cap was preventing all the coolant being sucked back into the rad as the engine cooled. I'm now sure there is no air leak between the radiator and the reservoir tank.
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3.0 TD Trooper Citation

[Paul V]

If you are actually loosing water ...There are two small hoses behind the fan.. LH side ..they are pricks to get at.. the tell tail will be a green or blue stain from leaking antifreeze on or about the area..you will need a bright light and maybe a mirror to get a good look...

Best of luck...

Cheers Paul V.

[Peterjday]

Sounds like an airlock to me, perhaps caused by a partial blockage somewhere. Air expands a lot more than water - trapped air would expand and force coolant out through to the header tank.

I suggest that you try bleeding the coolant system.

I believe that the function of the "jiggle valve" in the thermostat is to keep the hole clear.

Peter
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Peter

[jbaker]

It's been a while, but I now have a Trooper that no longer blows coolant out of the reservoir overflow. The problem was diagnosed and well sorted by Cotswold Isuzu & Subaru, who did an excellent job.

Behind my rose tinted spectacles I was desparate for it NOT to be a serious fault - hence all my faffing with a new radiator cap, and reservoir cap, etc.

But, in the end it WAS necessary to lift the head because the head gasket was burnt and the head had a crack near a glow plug hole. The source of the problem was injection settings that were wrong, leading to overheating - I've no idea how they came to be wrong.

[SFarrier]

I've had a similar problem with my 3.0 trooper, but only when towing up long hills.
The check engine light comes on way before the red section but according to my dealer the memory doesn't hold a fault code.

My toilet units weigh about 3 tons which i'm sure the trooper is more than capable of towing. especially sinnce they sold so many in oz and n.z where it must get hotter than this country.

do people think that i'm asking too much of the troop or that i have the same problems as jbaker?

[SFarrier]

the other thing i was going to suggest was that the viscous fan in my trooper doesn't seem anywhere near as noisy or as bigger 'drag' on the engine as on other vehicles i've driven. For instance you can hear and feel the difference on mercedes 310 vans. In fact until i read this post i was nearly sure it was the source of my overheating.

How can you check if it is working properly without endangering fingers etc?