overheating whist towing

[dave_5066163]

can anyone advise how to keep Peugeot 406 2.1 turbo diesel cool when towing.It has a manual gearbox.It is a fantastic tower, but, on long inclines, the temp. gauge goes way over to right.We are going to Italy in June.When we went in 2003,in Switzerland,the needle was nearly in red.Does having air-con on make any difference?A mechanic friend suggests removing the thermostat Is this wise? Help please! Dave.

 

[Damian]

Dave, firstly air con will not make any difference to yoverheating, as it is a separate system. There are two alternatives, either get a cooler operating temperature thermostat, or remove it alltogether. Removing it fully will cause the engine to take longer to reach operating temperature, which in summer may be ok, but in winter may not be very comfortable.

Are you certain that the fan is cutting in properly? I dont know for sure, but there may be a cooler operating temperature switch available for the fan to get it to come on sooner.

With it being a turbo diesel it should already be fitted with an oil cooler, but perhaps a larger cooler unit may be some help too, if there is room for it.

 

[Steve L]

My brother in law is a Peogeot master technitian and he advises to put the air con on as it will enduce the electric cooling fans to come on sooner.

If you still have trouble then you could investigate fitting a kenlowe fan, but space for this is limited.

I use the aircon trick on my Laguna and it works well even given that I tow at 100% of the tow capacity and have gone up hills two miles long in wales and as steep as 1 in 5.

 

[MikeP]

Having air-con switched on will affect overheating. The engine has to drive the a/c pulley, which puts a greater load on the engine. If you maintain your normal cruising speed, then the engine has to work harder and therefore generates more heat. Remember the old way of avoiding overheating? Switch the car heater to "hot" and sweat.

Check that your fan is operating correctly - some fans work on a "2-stage" system, and your relay might be dodgy. Get the cooling system back-flushed too. Some clever bods wire in an over-ride switch so that they can control the fan from the driving seat and keep it on constantly when required. Also, check that your temperature gauge is reading correctly.

If you are not confident about any of the above, then an auto-electrician is your next port of call.

 

[Jaydug]

Hi Dave - I tow with a Xantia which has the same 2.1 engine as your 406. It shouldn't really overheat to such an extent. On really long pulls (5 miles sometimes) going through Spain, my temperature guage begins to rise, until both fans cut into high speed, then the temperature stabilizes at a bit above normal. It's true the aircon will bring on the fans, but at the same time, it will sap a little bit of energy. On steep hills, I tend to turn off the aircon. I would check that both your fans cut in at the fast speed, then try a new thermostat.