Heard that as well yet wasn’t there in either ‘93 or ‘94 LWB.
I don’t even remember what it looked like now, but I remember pulling some out of a 92 (?), it was just sopping wet.
Heard that as well yet wasn’t there in either ‘93 or ‘94 LWB.
I don’t even remember what it looked like now, but I remember pulling some out of a 92 (?), it was just sopping wet.
Also I'm getting a good bit of radiant heat coming from behind the window switches/parking brake in the center console. I think it was doing this before I may finally remove the center console and put in the same heat insulation layers I did on the rest of the floor. I've always had an issue where the window switches can feel hot.
The dogs are smarter than we think. My Airedale has not yet attempted to jump out of the window.Only con to losing the seats is it's harder for him to put his nose out the window
As much as I like electric fans, I think slow 4x4s benefit from strong mechanical fans in addition to electric fans. If you're heating up at speed a fan won't make a difference though. Coolant capacity is a big factor at any speed.This 92 had foam underneath, not horsehair, but same net effect for sure.
Here's some notes from my pickup and first couple days living with it.
On TDIs and alternators:
This engine had been a Defender engine and so had the 85A alternator. At the end of the test drive, when decelerating I would occasionally see the battery light come on, and checking the voltage was a little on the lower side than I'd like at idle. We called an audible and swapped with a brand new 100A from another engine in the shop. No more issue, although that turned into a funny problem we spent a couple hours chasing down...
The way the 300TDi is laid out is really around RHD vehicles. On LHD, the steering box sits under the alternator. There's the end of a bolt that is at the top of the steering box that has very little clearance to the alt. Jake had already shimmed the motor mount to provide clearance for the 85A, but when we put the 100A in the casing clearance was small enough that on engine turnover and driving over bumps would cause a knock when the alt would hit the bolt.
It sounded a lot more like a suspension issue which led us down some rabbit holes (and resulting in me getting some new poly bushings on my sway bar links so not horrible). Thankfully once we realized the root cause, we were able to grind down a small amount on the alt to eliminate the issue.
Some initial thoughts after driving it around:
It's slow (duh) but not super slow, and I've yet to see any dark exhaust come out, which is a plus. Driving around these diesel automatics require learning the throttle and transmission shift points which takes a couple of days of driving to get used to, but I enjoy it. It wants to shift a little after 2k RPM.
Going from the BW to the LT230 has been fine in terms of road noise. There's some gear noise that's audible at low speeds/deceleration but nothing like the whine I was used to in the D1. What's really nice in terms of noise is AC. I don't have to have the windows down and can kick on the AC for a bit to cool down and reduce overall cabin noise at speed (it does really suck power and increase engine heat though - see below).
Heat is the one thing I'll need to really keep an eye on, being in FL. We decided to go with a 180W electric fan set up this time that runs automatically with a manual on-off override. Driving home in 88F ambient at 60mph with the AC on I started to see the temp needle tick a little right of center, so I turned off the AC and backed down to 55mph, and it slowly went back to normal. Later in drive, at 65mph with no AC, I started to see the needle move to the center again. (Normally it should live slightly left of center). It's a diesel so I don't see myself ever going above 65 anyway, so just learning the limits.
What's nice is that the fan is wired to have power when ignition is off, so when turning the engine off, the fan will still run for a few min to cool it down like a modern vehicle.
Also I'm getting a good bit of radiant heat coming from behind the window switches/parking brake in the center console. I think it was doing this before I may finally remove the center console and put in the same heat insulation layers I did on the rest of the floor. I've always had an issue where the window switches can feel hot.
Yep, have AL radiators in the ‘96D1 and ‘94LWB. Was told by one shop if I drove the Rangie in the Winter block the radiator as it wouldn’t get warm! It hibernates so no big deal yet shows the efficiency. The D1 runs nice and cool.I know people swear by the copper radiators, but aluminum has been good to me.
Growing up in Florida I never really account for machines being too cold. I recently installed aftermarket oil and transmission coolers on my RRC though, and it may see some winter wheeling in north Georgia. The coolers are no longer routed through the radiator, so I may have to consider blocking them if it gets super cold up there.Yep, have AL radiators in the ‘96D1 and ‘94LWB. Was told by one shop if I drove the Rangie in the Winter block the radiator as it wouldn’t get warm! It hibernates so no big deal yet shows the efficiency. The D1 runs nice and cool.
When we lived in Switzerland on occasion I would take the Rangie on the side roads before the snow removal crews were out. The B-W transfer box worked great sending the power back and forth. Really was impressive on how well it drove.and it may see some winter wheeling in north Georgia.
When we got our ‘96 D1 one of the first things was to renew the entire cooling system. Hoses, thermostat, radiator, fan clutch, and temperature sensor. Never had a cooling problem with it.On my 96 D1 I started having issues with it heating up too much on long uphill drives. I would have to pullover and let it idle to get it too cool down. I thought the radiator was bad because I assumed going 45-50 MPH would move enough air with not much of any fan assistance.
Well, I was wrong. The fan clutch was bad. New fan clutch and it now probably runs too cool at times. It wasn’t a minor difference, it was a 40 degree drop during the same uphill long drive.
You can probably wrap a sheet of paper around the downpipe and trace it on the cowl.Got a Southdown snorkel (I think one of the last in stock from LK8) and I’m stressing about making the bodywork cut lol. All I have is this D1 template that I think is also good for a RRC but it doesn’t line up super well.
Still, I’d like to get this done tonight so I can try it out on a short road trip to the coast tomorrow…
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