arson8

Hi All,

We are having yet another crazy summer down here in CA, and I'm looking for the best cooling options. I was climbing the grape vine on my way to Gorman and the truck was getting hot, so it's time for a cooling system overhaul and I need your help. Is an aluminum radiator the best way to go? Should I run an electric fan? Etc.

millball

Fans, electric, or stock, have little to do with cooling when the truck is travelling at speed.

The fan does most of its work in stop and go conditions and when idling.

Electric fans all give trouble sooner, or later, and usually at the worst possible time.

Electric fans really provide little, or no, cooling improvement over a properly functioning mechanical fan with a sound fan clutch and factory air shroud..

I've heard some say that the best of aluminum radiators are as good, or better than copper/brass units, performance wise.

That may be, but I can solder a copper radiator in an emergency, but aluminum radiators are not so easy to repair. It's copper for me.

You should look to the general tune-up and maintainance of your engine and your rig in general, before condemning your radiator because engines that are not maintained well as to timing, plugs, plug wires, ect; run less efficiently, and so reject more heat into the cooling system instead of turning it into engine power.

arson8

All very good info! The reason why I'm ditching my copper radiator is because it would have to be completely recored, since copper deteriorate over time. I'm going to flush the system, change out the t-stat and go with one of the following radiators. Thoughts on the two aluminum options below?

www.ebay.com/itm/KOYO-ALUMINUM-RADIATOR-TOYOTA-PICKUP-84-95-22R-22RE-4RUNNER-84-88-HH012827-/161541653165?hash=item259ca202ad"]Koyo Aluminum Radiator Toyota Pickup 84 95 22R 22RE 4Runner 84 88 HH012827 | eBay[/url]

www.amazon.com/Toyota-4Runner-Pickup-Aluminum-Radiator/dp/B00TG3DT5U/ref=sr_1_fkmr1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1468899832&sr=8-1-fkmr1&keywords=Toyota+4+runner+aluminum+radiator+2 nd+gen[/url]

fasterspider

Get a V6 radiator and fan shroud and remove the guts of the thermostat but, leave the restrictor in place.
Do not bother wasting your money on an aluminum radiator, an OEM V-6 3 core radiator is more than enough cooling power.

arson8

Thanks fasterspider, sounds like the v6 radiator is the way to go however, I will be getting it in all aluminum since the plastic/alum ones fail after a year or so. Question, am I looking for a first gen 4 runner radiator or second gen? Did they both come with 3 row radiators?

fasterspider

All aluminum sure looks cool but, it is a waste of money for your rig.
My all metal radiator is actually for an 89 pickup with a V-6, make sure you buy the fan shroud and the removable shroud piece with clips, if you don't you wasted all your efforts.
$208.00 shipped I think it was for the radiator, the shroud is about $61.00 and other little pieces are mandatory but, not too expensive.
I have a 2 core plastic tank radiator from a 95 pickup that came out of my 85, that's how I got it and it worked until I put air conditioning in the truck, now a 3 core is all that will keep her cool.

arson8

ok, I'm going to call the dealer today and see what the price is on the 89 v6 radiator, fan shroud and all the bits. I'm also going to call my local parts house and compare prices, but in my experience, the dealer may be expensive, but the parts are far better quality. Stay tuned!

fasterspider

Give me a call dude, don't even think about giving your money to a dealer.
I'll give you the hook ups to acquire the parts and then I will install them for you cheaper by far than any dealership would.
818-259-8690.
I'm in Granada Hills, don't do anything foolish until you speak to me personally.

AkitaDog

iTrader: (1)

Copper or Aluminum both will deteriorate if you run other than Distilled water with your antifreeze.

arson8

AkitaDog, yes I will definitely be using distilled water. Probably something like a 70% water / 30% coolant split.

osv

over two years ago i put in a cu147 aluminum/plastic radiator in my '86: https://www.rockauto.com/en/moreinfo.php?pk=271576

$107 before shipping, it's been great so far... there is a list of specific radiator measurements in that link.

the cu147 is listed as being for the '88 turbo 22re, but i think that it covers several models... there are also a couple of 22re-compatible radiators with bigger cores at rockauto, there are three specific sizes total it looks like: 15 3/4" between tanks, 16 3/4", and 17 3/4".

arson8

Hi All,

With some insight from fasterspider, I was able to get my cooling system all sorted out. Again, I am down in SoCal daily driving my 22r in the 100 degree heat.

I purchased the CSF OEM replacement copper radiator for a 1989 V6 truck. It is a substantially larger 3 row radiator that bolts right in. The only issue I had was when I went to close the hood. I had to put a little dent in the frame of the hood for it to clear the radiator cap. Once installed, you can either use the stock 22r or re fan shroud and fan, or you can purchase the 1989 V6 fan shroud (which I did). I also decided to purchase the larger V6 fan, but it will not fit, the alignment with the water pump is way off. What I ended up doing was installing a 16" electric fan and installing it centered in the new V6 shroud, please see attached pics.

So far, I have had zero cooling issues and the truck is running slightly under halfway. The new radiator is so efficient I don't even need it when driving on the streets! I currently have it wired to a manual switch, but I plan to install a fan switch and relay eventually. Anyways, I'm very happy with this setup, and it was all relatively cheap. ~$240 for the radiator (you can buy it from amazon), ~$100 for the shroud (I got it new from the dealer), and ~$75 for the fan ( any parts house).

arson8

854x4

Make sure you keep your old fan to put it back when it comes time for smog. If you have an electric fan wired to a switch or even set up with a temperature switch and it came stock with a fan clutch its considered a modification and while they cant really fail you for it they can reject the vehicle and refuse to smog it depending on the tech or shop you got to.

fasterspider

You went with 96 parts huh, why 96?
My radiator and fan shroud are from an 89 and my radiator is slightly different than yours too, the cap is located differently and that is why you had issue with the hood closing.
I have 2 smaller fans in front of the radiator and am going to remove the belt driven fan for the 16" electric fan I wanted to use in front of the condenser but, wouldn't fit.

fasterspider

30" tires where 33" tires were made a huge difference in engine temperature on my way to Marie Calendars last night, I really need to regear my rig and get those 4:88s jumping off, the 4:11s are just too high for my 22R.

arson8

I wired up a Hayden fan controller with temperature probe, and now the fan cycles on and off properly. Again, I am very happy with this setup and the truck is running cooler than ever. Now I just need some A/C in the truck to help me from over heating in this SoCal heat wave.

RAD4Runner

Thanks, arson8, fasterspider and folks for this thread.

My biggest gripe with my truck AND the major breakdowns with our previous vehicles are all about the cooling system so I want to do everything I can to aid it. Climbing Tejon Pass, Cajon Pass, and CA-190 from Panamint springs to Stovepipe Wells, CA with air-conditioning on makes my coolant temp approach the red mark. Turning AC off helps keep it down but it stays above half-way mark.. 60,000 on rebuilt engine, new fan clutch, new radiator that was heavy-duty flushed last year, new water pump. I want it to do better.

arson8,
So you're saying that IF you kept the stock 22r fan shroud and fan, it would have plugged and played except for making that dent to fit the rad cap?

RAD4Runner

I do not believe in REPLACING the stock fan clutch with electric control for the fan. However, I like the idea of ADDING an auxiliary cooling fan. This Toyota R&D engineer ADDED a Taurus V6 fan to the front of the AC condenser on his FJ80 to help with cooling. I wonder if same fan or other model's fan would fit, or if anyone had tried similar approach on a 22R/22RE...