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Had this v6 truck a few months now, always regretted selling my 89 22re w the poverty package ages ago. Anywho, heading up past reno from the bay area, had a buddy w me and some gear. Always afraid of this thing overheating so im always eyeballing the temp gauge. Didnt do so hot in the mountains w me solo last trip, and was worried. It started bogging down, I shut off the od. Its struggling, my foot is in it. Its either lugging at 2800 in 3rd or screaming its brains out in 2nd at 4200rpm. Big rigs passing me hauling ass. Im doing maybe 45 and I can feel im pushing the engine. Then the gauge starts moving up slowly. Im babying it as much as possible keeping it in the powerband, made it another 60 miles. I got off the freeway when the needle passed the indicator thingie in the middle completely. Still a ways from the red. Pulled into a shady spot, shut it off and popped the hood. Coolant is the tanks boiling like mad. I let it sit for 20 mins till the coolant stopped boiling, then started it. Buddy reminded me about the heater core trick so I turned on the heater. That got it under control through the rest of the mountains. Had flip flops on, cooked the hell outta my foot. Really thought the 4 hole injectors woulda made a difference in that mountain run, made a world of difference around town.
No coolant loss other that what boiled out. Its been a few weeks now and the levels the same. Rad full when cold. So im thinking bigger radiator, new fan, and fan clutch. Whats the big beefmiester of radiators for the v6? Ive been searching threads on all forums for weeks now, see lots w posts like this. Also see many where people are pulling small trailers uphill at 65, bull˟˟˟˟? I did put on a square tube lumber rack so I know thats causing some resistance/drag. Gear change for my lil 2wd? lol
Mileage on the motor I dunno, motors been replaced. Truck has no ac but this motor has an ac compressor and none of the fixins. maintenance history I dunno, only had it a few months. Body has lotsa dents and some rust showing thru. Frame is super clean and the underside of the truck too, no gunk and dirt buildup at all anywheres. So looks like it was maintained pretty well. Thing runs like a champ, tons more power after the new injectors. Put all new ignition stuf on it, cleaned the tb, swapped the old hoses. Changed a buncha stuff on it after I got it.
Great pull in 1st and 2nd, soso in 3rd, and a dog in 4th. On the flats, in the hills especially on the way to reno is where I have trouble. I was mistaking the torque converter lockup for a gear so I think Im high revving 3rd in the hills, but still sure I had the od off.
Was reading up on the afm swap, sounds like it just leans the engine a bit. Also reading these run rich from the factory. So couldnt I adjust my current afm to lean out a wee bit? I know Ill probably need a afr monitor. Was reading into a small turbo to help in the hills. Just need a wee bit more power. Had maybe 800lbs in the truck including my buddy and I and it was scary on the hills.
Nice truck. Not many 2wd v6 trucks out there. Your issue is most likly the rad is clogged up or the fan clutch is not working. These 3vze are not known for making power, they are slow. Troubleshoot first then replace parts that fail testing.
Thanks man, its got a ton of dents and dings. The white hides a lot. The fan clutch is on the list, it whines a bit when the motor is cold. But to do that I have to pull the rad. So I wanna upgrade the rad while im in there and do a flush. Looking for a bigger beefy radiator to upgrade to. Ill get an oem fan clutch, is it worth replacing the fan blade as well? Not looking to make this thing a beast, just a bit more power on the hills. Was researching a rear mount baby turbo, any little more oopmh on the hills would be great. It gets awesome mpg and runs perfect otherwise. I plan on keeping this one forever as I always missed my 89.
I could be wrong, but I believe the factory radiator is a 2 core. I know for sure a 3 core will fit in there, and that the shroud will still fit perfectly. I did that with both my 87's when I lived in Yuma. If you didn't know, it gets HOT in Yuma. You know, Satan once thought that he'd take a vacation, and figured Yuma was as close to He&& he was going to find. He went home after a few hours. It was just too hot for him in Yuma. That kind of hot.
Anywho, I went to a local radiator shop, and they sold me an all metal, 3 core radiator for about $150.00, for each truck. Same radiator fits both of them. I never had an over heat. Heck, I'm STILL running the one in my pickup, after about 30 years now. The one in the 4Runner blew the top off after about 20 years, so I figure I got my money's worth out of it.
