Overheating MN Triton

[KRBMN]

carefull MN GLXR once its overheated its all over. get a dealer to check it out and give you the green light to keep driving it. something not right at all i would say 30km and not geting to temp not good

I have the same problem! I was driving my MN auto up to the snow fields today and the outside temp was -3 deg. I had the heater on full and I noticed the temp gauge slowly climbing. It then suddenly rose all the way up to 100% just as we arrived.

On the return 30km drive the gauge did not move off stone cold until I was near home. It then suddenly jumped to normal reading (about 40%) before creeping up to 90% in the driveway.

I popped the bonnet and everything seemed fine. The overflow coolant was cool and the radiator cap felt warm but not hot. Does that mean the temps are ok?

I wonder if this is dodgy thermostat or something else? Never had any issues with temp until today.

I have a week at snow and this is day 1 so I will watch it closely.

Cheers,

[Longranger1]

I tend to take more notice of the temp on the ultraguage as I don't think the guage on the dash is all that accurate.

The highest I've seen is 96 C towing uphill in 30+ ambient.

[MN GLXR]

Ok so time for an update. I took up the Mitsubishi road side service offer and the NRMA turned up within an hour.

Based on the fact the temp gauge is showing random temps and the engine is not abnormally hot, the NRMA guy suggested that the sensor must be stuffed. He also noted that he sensor looked bent, perhaps from the recent 30k service when the valves were adjusted.

Any way I drove up and back to the snow fields today and the engine was fine. But the gauge was showing either stone cold or boiling hot the whole time.

Off to Mitsubishi next week.

[mattz]

I've seen mention of this before and it turned out to be an earthing problem. Have you done anything to the battery recently?

[MN GLXR]

I have not touched the battery recently but will have a sniff around later today. But i do run radios and 3 HID spotties off it.

Thanks for the tip.

[MN GLXR]

I had it checked by Mitsu today and they fixed the dodgey gauge. The invoice said -

"Hooked up scan tool. Checked DTCS OK, checked data list ok. Test part temp sender and test part combination meter and still temp gauge was erratic. Cleared checked all earth points. tested OK"

On the drive home the gauge was fine

Mattz you were right

[melba]

Does anyone have a pic they could put up of the temp gauge and where it should be sitting.

My temp gauge has been sitting just under the red when I towed last week and since then it keeps fluctuating, I've also notice turning my lights on causes the temp to rise, but checking the radiator and coolant seem fine.

Could this be electrical or a faulty gauge, only thing that's changed is my snorkel, topping up the overflow with water when I relocated it.

[Naff]

I'd check the earthing as in the above posts. Especially since turning your lights on is causing the gauge to change.

[Lee-thal]

Check the Main earth underneath the Battery, we have seen a few of those left loose after dual battery installs,

[melba]

Cheers for the info guys, I tried your suggestions but no go, dan plugged his ultragauge in but no results temp was around 87, anyway I took it to Mitsubishi and they spent a day on it trying other gauges etc but found nothing they even tried a few solutions on there tech assistant thingo but no go. So they want to try the sender unit then the ecu if all else fails, I'll keep u posted.

[dan.batto]

Cheers for the info guys, I tried your suggestions but no go, dan plugged his ultragauge in but no results temp was around 87, anyway I took it to Mitsubishi and they spent a day on it trying other gauges etc but found nothing they even tried a few solutions on there tech assistant thingo but no go. So they want to try the sender unit then the ecu if all else fails, I'll keep u posted.

Geeze mate, no good! Hope they find out soon... And that it's not a fault with something you have done....

[melba]

Cheers for the info guys, I tried your suggestions but no go, dan plugged his ultragauge in but no results temp was around 87, anyway I took it to Mitsubishi and they spent a day on it trying other gauges etc but found nothing they even tried a few solutions on there tech assistant thingo but no go. So they want to try the sender unit then the ecu if all else fails, I'll keep u posted.

Geeze mate, no good! Hope they find out soon... And that it's not a fault with something you have done....

I thought of that but because its not over heating it removes the snorkel install, and nothing else has changed on it

[killa]

Alright, time for an update......... as a lot has happened in the past couple of weeks.

