ok well something i learned tonight is that sometimes when im slowing down to a stop like if i just put it in neutral the lights dim and then they come back on as soon as i put it in second or another gear... i know my battery is good and so is the alernator cause i just got a brand new battery and they did a test and stuff and told me everything was great!!

Lights dim when u put it in neutral? maaan..sounds like a loose wire or something drawing power from ur main current... Do the lights come back on as u are stopped and just put it in gear? cuz thats strange and id be in over my head trying to help you with that.. I could see them brightening back up as u get ur rpm's up..that would be a good sign meaning ur got a connection drawing power when it doesnt need to.. could be corroded or loose battery terminal connectors... mine would dim too because my negative cable was slightly loose.

A compression test isnt really going to help u diagnose ur problem unfortunately. It will only help u confirm that your HG is in fact still working nicely...but you never know..they can be sneaky at times.

Id recommend a bigger fan, new fan clutch, or a better radiator... you'll probly end up having to stick with that..

OH dude..try this... My pops told me once i get my engine back together that new HG's need time to seat properly..so over heating it early on would be super bad. He said to take out the thermostat completely and just use the orange High-temp rubbber gasket stuff to seal the connection. That way you have full coolant running all the time, will keep ur coolant system pressure up and should help..try it dude.. otherwise ur lookin at new parts for extra coolant :)

the lights come back as soon as i bring the rpms up i think its just the way the alernator is though cause i was just reading a different thread on that lol... yeah i heard about doing it with out the thermo i dont know if i want to do that i might just go ahead and replace the fan clutch... or even go and get an electric fan im not sure...

Word, well..if i were you, 6 dollars max for the rubber gasket, andd...if that works..u have urself a free fix for ur prob... new clutch's and fans etc are more money u cant spend say...on gas :P Im a broke SOB though, so i always like to try the cheap things haha

yeah i agree but i do a lot of driving so id like fix it and fix it right ya know...

Yeah, but if removing your thermo altogether fixes your issue, its a fix you dont need to adjust or change. I live in Alaska, so a thermostat is 100% needed so i can use my heater in the winter... does it snow in PA? haha i have no idea... maybe you need a thermo, but otherwise if it fixes it..shouldn't it be a good long term solution?

Which ever way you go..i hope you get it fixed... even one sesh of overheating at 180k and you'll surely go to town on your HG..then your in for it haha.

Good luck man :)

yeah it snows here last year we got some pretty good some we had a few nights were we got 1 or 2 feet of snow it was one of the worst winters weve had in a long time but hey i love snow so i didnt bother me.. hahaha yeah my head gasket is probley junk then cause i ran her pretty hard the past few days and over heated it alot but hey i had fun thats all that matters haha

Niice.. maybe a compression check is in order then..haha could tell u a lot about ur rings too... and yeah..keep that thermo lol

HGs are sneaky lol, try changing ur oil and checking for water. you just might not see it yet in ur coolant.. if it DOES go, you'll know...im guessing its still holding though... are ur plugs oily? that would imply a bad gasket as well.. and is an easy check... but seriously lol... ur HG should hold longer.. mine went at around 250-300(im not really sure my odom doesnt work)...

When your doing hills... if its high rpm's that your using in 2wd... i wouldnt suggest a new fan clutch. from what i understand, a new clutch only changes when the fan is engaged in relationship to the engine rpms. So if ur over heating at higher rpms, your fan is moving..so it means ur fan is too weak or ur radiator/system is weak. If your doing hills in low rpms, especially in 4wd, your fan will not be engaging with enough force... which would entitle a new fan clutch...i could be wrong but it made sense to me when it was explained to me before..

no it ussualy over heats when i run high rpms like i dont have a tach but ussually like ohhh 30 or 40 in second gear going up a logging road flying up to a party or something hahaha

def get a new radiator or bigger fan. OR be poor and take out ur thermo till winter hits... THEN deal with it haha..

yeah well winter is only a few months away so ill have to fork out some cash now..

Yeah..its odd that yotas tend to overheat with hills... your def not the first person to go through this... i guess every machine has its limits haha..

Ive heard of many yota'rs use a Ford Taurus fan...just got to cut ur plastic fan shield thing a little... its a cheap fan and it pulls a lot of air.. maybe try that first before anything more expensive..

If you're overheating going up hills, I'm pretty darned sure you have a clogged radiator OR your fan clutch is bad.

change your hose. toy's are known for old hoses getting old and weak and suck shut causing all the fluid to stop circulating. and with the higher rpm the faster the water pump goes so the more suction it will have.

Wow. Please don't post stuff if you don't know WTH you're talking about... Coolant hoses collapse because the coolant overheats & it blows off through the cap, then when the engine cools down you have negative pressure, collapsing the hose.

anyone else have any ideas?

edited to be polite: well i mixed up what the guy said. but on the other hand the hose closing could be a weak walled hose or just old corroded hose. so excuse me.

ok well ive been driving the truck and it kinda quit over heating but today it over heated on my way down the road i was doing about 50mph and well it was running hot and as soon as i slowed down to like 20mph to take a turn to my house the truck pretty much cooled down pretty quick ive noticed that it does cool down when i start to slow down so anyone have any other advice for me now that i figured this out??

You've had great suggestions but it seems like you keep asking for more suggestions without trying what's been suggested. I'd say go to snag a new fan clutch and see if it changes. (If your worried about money, go to schucks and look up the fan clutch. There's a link that says something about all vehicles this part fits <usually right under the pic>. Sometimes it gives you a list of vehicles this part was used on, then its easier to find)

Or did you already replace the fan clutch and rad?

yeah ive checked the fan clutch its fine theres nothing wrong with it i had the radiator checked its fine the only thing i havent done is a compression test