I have searched all over this site but cant seem to find anyone with the same problem I have. I have a '87 Pickup 22RE automatic. I can let the truck sit and idle and it runs at normal temp right to the middle of the gauge. In the mornings when it is cool I can drive all the way to work which is about 45 minutes and it runs normal. On the way home when it is warmer out I can drive about 20 minutes at normal temp and then when I get on the highway the temp starts to creep up to the white line............too hot for me!!!! After I get of the highway and into town it still stays pretty warm. Turning on the heat does not change anything. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated as I have to drive 2.5 hours away tomorrow and dont know what to do. Sorry for the long post!!!!!!

 

stuck thermostat?
Air pockets in coolant?

Have you done anything to the truck lately? When did the problem start?

 

I actually just bought the truck this week. I have not done anything yet. I thought about changing the t-stat but just wanted to check here first before I went replacing a bunch of stuff.

 

I wouldn't drive it for 2.5 hours if I was unsure that the cooling system was working properly. You may want to remove the t-stat altogether as a temporary fix if you NEED to drive it, although I would try to make sure it was properly fixed...

 

you might just need to burp your baby. start it COMPLETELY COLD, not even warm, nothing. i suggest doing this after it sits overnight. take the radiator cap off and start the truck. fill the radiator with coolant to the top. let the truck run with the cap off. the air will work itself out of the top of the radiator, dont be afraid if some coolant comes out. this is supposed to happen. after the truck is warm (normal running temp) fill up the radiator, put the cap on, then fill the reserve tank.

 

check that the coolant is the correct mixture - go buy one of those little tubes with the plastic balls in it and make sure that at least 3-4 float.
Have you checked that there is enough coolant in the puke tank?
how quickly does it get up to normal operating temp?

 

Coolant level is up to the cap and up in the tank. First thing in the morning when it is cool I jumped in it and headed to work and it came up to normal temp in about 10 minutes or so. I just came in from outside after letting the truck sit at idle for about a half hour and it stayed right at normal temp on the gauge. This is what has me baffled why it starts to get hot when I get up on the highway 60-65 MPH then it seems to overheat. I would think at idle it would overheat to just siting there. Its about 85 degrees out here right now. I just not sure where to start.

 

If it idles all day long and stays cool, but only runs hot at speed, it's typically indicating a real problem with heat capacity.

After a decent run where it gets warm, check the bottom radiator hose. If it's hot, it's still a capacity problem. If it's cold, it's a water flow problem.

I see cooling capacity problems when motors are really being taxed hard - towing, supercharged, or.... when the cooling system isn't working well.. A few typical reasons:
1) Poor air flow over the radiator at speed. IF you have a winch or anything else in the grill area that would disturb air flow, I'd remove it.
2) Crapola in the radiator itself. Drain about 2" of water out of the radiator until you can see the cores. How does the radiator look? Clean? Have some crap in it?
3) Check your timing / plugs just to be sure... 60-65 is usually 70% throttle for a toyota..

The good news is that toyota radiators are cheap. If you've got an old 2 core radiator, upgrade to a 3 core. Usually around $100. If you're in TX, come get mine, I've got a spare that I'll sell for cheap (won't ship).

 

ok test the fan clutch to make sure its working. I had the same problem with the truck but it didnt matter hot out or cold out. Im thinking your issue is the fan. Mine ended up being a blocked radiator.

 

Fan seems to be working. Changed out the plugs this morning and it did it before i changed them. I will drain the radiator a bit and see what it looks like. I havnet checked the timing yet so I will try that also. Thanks for all the response. Hopefully I can get something figured out here.

 

Ok still baffled. Heres what I have done. Replace t-stat, plugs, checked timing, new radiator, new fan clutch, flushed system, burped system. Where do I go from here? It sill runs hot on the highway. Temp gauge needle goes almost to the top white line and stops. Doesnt go any further than that but too hot for me!!! Could my gauge not be working properly? Any help would be great.

 

I would take the thermostat out completely and see what it does, If it were mine

 

If it doesnt heat up after the t-stat is removed should I replace the stat again?

 

stoped up rad happens to me after hit n the mud
or somebody put too much stop leak in and the tubs in the rad are stoped up and not flowing

 

(BIG edit: notice to self...he has new radiator)

What's the history on your water pump?

 

matt-- I was almost sure you have a clogged radiator....you put a brand new virgin one in?
thinking out loud....On the highway, you are 'loading' the engine harder than just driving around town....cooling consists of air flow and water flow....on the highway, airflow is not a problem and the fan shroud and fan clutch can go away and it will stay cool even then. This leaves water flow. Is the lower rad hose being pinched?....or is it sucking itself shut after it gets hot and the soft rubber collapses? Ideally, the lower hose should have a coil inside of itself to prevent collapse.

 

Brand new radiator! Burped the system and got some good air out of it. I have not replaced the lower or upper hose yet but they seem to be ok and are not collapsing. I may replace them today just to be sure. I am trying to rule everything out that I can by replacing it. Any other ideas? BTW what should the temp be running w/o out being too hot? Also the water pump was replaced with a new this week. If you look at my first post everything I replaced was done this week.

 

Faulty gauge maybe?? or 1 of your new parts is faulty...i dunno .. I would try aftermarket gauge and see exactly what the temp is

 

On these motors(22RE) what is the temp range? What is too hot?

 

Did you ever get this figured out? I am having an almost identical problem and am still baffled. Just like you, have entirely rebuilt the cooling system and the problem persists.