Hi Rich,
Couple of questions:
- What tyre pressures were you running?
- Did you turn off the ESP, either just with the switch on the dash (hold it for 7 seconds I think) or through some other means?
If it was struggling then perhaps you could have dropped a few more psi out of the tyres.
Also, while I've heard the diesels do quite well on the sand in 4Hi, the petrol may be better in 4Lo as they don't produce as much torque, especially if it's that hot and the sand is so soft.
Lastly, and most importantly, you absolutely have to turn off the ESP when driving on sand otherwise it is constantly detecting spinning wheels, then tries to brake those wheels or reduce engine power. Both of those make it even harder to move forward so you stomp down harder and it just gets worse and worse. That will drive the temperatures up massively. There have been a few cases in the states of petrol JK's (they're all petrol in the states) setting on fire while driving on sand and that is suspected to be the cause. That's obviously a very extreme scenario but you get the point, you need to turn ESP off. I think by holding the switch for 7 seconds it only disables it until you next turn off the car. Once you re-start then you need to turn ESP off again.
I think it's just about finding the right set up (tyre pressures, gearing etc) for the conditions as most say the JK's do well on the sand, especially with the stock tyres on.
One other thing, did you leave it in D or did you use 1 or 2? Might be an idea to leave it in 2 and only put it in D if you need to drive over 50km/hr or so, or are driving on firmer sand. By leaving it in D I suspect it'll keep the torque converter unlocked for more of the time and that will also generate a lot more heat in the transmission. Keep in 2 and the torque converter will lock up much earlier and that'll keep the temps down better.
Originally Posted by dobbo56
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