Im not sure whats going on but I am overheating only in traffic.

I can drive 3000 RPM for 20 minutes on the highway no problem. The gauge stays steady at 1/2 on the gauge. As soon as I start driving in traffic, stop and go stuff, and the ram air on the radiator is absent the gauge starts climbing close to the RED. This has only happened two times (Tuesday and today).

I have an electric fan and it will come on but only for a few seconds. The thermocouple for the fan is a proble that sticks in the radiator fins.

The radiator and waterpump are new. I am sure the radiator is most likely a cheap one from the previous owner. What should I DO?

 

Put the electric fan on a manual switch and run it as needed. Forget the thermostat.

Check your anti-freeze, make sure its 50-50 and every morning check levels.

Above 30 you do not need a fan. Below 30 you do, just not enough airflow.

 

I think you are suffering from blown head gasket denial syndrome.

 

There must be a way to have the fan just run when its over a certain temp. I don't understand why it keeps turning off in only a few seconds.

I will try a manual switch for fun.

I really want to add an aftermarket temp gauge...

 

That looks different than just merely rust, to me. To me, it looks suspiciously like what I've seen before in another thread a while back. Looks a lot like this headgasket sealant crap that was in the fellow's motor from the vehicles PO. It was all in his coolant, rad, and overflow. It was a mess and screwed with a lot of things.

 

Of course, I could be wrong. I am only going by the pic.

 

I re read the whole thread? Have you done a compression test yet?
I didnt see results anywhere....


First thing I do when a car is missing and its not electrical.

 

Great! You guys are just trying to throw me off this cliff, huh? heh! This has turned into a frigging nightmare. I guess I was due for some bad luck and all.. it had been too long.

Anyways, Thook, are there any methods of getting this crap outta there? I assume he used that CRAP before he blew his head gasket. After he fixed the head and gasket he replaced the water pump, radiator, etc.

HighLux: Yeah I am in denial because the head gasket and head only have 5k miles on it, and was installed by a mechanic just last year. I have my compression test results in my first post. They were 160 psi in every cylinder.

I still have no loss of coolant and no loss of oil. I do find it weird that my car has just started to try and overheat. I never had this problem before (even though I've had the power problem the whole time). However the electric fan never kicks in for more than a few seconds. I'm wiring up a switch in about 5 minutes here.

Im also going to try and take it to a shop to see if they can pressure test my coolant system or do a leak down so I can see if there is really a blown head gasket. I went and bought a head gasket this afternoon just in case. Its not really that big of a deal IMO... just some extra time turning wrenches !

 

ya know what I didn;t even think about that, but thook might be right on that stupid sealant additive.

 

Good luck man...there is a test kit out there...maybe autzone rents it?
to check for exhaust gases in the coolant. Its a chemical thing.

do some googling on that....

 

Thanks I will try. I don't have compressed air at my house (Except for the 100's of cans of computer cleaner I inhale on a daily basis to keep me from jumping off the cliff), So I might take it down to my local garage and see if they wont sodomize me to test the cooling system

Would you guys agree that would be a good test to check the wear of the head gasket? I'll ask them about the exhaust gasses in the coolant as well.

If the gasket was blown, and I was driving at 3000+ rpm for 20 mins on the freeway, wouldn't it want to overheat as well? Sorry guys I know I should just change it but I am just thinking about the logistics of the whole thing.

 

In all honesty...diagnosing a car over the internet is a stab in the dark...unless your yota pukes a headgasket out the tail pipe...you're never sure...lol



Maybe it will be something really simple...and cheap. Crossing my fingers for ya...

 

Uh oh...This doesn't look good.

Opened up my coolant and now its got all that red CRAP in it, and super low. I wonder if that A-hole put the crud in before he sold it to me? So cool.



Now watch closely until the end. Now I'm starting to agree.. blown HG.

 

Sorry man.

 

Blown HG you think for sure eh?

Still dont understand why it wouldn't show in the compression test if gasses were escaping to coolant. Oh well.

 

Are you filling the radiator to the top with the cap off and then starting the engine ?.

 

what I find weird about that video other than at the end when it sees as though the t-stat opens, is the fact when he revs the motor the level doesn't go down like mine does.

 

I'm didn't read the entire thread but I have another suggestion if its not a headgasket.

I had an 87 4Runner that had corroded fuel injector wires inside the harness and when the engine warmed up it would progressively run worse and worse causing power loss and misfires. I went through all the same bs you've been going through before I discovered it.




.

 

It looks like you either have a blown HG, or some kind of clog issue from the rust/sealant.

OR ...!!!........ Someone tried to Re-engineer the cooling system by installing a trouble prone Electric Fan. I personally have seen NOTHING good from installing electric fans. IF the electric fan isn't coming on like it should it will start to overheat, purging some of the antifreeze out of the overflow tank. Which could explain why your radiator is then low.

Either way you have to take off the HG to fix the cam. At that point you need to check everything.



Personally this is what I would do.

1: Replace the electric fan with a factory fan or aftermarket equivalent. Or if one has to keep the electric, put in a switch or run it constant.
2: Flush the heck out of the cooling system. There are many products that aid in this.
3: Try to diagnose why the engine is overheating if the clutch fan, or constantly running electric fan doesn't fix the problem.
4: Decide if I'm capable of replacing the HG, cam, and rocker arm assembly with a proper outcome.
5: If I'm not fully confident in my abilities I would then think about having it done, or purchasing a quality rebuilt motor. Making sure to have the radiator flushed, flush the heater core and return Everything to factory parts/condition/layout/configuration.

But that's me, other peoples mileage will very.

 

Myyota: Yes, I opened up the radiator after it had cooled and noticed the overflow tank was empty and the radiator itself had no visible coolant. I filled accordingly. I started the engine, and this is what happened. Its happens every time I tried to burp the system (Warm or cold).

Tomorrow Im going to pull the radiator and make sure I have flow through it. It seems as if there is a buildup or backpressure in the system for sure. I'm also going to pull the t-stat (even though I've tried 3 types) and run with a garden hose and use some cleaner.

Yes, then I'll be pulling the head.... I'm feeling confident that I can do it properly. I've done my FJ40 head and came out great. I've done all the work on my last 3 trucks, but I've never really had a problematic 22re like this so I don't know much about them. I am cautious by nature so I ask a lot of questions.

I already emailed someone about getting a stock fan assembly! I've read through the FSM several times, and it looks like its fairly straight forward. I hope. I wish I could just pull the head off with the plenum in tact heh.