As long as the fan blades look in relatively decent shape, and the fan clutch is in good shape, I wouldn't think a new fan would be necessary. They draw a LOT of air through the radiator when the clutch engages all the way. More important to make sure the fan shroud is in decent shape, and has the small bottom piece on it. It really matters more than you might think.
And, of course, that the radiator fins are relatively clean, bug-free, and not all bent up. Not to mention the thermostat. Of course that must be functioning well.
By all means ramble sir good info! Been reading all the radiator posts on here, sounds like the alum rads are best. Ordered a 3 row alum rad and got an oem fan clutch last night, should be here next week and be ready for the next run to nevada. Going without the lumber rack this time, I have a feeling it was acting like a sail in the mountains. The camping pic above is all the stuff I had in the truck, 1 wheelbarrow, 1 mini bike, table, stove, wee bit o firewood, 500' of 10/4, 2 tents, and 2 goobers. Im sure the rad and clutch will help, hopefully the timing advance will give me more power in the mountains.
You know, I may be missing something here, but why would one take a wheelbarrow, and 500' of 10/4 camping? Not generally considered the most critical camping gear, that I know of, anywho.
I know for a fact we never took that sort of thing on the long marches we did when I was in the Corps...
Picked up some land in nevada. The wheel barrow and tools were for clearing an area for where the driveway will be. Was on a hunt for property lines. I picked up the wire and a grunfos well pump from a guy on the way up. Killer deal. I gimped it to his exit, where I let it cool off. New starter had heat soak and wouldnt start in his driveway when we went to leave lol. Had to wait another 15 mins before itd fire. Fan clutch will be here today, rad will be here tomorrow. Rad!
Did you get an all-metal, 3-core radiator? I have, well, HAD one in both my 87's. The pickup still has the one I got for it about 30 years ago. The 4Runner's blew the top off the radiator one day recently. Cheap, I know, only lasting about 25 years.
I got them since I lived in Yuma for a LONG time, and it's a bloody hot place to live. Not a "Wow, this place is HOT!" kind of place, but more like a " Did I see Satan going back to He&*" "Yeah, he stopped by for his vacation, but decided it was too hot for him." kind of place. Never had a hint of overheat in the trucks after I put them in.
Also, I hope you only got a new, OEM fan clutch. Look how long the old one has lasted, after all.
Looking forward to hearing how everything goes. How did the fun in Nevada go?
BTW: When were the 3 radiator hoses last replaced? I do mine every spring, and keep the old ones I take out for spares. Same for belts, spark plugs and wires, and so on. As long as you're draining the system, this might be a good time to replace the hoses. Prevents troubles later.
Don't forget, there's 3 of them. A lot of people forget the short, "jumper" hose that's right under the PS pump. Also, beware when you pull the bottom radiator hose. I don't care HOW well you drain things, there will always be just about a friggen face-full left in the bottom hose. Get's ME every time. Heck, I almost started wearing a diving mask to replace the bottom hose, it was so bad...
Yeah I got an all aluminum 3 core, and an aisin clutch offa ebay. Radiator hoses were changed about a week after I got the truck, they needed it. Had a sticky caliper, bad shocks, old ignition. Changed it all and added 2" leafs. Truck had orange gatorade for coolant. Beginners luck, the bottom hose didnt get me. Nevada was fun, the hunt for property lines continues! Did an oil change, and pulled the fan clutch. Got a toyota filter too yay! Just noticing the new fan clutch is waay too small as fedex pulls up w the rad rad. Not so rad, its way too big wtf! Durrr I got one for a 4wd. Dag nab it I cant notch the frame, it would look dumbbb if I notch the hood lol(radiator cap sticking out), So ill hack the trans cooler off and mount a universal one. No more ebay junk, got the cooler offa summit. Looks like the old stuffs going back in for now. Back to the doodling board
Yeah, that radiator LOOKS nice. Just a triffle too large. Just a leeeltle bit
And the fan clutch, or fluid coupler, as Toyota calls it, is a little bit too small.
From here on, I would avoid ebay. Try Rock Auto. I haven't gotten the wrong part off of them yet. Maybe I'm just lucky.
Heck, I just replaced the fan clutch in my 99 4Runner. You guessed it, Rock Auto Fit perfectly.
I've replaced the fan clutch in both 87's several times by now. I always go with OEM, either from a dealership, or another source that has the real, honest to goodness OEM parts.
