Temp Needle Hit 100?

Well in traffic with the AC on, I noticed my temp needle in the 85 300D reached the bar between 80 and 120 (I assume 100C?). I turned the heat on and it dropped. Is this a problem? Did I cause damage? The car has good belts, fresh water pump, etc.

[shoe]

Is your auxilliary fan working? I had the same prolem on my 83 300D and the fan had failed. Replaced it an all was fine. My 300D in the summer outside temp 90+ degrees ran at or near the 100C mark but never over. If it was not there long you should not have hurt anything.

[psfred]

Check your radiator cap and visco clutch, but if all is in working order, 100C is normal. This is the temp were the high speed aux fan kicks in on the cars with two speed fans (actually a resistor setup for the fan), and it's entirely normal for the temp to rise to 100C in traffic. It should come down right away when you start moving, though -- if it stays up you have a cooling problem somewhere.

Peter

[P.E.Haiges]

Randall,

Notice where the red mark on your temperature gage is, about 260F. As long as you don't run into the red area, you won't do any damage to your engine.

P E H

[rwthomas1]

212F = @100C
245F = @120C
265F = @130C

I wouldn't start worrying unless the motor went to 130+C and stayed there for a while. RT

[The Warden]

Originally posted by psfred
This is the temp were the high speed aux fan kicks in on the cars with two speed fans (actually a resistor setup for the fan)Peter

Just wondering, how do you find out if you have the single speed fan or the 2 speed one? I can't go out and test the fan itself, as mine's non-op...

[DslBnz]

My auxiliary fan NEVER works on my 300SDL. But it manages to stay on or under 100 even in the hottest weather (Unless I run it at 5000 + rpm). I'm very careful with the temp in this baby. Don't want to crack the head!

[psfred]

A two speed fan will have a large rectangular resistor up by the ac recieiver/dryer. For AC it will be connected from the temp or pressure switch on the receiver/dryer through the resistor (low speed), around the resistor from the temp switch on the thermostat housing for high speed.

The W124 has the two speed, but I don't know about the W123.

If your fan never runs, check the fuses (in a separate little bakelite box under the hood, unually) for corrosion or bad connections. This was the problem on the 220D, blew and AC line before I fixed it. You need the fan for the AC, otherwise the head pressure goes too high, makes for bad milage and blown high pressure hoses.

Peter


Peter

[The Warden]

I already took the fan apart; the bearing's fried and the plastic housing around the contact brushes are melted from trying to turn it.

[psfred]

Uhhhh, replacement time maybe?

I've got the new fan for the Volvo, but can't get the bloody thing to start....

Peter

[DslBnz]

My AC doesn't work. I don't care about AC in my car, anyway. AC takes away fuel economy, and cuts the power back. It also affects my allergies.

If the temp of the engine ever gets too hot, I'd put the defroster on to reduce the heat.

If it's REALLY hot outside, I'll use my newly acquired 560SL and travel in style.:p

[slowmoe]

Randall,

I hit 100C pretty often heading west on 280 from the turnpike in the summer. Those big hills really push these diesels!! However, it only takes a minute or two for her to get back down to 85C when headed downhill. After reading several posts on this topic, I am assuming everything is okay.

Thanks for the assurance guys... All is working on the old car, but it's novel to see how weather effects the darn thing. Once you get moving, its fine. If I want to treat the thing, I'll suck-it-up and turn on the heat- the old track day trick. Thanks again guys....

On a 2 hour trip home on the turnpike (75-80MPH ) about 5 weeks ago, I was pretty stady at 100C the whole way. The moment I pulled into the local Quickie-mart I noticed an odd metallic sound. Long story short, the #1 injector was nailing. To this day it still nails hard on #1.

Could this have been from the 100C for 2 hours, the constant 3000-4000RPMs, or from them being about 300k miles old (I assume)?

[Stevo]

82-300td


just a shot but on marine engines, 71 series Jimmys maybe, a bad injector will cause overheating if I remember right. You could clean the nozzle of #1 or replace it for $25 or so.