have you tried one of these??

 

If the radiator's not clogged and the thermostat is drilled (or has a jiggle-valve), there should be nothing difficult about this. I've done this many times, again last night on my '90 actually, and have never had an issue.

And just out of curiosity, did you put the block sealer in it or your customer?

 

To get mine to burp me and a buddy hand pumped (AKA repetitively squeezed) all the coolant lines (upper rad, lower rad, and timing cover) like we were giving the engine cpr. Engine was OFF while doing this. Eventually a big burp came out and gulped in like 2L. Radiator cap was off too.

 

There is no jiggle-valve in this one. Its a napa one

The customer put that crap in.

 

I'm hesitant to help since you're getting paid for this, but...it's the holidays.

Drill a 1/8" hole and position it at 12 o'clock or buy an OEM thermostat with a jiggle-valve. Problem solved.

What happens is the air trapped behind the thermostat can't transfer enough heat to open it.

 

OP, try topping off the block with coolant through the upper rad hose.
I've not had great luck with non-Toyota t-stats.

Edit: Removed this info which is for the 3.4, not 3.0: Clock the t-stat with the jiggler (or hole) at the 6 o'clock position.

 

Why do people keep saying to install the thermostat with the jiggle valve at 6 o'clock? When that's NOT what you're supposed to do.

Straight upward....as in 12 o'clock...NOT 6 o'clock.

http://personal.utulsa.edu/~nathan-b...10thermost.pdf

 

Thanks guys, I ordered a jiggle valve T-Stat and will drop that in tomorrow. This problem is a first for me. Hope this fixes it.

 

Some 5vz guys have reported lower temps with the air bypass at 6 o'clock but, as far as I know, the best position for the 3vz is 12.

 

Ok, This is were I'm at on this thing

Changed out the thermostat with a OEM Toyota with the jiggle valve, burped the system, drove it around 15 miles and seemed to be fixed, gauge stayed cool, no problems ran great.

Gave it back to the customer, it started over heating on him about 10 miles from the shop, so I took it back, the radiator was hot on the top, middle but ice cold on the bottom along with the bottom hose, so I'm thinking plugged up radiator. Just installed the new radiator, filled it up, let it idle with the heat on, put the cap on the test drove, went on the back roads up to 60 MPH, no problems, but as soon as I got on the freeway, the gauge jumped up to Hot, so I pulled over and the lower hose is still ice cold.

Any Ideas? This is a first for me.

 

Sounds like a clogged radiator.

 

Guess you did not read what I typed out.... lol

I just put a brand new radiator in it.

 

Sorry about that. Reading too many threads at once.

Hate to say it but I bet it's the head gasket and/or a cracked head. Take the thermostat out completely or drill one or two 1/8" bypass holes in the old one.

 

I'm 100% the headgasket is right.

I had the heads checked when I had them milled.

I'm going to take out the thermostat all the way and see what happens, I just got done doing a reverse flush on the system and everything came out clean that I saw.

 

Drilling the thermostat will accomplish the same thing (air bypass) and still let the motor warm up.

 

There is always the possibility the the gaskets were installed on the wrong side, as in left on right and right on left, it can and has been done.

 

Proper stat alignment

 

If you don't mind i'd like to give you my two cents to get your mental gears turning(i already have an idea as to what it is but will not divulge that information until necessary)There are many aspects to properly diagnosing a cooling issue and some tools that will get you on your way. An infra red thermometer will help by getting an actual reading of the temp on the motor when over heating as the gauges can be faulty. Checking the fan and making sure air can flow through the radiator is another. How did you test the radiator? did you take it to a radiator shop or even run a garden hose through it? Is the motor complete? meaning does it have a fan shroud and what are the conditions you are driving in? IE. cold wet hot sunny? Does it matter. Have you checked for drag in the drive line that might make the motor work too hard? *Have you removed both upper and lower hoses on the motor and made sure there is coolant flowing all the way through the engine?* hint, hint. And further more a t-stat in the incorrect position is not going to make a motor overheat so the 6oclock 12oclock issue is a waste of time until you want to fine tune it to get the temp you want . That would be like cleaning up the blood before you close the wound. Does the t-stat open and close at the right temp? yes move on. Check timing as well and everything else. Eliminate the basics and move to the tougher stuff. You might have over looked a small thing and started focusing on the other stuff.
If this was in my shop i would start checking the components of the cooling system off the list and eliminating the problems one by one. Most of this stuff is universal to all cars and could help you develop diagnoses skills for other makes and models in the future. Good luck and post up your findings please.

 

I'm sure it has been done, but I double checked before installing the heads, plus these felpro gaskets had " LEFT " "Right" and Top printed on them.

 

Thanks for giving me some tips:

I'm in North Idaho, its about 35 - 40 Degrees outside, Raining right now

The Old Radiator I took to a radiator shop and they flow tested it and it did show it was plugged up, not 100% but plugged, so I went ahead and replaced it.

I do have a infra red thermometer, when the engine is fully warmed up the top part of the core on the radiator is around 135-150 degrees give or take.

the bottom part is around 50-60 degrees

The Fan is working right, I can hear the clutch engage when cold and disengage when it warms up.

Motor is 100% complete, stock, with both upper and lower fan shroud's

I took off the upper Rad. hose and there is coolant flowing there, Removed the bottom and coolant is flowing out of there. I did not do this when it was running tho.

I tested the T-Stat in hot water, it opens at 180 degrees, and I have a 1/8" hole drilled in the top, and its installed in the 12 o clock spot

When I did a back flush, it was super clean, nothing rusty, or milky colored came out.

what I did notice also, with the heat on full blast, I can drive around the old roads ( 35 MPH up to 55 MPH ) and it wont over heat and the gauge reads right, but as soon as I jump on the free way, it will start crawling up to the Hot. Also, in town, if I turn off the heat, it will start to heat up.

Checked the Timing when I did everything and its spot on.

Drive lines are nice and tight, no drag.

Hope that answers all the questions.