I've seen all metal, 3-core, radiators in there, too. One of the few non-OEM parts I've put in. Maybe worth a look. I don't know about the 90 trucks, but the radiator in my 87's are interchangeable. Same radiator fits in either truck just fine.
Anywho, here's wishing you better luck with what you need to replace! Hope you get the right size parts next time. At least the radiator and fan clutch are pretty easy to get to, and replace. Not hidden down inside or under "stuff"
Already had the fan clutch ordered from rock auto, showed up in a cupla days and installed in about 20 mins. Didnt take the rad out this time. Driving it around the past few days it just had a constant odor of coolant. No leaks, checked a million times. The smell is strong, very strong. So I did a bit more research and got the 3 core rad for the 2wd, all brass csf 2057. Ordered a trans cooler as well, all from summit. Ordered late late thursday, showed up saturday morning. Thats today and I installed it all. Thursday I was coming back home w the kiddo, and start to hear the power steering pump whine close to home. Checked it, its low and looks like the cap leaked. Filled it up and made a rubber gasket for it. Flipped the truck around in the driveway, and I see a small puddle. I cant see anything leaking w the motor running, so I get my 3yr old to turn the wheel. Thats when I see a spray of fluid when the wheels turned. My pressure line somehow worked itself against an exposed stud and rubbed a hole in it. Fudge! Had one the day after and installed it. 21mm is too small, 22mm is loose. So I grabbed a 7/8s, n its loose too. Then the other side is a 5/8 flare nut. And the hose is 3.5' long! WTF?! Why not just put the power steering pump on the same side as the steering box?! Somebodys parents paid a lotta money so their kid could learn how to do that! That thing was a bear to weave in between the rad hoses, and tranny lines, and the frame, watch out for that fan man! Changed the trans filter and fluid, it was brown. Friggin crossmember was completely wedged up on the pan. Anywho, this thing has a new cooling system minus the water pump. That damn whine is still there, thought it was the fan clutch. Its coming from under the front of the plenum, must be the timing belt. Goes away when warmed up, just annoying. Missed my trip to reno because of the busted power steering line, maybe it was meant to be.
shem
Going up next weekend tho dag nabbers!
new clutch installed damn clean frame and suspension, zero rust crossmember wedged against the pan man Probably victim of a chitty tire shop, hadta pulla it to get to the pan the goods new csf rad, oem cap fits. tits! Wound up moving it to the middle middle busted sterrin hoes lol All done oh happy day!
Made it back today from nevada, much better run than the last one. On the way home I saw an airstream trailer w the back axle/axles missing on the side o the 80fwy. An hour later on the 5fwy, I see a newer crown vic on the side w no back axle. Weird. Truck ran great tho, what a friggin champ! Was a bit lighter this trip, buddy flaked and I pulled the rack. I did take a decent load of gear and plywood pieces, set the top plywood pieces as a makeshift tonneau cover. Was enough to drop the back 4" level w the front. I tried to raise the front, the double nutted nuts were too tough for me to break free from the driveway. I will try again soon. Was hauling ass up the mountain, keeping it in the powerband. Only on the biggest of long grades the temp started to move slightly once. Very happy and proud of this little truck.
Got my power door lock actuators installed and some chevy blazer/caddie chrome door lock buttons, wired it up to an alarm and I have keyless entry. Schweet! Probably get a cat back for it down the road, and going to change the timing belt soon. I dunno how old the current one is, theres no sticker, and from what I can gather from other posts its a lot easier to do before the belt breaks. Theres a toyota only place thats been in biz for ages, I think ill take it to them and have them do it and look the truck over. The engine seems sound, I know its from another truck. The sellers english wasnt too great, but my spanish is so so and he was trying to tell me the engine was new or something. It had a bad exhaust leak at the rear crossover pipe, but those heads looked like theyd just been hot tanked. It ran great(slower than.....) and the oil pressure gauge didnt/still doesnt work.
Thinkin about the knock sensor too, wanna leave it alone. Should I carry a spare sensor and harness? I know the sensor is buried under the lower intake, but I read in some posts some guys have it plugged into the harness and hanging on the engine removal hook. I dont wanna get stranded in the mountains, hell I dont wanna get stranded anywhere! So any preventative maintenance I will do or have done. As always, any advice appreciated!
05-11-2021, 03:42 PM
