Hey guys, excuse my noobness, i just bought a VLT, and am wondering how hot they are supposed to run, today it's like 30+ degrees. I took my baby for a drive with air con on, it doing a steady 100km/h the temp was two 3rds (4 bars i think) of the way over, at one stage it was 1.5 bars off HOT. Is this normal, or what's the go, before today it's been sitting on 2 - 2.5 bars. I have to call the previous owner and find out the last time a new termostat was put in. i was thinkign about replacing, termostat, and termostat housing, top and bottom hoses and doing a radiator flush and using high quality coolant. I have no idea if i have a 2 or a 3 core radiator in it. how do u tell the difference? Am i just being paranoid? Thanks. PS i tried a search, and found some info on 4 core radiators, i'll eventually put one in i think, because i wanna do some serious mods to it.

were you using the air-con at the time?

Quote: Originally Posted by darklord Hey guys, excuse my noobness, i just bought a VLT, and am wondering how hot they are supposed to run, today it's like 30+ degrees. I took my baby for a drive with air con on, I think so Some original photos have not been recovered yet.

So am i being paranoid or do all VLT's run that warm when using air con, when i turned off air con it dropped about half a bar

Quote: Originally Posted by Rolk I think so lol, damn this heat, i swear im blind Some original photos have not been recovered yet.

It shouldn't get that hot, even with the air con on and driving at 100km per/hr. Maybe sitting in traffic not moving, but not driving at 100km per/hr. I'd have the thermostat replaced, and a full radiator flush, with the radiator being rod flushed, and if you really want, a block flush to get all the crap out of it. For $200 or so dollars, it's good peice of mind. Mine usually sits at half on a hot day with the air con on, and goes a little higher sitting in traffic, but not much. Mine has never gone to 3/4 since I had the above done. Hope that helps Craig

It did get up to 39 down here today.

It got to at least 33 degrees where i'm from in eastern victoria. So ILLUSIV, can i do these flushes at home or do i take it to a specialist?

Mine got to just under 3/4's today in traffic, stop start stop start. I was driving at 100 for about 40 mins and it stayed at half.

mine never even moved off the lowest part cos my motor is dead.. seriously id make sure you are using coolant and what illusiv said should help you out, just make sure you bleed the head properly, both bolts!

Quote: Originally Posted by darklord It got to at least 33 degrees where i'm from in eastern victoria. So ILLUSIV, can i do these flushes at home or do i take it to a specialist? I'd take it to a reputable radiator shop and get them to do it. That way if there is any other problems, then they will be able to diagnose it and fix it properly. It might cost you a bit more, but the last thing you want is a cracked head or gasket. Well worth the money IMHO..... You just bought the car, so you have no idea what the last guy did, or put into it. At least after you get it done, you have peice of mind knowing that it's all good. My 2c Some original photos have not been recovered yet.

Thanks for all your advice guys, i'll get the car looked at ASAP. Eventually i'll prob put a 4 core radiator in it for added protection.

before you go doing anything silly br0 and spending heaps of moolah, bleed the system properly, - put it on a slant hill, dump the water, open the two bleed points on the inlet plenum and near the coolant temp sensor, let all the air out, once youve done that give it another whirl. if still no go next step - go to kmart tyre and auto or something, get them to pressure test your radiator, and do that test ontop of the radiator with that blue liquid to tell you if your head gasket is gone if they pressure test it and you see your radiator pissing out water under pressure - theres your problem, if the blue water test fails then you know its a headgasket cheers bro - reason i know - is that I have just had this done - it as a split in the radiator which i didnt see till they jammed pressure into the radiator Some original photos have not been recovered yet.

Driving around tonight and it sat nicely on two bars. I'm not loosing any water, so would a pressure test help me or not? I'm thinking of just changing the thermostat and doing a full system flush and bleed as u described, i always bled my NA on flat ground, but come to think of it, jacking up the arse end is logical. So you still think a pressure test is a wise idea before i do this?

nah br0 when your bleed the vl you have to jack up the front! hehe -the radiator sits lower in the vls thats why. get the 20 dollar pressure test and head check too - it pays out - then look at the thermostat etc

Thanks mate, heheh with the whole jacking thing, it makes sense I thought u'd jack the rear up to get the air to come to the bleed valves, but when i think about it, it will go to the back of the head, and boom my head will go. My car has only done 160000km, and th previous owner had it since 34000km, and said he never did a head. I guess when i eventually crack one, i'll have to put a ported on on there I've been told that putting a ported head can give u upto 40rwkw gain alone, how much truth is in that? Thanks very much for ur help. Some original photos have not been recovered yet.

buy a new fan clutch. my old vl was doing the same thing. you could hear it engage in the heat but it didnt engage enough. tried a few secondhand ones with no luck, so i just bought a brand new one. never saw more than half after that.

my first vlt use to overheat replaced head had radator rod cleaned still ran hot ended up being my auto