Cooling and bash plates.

[mnicho29]

Looking for info from fellow Aussie it those in hot climates. In particular maybe some who put after market skid plates on a 2.2 multijet diesel.

My 2020JLUR is built. But considering some skid plates to protect the cooling lines for tranny and sump area.

Has anyone had cooling issues with such plates fitted?

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[Rubi D]

Nice looking rig Matt. Sorry, can't lend any advice as haven't fitted any skid plates yet. Did you find any increase in running temperatures with the bar and lights?
I find oil temperature to be the concern. Coolant and Tranny seems to be OK, but oil temperature likes to climb, especially when towing.

 

[mnicho29]

my temps have always remained as factory.
88 - 98 on coolant
100 - 110 on oil temp. (Depending on load)
I’ve done research, this is quite normal for diesels. Thing to remember that, is as long the coolant is pressurised, it will stay a liquid.

I’m about to travel to cape York and with the extra weight and tropical temps, I’ll keep a close eye on it. But the 2.2 seems to put along just fine.

my concern with adding plates is that it may restrict the air moving through the engine bay and out underneath, where you’d expect most of the air to escape.

 

[mnicho29]

in saying that… I generally don’t tow. If I do… only very light trailers. They certainly aren’t great two vehicles

 

[SteadyC]

Hi Matt, sorry, just want to ask and ensure your safety. That looks like a lot of weight on your roof rack. they are only rated for so much weight. Just want to point out in case there is too much weight up there and thus has safety issues. Please don’t take as criticism, just want to make sure you’re safe.

I think if you go with just a tranny skid plate, vs. an entire belly skid plate system, you should be perfect. This is what I have, just a tranny skid and there’s loads of room between the tranny and the skid. How I don’t have your vehicle of course, but I suspect all skids would be the same in terms of space.

 

[mnicho29]

Hi Matt, sorry, just want to ask and ensure your safety. That looks like a lot of weight on your roof rack. they are only rated for so much weight. Just want to point out in case there is too much weight up there and thus has safety issues. Please don’t take as criticism, just want to make sure you’re safe.

I think if you go with just a tranny skid plate, vs. an entire belly skid plate system, you should be perfect. This is what I have, just a tranny skid and there’s loads of room between the tranny and the skid. How I don’t have your vehicle of course, but I suspect all skids would be the same in terms of space.

hi mate. All good mate. The rack is an ARB base rack. Fully welded and bolts internally to the tub and roll cage. From memory, it’s rated to 125 kgs (give or take) It is absolutely rock solid and just went to cape York and back and is probably the best rack option for these things. 100% confident in its capacity. Cheers.

 

[Multihull]

I live in Queensland and my 2.2 multijet Rubicon never gets hot but I do have bash plates but these shouldn't cause a rise in temperature. Some days we'll spend 3 hours driving an extreme track that is only 1 or 2 km long. In fact the Multijet runs extremely cool for a 4wd.

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