2000 DII, 100K
Highway driving for about an hour, no temp issues during normal driving. Forty F.
Ten minutes off of highway, stopped at a sign.
Temp needle is dead down to cold, red light is ON. Slight shudder in engine.
Heading toward home! Stop at c-store 1/2 way as engine is detonating.
Open hood, reservoir cap is steaming big time, slowly crack cap to keep skin on fingers.
Get cap open, mild gusher, lots of "dry steam".
At some point the temp gauge is now full HOT, red light still on.
Engine idles up as water goes in, needle drops to cold, red light still on.
As I put water in the tank it will go dry then suddenly overflow. Constant sucking sound near top of tank.
Needle still swinging periodically.
Limped it home, didn't want to shift right, seemed to lag (limp home mode?)
Stopped engine in driveway, opened hood.
Top radiator hose is blowing blue steam like a train whistle from burp valve.
Come in here and start reading...
Serpentine belt is on ok, viscous clutch seems shot as I can turn the fan while it should be hot as hell.
An hour or so later I started the engine and turned the AC temps to LO but no fan that I can hear.

Where to begin, where to begin...?

 

OMG, is a new thermostat really $80?
EDIT: It is at AutoZone, only $20 at AtlBrit (same part pic too...) SOBs.

 

I don't mean to make your day worse, but I think you just blew your engine... You probably have a large leak somewhere. There is most likely an air bubble(s) traveling around in your system causing it to suddenly take in water and spit it out. You shouldn't just be putting water in your cooling system. There should also be anti-freeze/coolant solution. Your system may also be boiling over. In either case, you better pray you didn't bust your engine. They are very sensitive to heat.

 

I started it up a little while ago and it appears to run fine. Any idea why the needle would go from nothing to full hot, back and forth while the idle would change up and down? Almost sounds computer/electrical to me.

Is there a way to check the waterpump for proper operation? I am making an order with Atlantic/British and wonder whether to include one with the upper hose and other goodies.

 

ttt tt

 

If you see any visible leaks or hear any unusual noise coming from it, it is time for it to be replaced. I think you have another problem on your hands. If your needle was moving around and the vehicle was not spitting coolant and sucking it in. Then I would suspect an electrical problem. Based on the symptoms you are describing, i would say you have a much more serious problem. If you want to rule the electrical problem out, you will need to hook up an OBD scanner up to it, with the capability of reading coolant temps. If you are above 220F you have a problem. You can also use an infrared heat gun to determine the temp of the engine.

I would drain the engine oil to check for coolant, and pull out the spark plugs to check for any signs of coolant as well. In your case, I would also do a pressure test.

 

Well, I'm rid of the POS.
Had it towed to the "mechanic". Turns out he was a hillbilly with a European Motor Cars sign out front. Screwed around for a few weeks replacing one thing and then another until he ran up a $3100 bill. He finally thunk on it a fair piece and figgered the block must be cracked or a sleeve dropped where his top bubba couldn't see it. It was going to be several more thousand to replace the engine and then the POS would be really upside down for years, let alone when Three Amigos and any number of other poorly designed features were going to raise their head.

The POS was worth less than that though I owed a fair bit more.
He gave me $500 for the pile of parts after he was through with it and I had to pay off the loan.

I learned my lesson: to never ever own a British designed POS ever again.

 

No, the lesson here is dont overheat your engine and it wont blow up.
Its not the trucks fault you drove it with no coolant in it, thats why your temp gauge went from normal to cold, no coolant left in the engine to immerse the temp sensor, no coolant around it and it cant read the engine temp.
You blew up your engine, end of story.
Had you pulled over and shut it off straight away you would have been fine after you fixed the coolant leak.

 

FYI, the reason your needle was jumping is because you were low on coolant. It was bubbling, and when no coolant was crossing the sensor, it would drop, and when it would bubble up enough for the water pump to pick it up, it would jump to the max.

This is why you should always check your fluid levels...

Sorry you blew your motor, but everyone on here knows you shouldn't drive on a hot engine. I now have 2 spare trucks thanks to people like you. When I have the time I am going to re-build the "British designed POS's" to run again. These vehicles are great, they just get a bad rap from people that don't know how to take care of their stuff. Next time you buy a used vehicle, get on the forums for that make and find the problem areas and know what to look for...

 

AMEN.

My British POS is doing great at 110,000 miles. Wouldn't trade it for the world and it's my daily driver AND my trail rig.