Two and a half weeks ago I stopped to make a quick phone call and the cabin fogged up, after the call I started driving but the windows had fogged up a bit as it was freezing cold and I was drenched. No biggie, I turned the heater to high and turned on the A/C to defog the cab.

I drove for a few Km's and the heater was blowing freezing cold air. Something's not right here I thought, another Km or so down the road the heater kicks in and its bloody sweltering hot. I look at the temp gauge and it's almost in the red, I turn the heater off and the temp gauge drops So I head to the nearest dealer, only to be told that it's my fault because I haven't been topping up the coolant properly and that is why the car is overheating.

Off I drive again with my topped up radiator, this time I make it home and the temp gauge is back in the red and coolant is pissing out of the overflow. I drive back to the dealer, throw the keys at the service manager, who looked somewhat surprised to see me and said "I told you before that it's f****d, now fix my f****n car".

After checking the thermostat, the water pump and pulling out the radiator again, the mechanics still had no idea what was going on. They called the Mitsu techs, who advised that they (lucky for all you other MN owners) have only had a handful overheat, and the problem has been rectified by replacing the thermostat.

As this was not the problem, the head was removed and inspected. No apparent problem there, but on inspecting the block, my problem was found - at last.

There must have been an issue at the time the block was cast, which was not picked up by Mitsu quality control. In between pistons three and four was a groove that was very visible to the naked eye. This was allowing exhaust gas into the cooling system and coolant into the piston. The exhaust gas was apparently boiling the coolant which made it overheat and spew out the overflow.

The solution, (without any arguments from Mitsubishi)I finally picked her up today with a brand new motor. I'm so damn happy that Mitsubishi actually stood by their warranty.

To celebrate I took her out and bought her a shiny new set of tyres and put her through the car wash.

...

[killa]

Alright, time for an update......... as a lot has happened in the past couple of weeks.

Two and a half weeks ago I stopped to make a quick phone call and the cabin fogged up, after the call I started driving but the windows had fogged up a bit as it was freezing cold and I was drenched. No biggie, I turned the heater to high and turned on the A/C to defog the cab.

I drove for a few Km's and the heater was blowing freezing cold air. Something's not right here I thought, another Km or so down the road the heater kicks in and its bloody sweltering hot. I look at the temp gauge and it's almost in the red, I turn the heater off and the temp gauge drops So I head to the nearest dealer, only to be told that it's my fault because I haven't been topping up the coolant properly and that is why the car is overheating.

Off I drive again with my topped up radiator, this time I make it home and the temp gauge is back in the red and coolant is pissing out of the overflow. I drive back to the dealer, throw the keys at the service manager, who looked somewhat surprised to see me and said "I told you before that it's f****d, now fix my f****n car".

After checking the thermostat, the water pump and pulling out the radiator again, the mechanics still had no idea what was going on. They called the Mitsu techs, who advised that they (lucky for all you other MN owners) have only had a handful overheat, and the problem has been rectified by replacing the thermostat.

As this was not the problem, the head was removed and inspected. No apparent problem there, but on inspecting the block, my problem was found - at last.

There must have been an issue at the time the block was cast, which was not picked up by Mitsu quality control. In between pistons three and four was a groove that was very visible to the naked eye. This was allowing exhaust gas into the cooling system and coolant into the piston. The exhaust gas was apparently boiling the coolant which made it overheat and spew out the overflow.

The solution, (without any arguments from Mitsubishi)I finally picked her up today with a brand new motor. I'm so damn happy that Mitsubishi actually stood by their warranty.

To celebrate I took her out and bought her a shiny new set of tyres and put her through the car wash.

...

[killa]

Well time to update the story on mine without starting another thread.
...

[furious]

I would assume they did not change the coolant when they replaced the thermostat.

I would start with a flash of the cooling system and new coolant and new radiator cap.

My understanding is coolant is like transmission fluid, once it has overheated once it is thrown out because it loses its ability to carry heat.

[Longranger1]

Well time to update the story on mine without starting another thread.



As you all know the Challenger overheated 2 weeks ago on the way to Brisbane and didn't get past Hervey Bay. The local dealer had the car delivered to them on the back of an RACQ truck arranged by Mitsubishi roadside assist.
They diagnosed the overheating issue as a faulty thermostat at 3pm on the Friday afternoon, meant that we didn't have a car until at least Monday and they couldn't confirm that the parts would even arrive in time.
There was a phone call here to their service manager that will not be revealed at this time but lets say I was less than happy with his response. To keep the holiday going we left the Challenger with the dealer and 'stole' my old man's Hilux for the remainder of our trip.

