i concur...take off the tjm and hella and drive it. is your gauge working correctly? i had a bad one once, that gave the illusion of running hot..

 

More updates...


The mechanic couldn't find anything to fix within the time frame I had before my long road trip to Yosemite. The symptoms were that the radiator would boil over on occasion (randomly?) but the temp gauge would stay right at the normal range. I made the decision to drive it and keep a close eye on all the gauges.

The trip up went fine -- I smelled coolant once on the way up during stop & go traffic near LA, so I pulled over and the radiator was once again boiling, but the temp gauge was showing normal. I let it cool down, topped off the coolant, and continued to Yosemite without incident.

Driving home was fine until about 45 miles outside of Blythe when I smelled coolant and started to pull off the highway to check it out. Just as I moved over to the shoulder, something in the coolant system let loose and I had anti-freeze every where and the temp did start rising. Fortunately, I was already in the process of shutting it down and it never got hot. I let everything cool down and then attempted to check for leaks in the system but it was too dark and everything else was to wet, so I called AAA and got to use my "Plus" member ship for a 250 mile tow back to Phoenix.

The mechanic hasn't had much of a chance to look at it yet this week, but it appears that the lower radiator hose blew. Now it's just a matter of determining if this was the problem, or a symptom of a greater problem.

Regardless, this is the last time I'm dealing with this crap. I have had nothing but headaches with this damn vehicle since I started modding it, and the mods may be part of the problem, but the cost of modding and the consistant repairs have drained my wallet enough. It's nearly paid off, so I'm going to park it and work on it when I have time and wheel with it when it's in good mechanical condition, but it's done as my daily driver. Last night I bought a '97 4x2, 3.4L 4Runner for a screamin deal and it will be my regular vehicle for most trips and family transportation. I'm feeling more serene already...

Ed

 

After looking at this thread, I have a suggestion. In my old exploder I was having the same cooling issues, I replaced the entire cooling system, fan clutch, hoses, radiator etc.... Turns out the problem was the A/C was jacked but I was running it anyway because it gave off a small amount of cool air. When I took it to the mechanic to have the A/C recharged, I ended up having the entire A/C system replaced to the tune of 1500 bucks. After that no overheating. The mechanic told me that when the refrigerant runs low in the A/C system, or the A/C is not flowing correctly, heat builds in the condensor in front of the radiator, a lot of heat, this then heats up the radiator and subsequently overheats the engine. Have the A/C flushed, recharged, and leak tested before freaking out. I bet a krispy kreme donut that is your problem. I was totally surprised that an A/C could produce that much heat that all new coolant system components could not keep up. If you are going to do any local runs soon send me a PM.

 

Sorry to hear that. Hope that everything works out and you get that issue fixed.

 

93_Runner -- I still owe you some pics. Hopefully I'll have some soon, but none worth posting at the moment.

DLB -- actually, the A/C condensor may very well be part of the problem. The A/C run very cold, but there was an issue a couple of weeks ago where the A/C would cut in and out so instead of replacing an expensive switch or solenoid (not sure the exact part) he "by-passed" it. Not sure how or what that means, but essentially the A/C condensor runs constantly with the A/C switch "on." It has no mechanism to regulate itself on/off for temperature conditions. I noticed that after running the A/C a while the fan blowing air into the cabin slows down dramatically. The mechanic told me to shut off the A/C for about five minutes -- I did and the air flow returned to normal. He said this was because the condensor was completely frozen up since it runs constantly, and he will need to install a regulator switch. If it sounds ghetto-rigged and non-standard, it is. He gave me the options for repair and I chose the cheap fix, so I don't want this to reflect on him as always looking for the cheap, "jerry-rigged" fix.

I sounds like when the condensor freezes up, it may be generating a lot of heat in front of the radiator. Or then again, it may just be possessed...

Ed

 

Sounds like you have a 22RE, if so see this:
http://www.4crawler.com/4x4/CheapTri...tml#Thermostat

What mix of antifreeze and water are you running?

Try this test:
http://www.arrowheadradiator.com/hea..._leak_test.htm

 

Nope -- it's a 3.0L 3VZ-E. Not sure about the mix -- the mechanic added the latest coolant, so I'll have to ask. I'm going to have him add in some WaterWetter, too.

Ed

 

Hey Ed! Remember, the key to water wetter is to make a greater water to coolant ratio. 70/30 should be fine for PHX. I am running that mixture. Make sure the mechanic knows that (he should).

Later!