WG LTD in the SAND.....surely she goes good?

[pmac]

Any pics of going up the hill?? Great to hear she went well.

I generally drop tyres to around 22, and if very very soft then down to about 16. Any lower than 20 and you risk the tyre coming off the rim when cornering, so have to drive much slower.

Also, haven't had to worry about low range on sand, unless it's very soft. She just drives straight out without a problem. Have had all 4 wheels spinning (deliberately) in high range (to check power was getting to all wheels). Backed off then took off slowly and she just drove straight out of the holes she dug.

May test her soon though as I'd like to tow the van up the beach and that will put some strain on.

[Barfoot]

Did a Stockton run last year with the family and the WJ went great. Mind you to my surprise, so did my mate in his outlander. It was my first time in sand and got adventerous near the end of the day charging up steep dunes. No problems, and power to spare. Made it up every dune I tried. Seemed hard to get it bogged!

My only problem was the temp was running very hot while in the soft, rutted tracks along the beach. Could only drive a couple of km's before I had to let the engine cool down. Probably somthing up with my cooling system, I guess? Once in the dunes, I had no problems though.

[turbomart]

Originally Posted by Barfoot

Did a Stockton run last year with the family and the WJ went great. Mind you to my surprise, so did my mate in his outlander. It was my first time in sand and got adventerous near the end of the day charging up steep dunes. No problems, and power to spare. Made it up every dune I tried. Seemed hard to get it bogged!

My only problem was the temp was running very hot while in the soft, rutted tracks along the beach. Could only drive a couple of km's before I had to let the engine cool down. Probably somthing up with my cooling system, I guess? Once in the dunes, I had no problems though.

This is another good reason for low range & lower tyre pressures, means engine/trans isnt working so hard so it runs cooler.

[Barfoot]

Originally Posted by turbomart

This is another good reason for low range & lower tyre pressures, means engine/trans isnt working so hard so it runs cooler.

Thanks for the tips Turbomart. To be honest I can't remember if I had it in low when I went? Might have been saving it for if it got boggy. Also would have thought low range would cause it to heat up more - so thanks for clearing that up. I will try it next time we go. Definately had the tyres down to 18psi though.

But if I did in fact have it in low, and was heating up, what would you suggest I look at in the cooling system? I know the fluid (and mixture ratio) was ok, there was no crud or debris in the radiator, fan(s) were ok and working, and it keeps a steady temp any other time. Water pump on the way out? Sticky thermostat?

[drover]

Mate you probably have a pile of crap between the A/C - oil coolers, can get a fair bit of debris there which blocks air flow, you really need to move them to clean as just blowing with air or water thru the fins won't do it. It doesn't take a lot to restrict the air flow.

[turbomart]

I had tested this theory recently when my viscous fan wasnt working properly.
30+ deg day ,soft sand ,high range,tyres 40psi ,temp gauge went to 3/4 hot
(with fan working it would never have got that hot).
Dropped tyres to 18psi (really soft sand I go to 16) , low range & temp came back to 1/2 way (normal).
It was quite noticeable that the engine wasnt labouring so hard.
Btw ,with low range,because the gear reduction is in the t/case after the trans ,it means the trans will be spinning faster but not under as much load so is less likely to overheat.

In regards to over heating cooling system - Getting a high pressure hose system like a massojet will clear your radiator fins much better than a normal hose will. Amazing how much dirty water will exit. Try to do from inside if you can.