Long story short they eventually changed over the thermostat but had to have 2 goes at it as the first time they buggered up the O-ring in the thermostat housing which caused it to dump approx. 3 litres of coolant in the drive way.

Yesterday we finally got to pick up the Challenger from my Dad's place and drive back from Hervey Bay without the temp guage (or Torque OBD Temp. reading) going over 94°. The system had pressure at every fuel stop and I thought things were looking good.

This morning I find that the overflow tank is full and there has been coolant spat out all over the place, and the radiator took about 1.5ltrs to top up again!!

Thoughts are that the radiator cap may have failed following the initial overheat as it wasn't replaced by the HB dealer. Anyone know if I can get an aftermarket one at Supercheap on a Sunday?

When will it end

Geez... that really sucks Cal. Apart from the radiator cap I'd be paying close attention to see if there is any exhaust gas in the coolant. The occasional block has had porosity issues and has been documented on here. The problems didn't stem from using our less than illustrious stealer for servicing? Seems a coincidence since you didn't have problems previously.
You may be able to get a cap at poo - is - deep auto that'll marry up. Bring the original with you as there is some degree of commonality with Mits' models.

[Tony]

I cant watch this any more. Dont let them fool you into thinking there have been no issues with these things, nor try and say the bar work etc always causes the issue.

Once at spewing coolant, not initially overheating whilst doing so and not pulling the coolant back from the overflow (Expansion) bottle there is a possibility of a porosity issue with castings.

It has happened in the past and I have personally seen two after a long battle with an unnamed dealer and MMAL. (Happy to say it all turned out for the better with very good support)

With diesels, it can be very difficult to diagnose small combustion leaks.

Once the thermostat, radiator cap, coolant blockages (Mixed coolants etc), any small external leaks (even if seem invisible) (Pressure test over night to find these ones), EGR cooler leak (usually make a hissing sound after a hard run), water pump, Radiator core, airflow, viscous fan etc are all ruled out. The above scenario is getting very plausible.

Is rare, but HAS HAPPENED.

[killa]

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[killa]

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[Longranger1]

Well it seems that the new radiator cap and full system flush did work as the coolant has settled. Haven't had to top it up for a few days and the coolant is actually returning to the system now.

You can bet I'm keeping an eye on it though .

Maybe these engines are a bit finicky to bleed all the air out of when replacing coolant.

[Tony]

Phew, I'm glad to hear this.
Overall, I have found the newer DID tritons do have a very efficient cooling systems so should any issues such the above arise, something is horribly wrong. They dont like getting hot as in looses coolant hot so be careful out there. a good test for this is, when the heater stops working means the coolant may be gone and the temp gauge wont show hot.

A good idea for those that are have moments such as the above would be to install a low coolant alarm as it will 100% save the engine should the coolant get away and you dont notice.

There are many types out there, I dont believe fitting one to the overflow bottle is always the best way either as with issues as the above, it may not be much help.
I have them in the top radiator tank or top hose in some of the fleet here. They have saved the day over and over.

[travr]

Soooooo my wife and I are driving home from litchfield park on sat and I look down and notice the car is running a bit warm. When I say warm I have never seen it move from about half over bout 41k's so I thought it a bit wierd. Any way it continued to get hot all the way to red and that's when I pulled over. Put it in N waited to see if it would cool down no joy so turn it off pop the hood and I can see the Copland boiling in my overflow bottle (safari replacement) and the coolant slowly coming out of the bottle. We waited for about an hour till it was cool enough to take off the cap then topped it up with about 2 - 3 lt of water and babied it home was only a couple of k's away. It sitting at my local dealer now they don't know when they will be able to look at apparently they are really busy in Darwin?
Any way I drive a 2010 MN GLXR never had any indication of poverheating before and I am a heavy vehicle mechanic by trade so know my way around cars a bit. Bit worried its going to be big as there was no obvious signs of a problem.

[hvac guy]

How many is on the clock on yours

[hvac guy]

I'm scared now, i got rid if the hilux cause of over heating problems i don't want to go through that again.