hello all,

i seem to have an overheating at idling issue with my 94 pickup w/ 22re. history is as follows:

137k, truck had audible timing chain slap on startup, ran perfect aside from that. against my normal procedure of running strictly oem parts, i ordered a timing chain rebuild kit from engnbldr.com (Rock Manufacturing brand) with reinforced sliders. kit came with new waterpump, oil pump, case, and necessary gaskets. i installed all of this with no issues, warmed up truck and set ignition timing. truck ran fine for the past few hundred miles, although i noticed my temp guage would move around more often, especially when sitting at lights. dismissed it as something i just hadn't noticed before. today i got stuck in big traffic, and the temp went through the roof.

problem: truck is now overheating at idle. within 15min it will be in the red zone on the temp guage, and the coolant would boil over. if i take it down the road, say 45 mph in 5th gear, temp will immediately drop to previously normal levels.

suffice to say i am aggrivated. i have been a mechanic at various dealerships/shops for just shy of 20 years, so i am not exactly a noob when it comes to assembly. i have no leaks, and all fluids are topped off properly. my plan is to order OEM water pump, oil pump, thermostat, and possibly fan clutch (i refuse to believe it just "broke" sitting on my bench) and pray my problem is fixed. it ran rock steady aside from the aforementioned timing chain slap. anyone have any insight, whether it is regarding the problem or "Rock" products? Thanks.

Chris

 

Dont be too quick to badmouth engnbldr parts, he uses quality parts and I have never hear anything negative about his stuff..

It is possible that your radiator is old and clogged, thus not cooling as well. We know its not a faulty gauge as it will boil over... Can you hear the fan egauge when the coolant starts getting hot?

I am sure you know this already, but be careful allowing the collant to approach the red zone.. that head will warp all too easy if it gets that hot.. my coolant got up to 2/3 of the way to the red during a coolant flush and my HG blew 1100 miles later...

I would also contact Ted at engnbldr and talk to him about it.. he knows this engine and could possibly give you an explanation...

 

well, i doubt my radiator is bad after just removing it and reinstalling, but i am up for anything. i swapped fans last night with a spare i had, with the same result.

yeah, as it started getting hot last night i waited a little bit, hoping it would cool down on it's own, but that is when she started to boil over. i mmediately shut it down, and cleaned up the mess. i hope my head or headgasket are not done. truck still runs fine when i moved it this morning.

i tried calling for a few hours and the phone was busy. i will try again today.

 

If you do decide to get a new radiator I would check on radiatorbarn.com very cheap but good quality and a lifetime warrenty...

I know its not common with the 22RE, but I wonder if you have an airbubble...

Did you replace the thermostat? Its possible it doesnt open as far as the OEM one...

 

well, i have a spare radiator i could try, one that came from a running rotted truck. i was thinking airbubble as well, so i let it run with the cap off with the same result. no, i did not replace the thermostat, as i had no cooling issues at all prior. i will try and talk to ted today, and if i cannot get in touch, i plan on replacing everything with oem parts and going from there. i still find it hard to believe that my radiator got clogged or my fan broke when the problem appeared after i did the timing chain job. on a good note, there is no rattle...

 

If your radiator is plugged, your top coolant line will be very firm and the bottom line will be soft. Wait till the thermostat opens of course.

 

Sounds like a rad problem if you drive and it is fine. I have had air bubble problem before with my 88 but it really only effected the heat in the truck. Pulled the outlet off and let it pump for a sec and put back on.

 

Hey Rodney,

I am going through the same issues with my 88 22re. I did a HG replacement and the truck is running fine other than the overheating at idle. I noticed some weeping along the timing cover near the tube that supplies the hot water to the heater. It's that tube that bolts to the back of the timing cover on the driver's side. I don't know if that is enough to allow air to get in and cause cavitation in the system. The bolts were a little loose. Not much, but I guess system pressure is enough to cause some leakage. I too replaced the tstat and then noticed the leak. I may have to replace the timing cover gasket if it doesn't stop. I will let you know if I find something new.

Good luck, I will be reading your posts.

 

If you've got your timing right and your coolant is properly flowing (your top and bottom radiator hoses should both be hot) - then you've got another issue.

The getting hot is probably concidential to Ted's parts. I've been using his stuff for a long time and I've never had a problem. I'll continue to use it.


Does your yota have a fan shroud? That'd be the #1 cause of overheating when at idle... Overheating at idle generally indicates a flow problem in one form or fashion - that may mean air flow over the radiator or coolant flow through the motor.

Again, after it idles for a while, is the coolant actually hot? Check both radiator hoses.

Do you have a fan shroud?

 

this afternoon i pulled the themostat out, and ran it for about half an hour. it barely came off cold, just enough to make heat. both upper and lower hoses were roguhly the same temp.

timing is 5 degrees checked on the pump as well as dialing it into my timing light and checking for 0. yes, i have a fan shroud. no damage to it at all.

i ordered a new oem thermostat for toyota. with any luck, that is the problem.

 

I would guess a faulty tsat... try another one... Put it in the stove and see at what temp is open, and how far... it probally doesnt open far enough...