Folks
Xantia estate 90 Hdi. I am not sure I have a problem but need your advice.
Temp gauge sits just above 80C on most journeys / load conditions.
Very rarely and sitting crawling traffic and hot weather might touch 94 then climbs back to around 85/87C
On hols recently A38 climb out of Exeter (if anyone knows that) - very steep / long car fully loaded and doing 60/70 mph. Noticed a steady climb to just beyond 90C - climb of hill was over and back to normal 82C. Ambient outside temp was about 21c
I am a bit obsessive about temp gauge since my ownership of a BX TD that did not have one!
views please - should I replace the Radiator or is this normal?
PaulB
Xantia HDi 90 radiator advice
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paulbx
- Posts: 111
- Joined: 07 Oct 2005, 14:13
Xantia HDi 90 radiator advice
Broomie(paulB) Xantia Hdi 90 estate
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jeremy
- Posts: 3959
- Joined: 20 Oct 2002, 16:00
- x 2
Looks normal to me. The thermostat probably starts to open at around 83 degrees (please check spec) so the thing should heat up to that temperature most of the time and when stresses it will go a bit higher while the thermostat opens a bit more and eventually the fans will cut in somewhere over 90 (please check spec)
No damage will be done till the water boils - which should be about 105 to 110 degrees if the system is sealing properly - the system is pressurised to increase the boiling point.
The airflow over about 25 mph will be greater than the fans can provide.
The radiator is crossflow. Older cars have vertical flow radiators with tanks top and bottom, Crossflow rads are the same basic design turned on its side. On a vertical radiator any dirt will hopefully lodge in the bottom tank where its harmless. On a crossflow one it lodges in the bottom tubes - which is no problem for a while but gradually more block and one day when the car is stressed it can't cope.
If the bottom of the radiator is blocked it will be cooler than the rest - so if you want to check it get the car hot and feel the radiator.
No damage will be done till the water boils - which should be about 105 to 110 degrees if the system is sealing properly - the system is pressurised to increase the boiling point.
The airflow over about 25 mph will be greater than the fans can provide.
The radiator is crossflow. Older cars have vertical flow radiators with tanks top and bottom, Crossflow rads are the same basic design turned on its side. On a vertical radiator any dirt will hopefully lodge in the bottom tank where its harmless. On a crossflow one it lodges in the bottom tubes - which is no problem for a while but gradually more block and one day when the car is stressed it can't cope.
If the bottom of the radiator is blocked it will be cooler than the rest - so if you want to check it get the car hot and feel the radiator.
jeremy