Advice needed re. Toyota Lucida overheating

[Dave_5103700]

I have recently changed caravans from an early 90's Ci Super Sprite (5 berth), to a mid 90's Swift Challenger. I tow with a 1994 Toyota Lucida Estima (grey import MPV), which is an automatic 2.2TD. It towed the Sprite absolutely fine, but it is overheating when towing the Swift.

Does anyone have experience of towing with this car, or advice they can offer?

A couple of people have mentioned to me that it is due to it being an auto, and that I need to get a cooler/fan fitted. Does anyone have eperience of doing this, know if it resolves the overheating, and know of likely cost?

Many thanks in advance

 

[gary_5083940]

hi dave

i have never owned a lucida but i work as a technician for a manufacturer.the 1st thing that i would check is the weight difference -if any betwwen the caravans.if it is similar then you may have a problem with a brake binding on the van.it could just be an over adjusted brake

if the caravan is heavier then before you go fitting extra cooling components i would the car first there are several things you can do that cost very little or nothing

1.check the radiator core is not clogged with bugs or road dirt.if it is you can blow clean with an airline or pressure washer take care with this one-DONT PUT IT RIGHT UP TO IT -keep it about 2/3 feet away from.you may have to take the rad out fist depending on access

2.make sure you are running the car on a 50/50 water/antifreeze mix.to sort this you would have to drain the cooling system the refill.taking care as to get the mixture right as too mich a/freeze is worse the to little

3.check theat any belts that drive the water pump(if any) are adjusted correctly

4.chek wiyh toyota that your car doesnt need an air scoop fitting the bumper .early citreons needed the fitting

see how you get on with that lot

i tow a twin axle with a vito auto without any problems

 

[Lutz]

Have you checked what the maximum permissible towload specified by Toyota for the car is? Maybe that with your Swift Challenger you've gone over the limit. Some cars do have an engine cooling problem that restricts towing ability even though the weight ratio may appear to be quite OK.

 

[gary_5083940]

hi dave

i have never owned a lucida but i work as a technician for a manufacturer.the 1st thing that i would check is the weight difference -if any betwwen the caravans.if it is similar then you may have a problem with a brake binding on the van.it could just be an over adjusted brake

if the caravan is heavier then before you go fitting extra cooling components i would the car first there are several things you can do that cost very little or nothing

1.check the radiator core is not clogged with bugs or road dirt.if it is you can blow clean with an airline or pressure washer take care with this one-DONT PUT IT RIGHT UP TO IT -keep it about 2/3 feet away from.you may have to take the rad out fist depending on access

2.make sure you are running the car on a 50/50 water/antifreeze mix.to sort this you would have to drain the cooling system the refill.taking care as to get the mixture right as too mich a/freeze is worse the to little

3.check theat any belts that drive the water pump(if any) are adjusted correctly

4.chek wiyh toyota that your car doesnt need an air scoop fitting the bumper .early citreons needed the fitting

see how you get on with that lot

i tow a twin axle with a vito auto without any problems

sorry forgot something for no 1.while you have got the coolant drainned run a hosepipe into the top of the radiator and let it run out the bottom for about 30 mins-this helps to flush any debris out

 

[Dave_5103700]

I have been doing some more research, and there does seem to be some common overheating issues with this car. Some people are suggesting getting a new "deep core" radiator fitted, others a fan - I'm not sure where to go from here - has anyone expereinced these issues and resolved them?

Thanks

 

[DavidW1]

Hi Dave,

I had a similar problem with a Trooper Diesel - on long motorway hills towing or when caning it solo the temp guage headed for the red.

I was also advised to go for a heavy duty twin core radiator and a kenlow fan but I finally tracked it down to a sticking thermostat - it was only opening partially and a replacement fixed the problem.

A Logical approach and considering all the points mentioned in previous posts are important - don't spend out on new Radiators and fans when something simple like a new temperature sensor or thermostat costing a tenner is all it needs!

 

[GerryL_5040882]

I had a Estima recently and towed a 1440 kgs Swift too.

We had the Estima for 2 years without a problem , but when we bought the MPV , the Caravan Club technical people advised us to fit a gearbox oil cooler. We did this , and the rest is history.

Good luck.

 

[Dave_5103700]

Thanks for all the replies - much appreciated

Gerry - can you tell me please;

a) did you also experience overheating issues prior to fitting the gearbox oil cooler?

b) how much did it cost to get it fitted?

Many thanks

 

[GerryL_5040882]

Answers to your questions;

No , we did not have problems , BUT . When we were at rallies , i asked 2 people with these . And they DID have gearbox problems , overheating on hills and in hot weather too.

If i remember it cost me about

 

[Ruth_5123617]

We have a 93 Lucida Estima 2.2TD Auto and are looking to tow a caravan with it but cannot seem to find out what the kerb weight and noseweight is, as you are already using this model to tow I wondered if there was any chance you could tell us where you managed to find these figures. Pleased to see that others are using it to tow and that it seems OK.

Thanks in advance for any advice.