After all the fluid changes today the gf and I went wheeling and exploring on some fire roads. After driving up the rough gravel mountain road for about a mile or two I noticed the temp gauge was high, just below the top white mark. The ultragauge said 219 F. It usually hangs around 170-190 depending on the load in town with a 180 F thermostat. It immediately cooled off after hitting flat ground or downhill. Is this normal? I really don't want to damage it after all this work.

As a side note, the gf was not amused by the wheeling. More like terrified, and then moody.

I was hugely impressed by the Rover though. We scaled slippery slopes I was sure would need lockers and peaked tops that could get us high centered, but not a problem.

 

Thats normal, mine sometime heats up while driving in deep sand in August with the a/c on and climbing big hills.
Turn the a/c off and she cools back off in a min or two, then the a/c goes back on.

 

Thanks Spike. Good to know. It's pretty cold here though. Around 34 F today. Then again I was only going 10-20 MPH up hill on a rough road for quite a ways. What temp should I begin to worry/shut it off? I hate seeing the dash gauge that high, but at least the ultragauge gives an exact measure. Does yours level off or just keep going higher?

It's a completely different beast, but I don't think my grandpa's Duramax powered truck got that hot, but it's hard to say without an exact gauge.

 

Mine levels off, around 220*F or so it will hold pretty steady, turn the a/c off and the a/c fans stay on (like they should when in a overheat situation) and once they shut off I turn the a/c back on.
It has only happened twice, then I replaced the fan clutch and it has not gotten hot again.
That was in 95*F heat, deep deep sand, 4 people in the truck and off roading for 4 hours nonstop.
If it is that cold where you are and it is getting that hot you need to check things out, start with the fan clutch.

 

Trust the Ultra Gauge. My dash gauge says 9:00 up to 235 or so. Your 180 stat will start to crack open at 180, and in another 15 - 20 F, be 100% open. Beyond that, it is just air flow and radiator function.

1. Have you had radiator flushed and rodded out during this project? And fan clutch is easy.

2. Might try some water wetter, it does help a few degrees.

3. You can increase the size of fan and fan clutch to push more air through rad when truck is moving slow at high RPMs. I paid I think $19 for one from a 2001 Blazer. Screws right to our water pump. Makes 6 - 10 F change in summer when I am at 100 F outside. I don't have any mountains or hills around here.

4. If you ever have to do another water pump, that new aftermarket one with the larger brass impeller will move more coolant.

 

You do know that when off roading in these, to keep one set of tires on the highest portion of the track and the other in the lower side if it has a crested center, you do not want to straddle a high center and ride in two sets of ruts.

A lot of GF's/Wifes do not have the sese of adventure and fun to go off-raoding in situations they have seldom if ever encountered. They do not enjoy that sudden clinching sensation. Something about the anatomy or something.

Especially if you screw up that damn Rover that you just spent so much time and money working on!!!!!

Be careful or the availability of funds may slam shut.