A.martin

I'm about to give up on this Toyota. Running hot is the problem. Replaced radiator, water pump, thermostat, heads have been redone. All new gaskets of course. Radiator and water pump twice thought the first one might be bad. Start the truck and with a few minutes it's flowing out of the radiator. If you take the thermostat out it stops. But of course there is no heat. Someone said the head gasket could be on the wrong side. I didn't do the work so it could be. Don't think it is a air issue. Two different mechanics. Last one said he purged it and got all the air out. Any other suggestions. It's a nice little truck and my son loves it but it is costing me a lot of money. Thanks

Gevo

You may have air in the system. Will not let the coolant flow properly and therefore the engine will get hot. I think you can test this theory by checking the radiator temperature when engine is showing hot. If radiator is super hot and you can't even get close to touching it, then it is not the problem. If radiator is not that hot and you can easily hold your hand to it.. probably your problem. However, this can show a false positive, but it is quick. Best way to be sure is to burp the system.

Aquatic Escape

sounds like air in the system. I have this problem every time I have to drain the coolant. Easiest way I found to get air out of system is to remove radiator cap, disconnect one of the heater core lines at the firewall, use garden hose to force water thru system until air is purged out of top of radiator.

gandude

Thermostat in backwards?

I have the original radiator (brass) in my truck and air will not cause it to run hot. It will cause the radiator to start leaking at the top seams because of radical temp changes during operation over time. The stock radiator will last a very long time if you purge all air out of the system.

wrenchmonster

What radiator was installed? A few of us, myself included, have had issues with the plastic tanked radiators, Spectra CU50. In fact, the Spectra radiator I installed was THE direct cause of my overheating issue. After doing the head gaskets (again!) I replaced the radiator with the all metal CFS 2506 and my overheating problem was solved. The all metal CFS is a full inch wider and uses 3 cores instead of two, making it 3/8" thicker. I calculated a 18.5 inch greater surface area overall.

Many folks have reported no issues with the less expensive Spectra model, but that was not my experience at all. The CFS all metal radiator is a superior radiator, hands down.

(An unrelated note... Might consider changing the subject line of this thread to get more responses. Perhaps something more specific than "1992 3.0" ...maybe "1992 3.0 overheating issue" ?)

-Kevin