Hey you guys anybody fix over cooling issue on 4runners 1990-1995? If yes. How? Sick of this thing, drove back from Tahoe yesterday 4000 RPM. Please help.

 

Put a piece of cardboard in front of your rad. You see it all the time back east when it gets too cold.

 

yeah being in cali you need all the cooling you can get over the summer so a peice of cardboard is an easy fix

 

Let me guess, you were doing 4000 rpms because it wouldn't go into OD?

 

Here in PA I usually cover exactly half my radiator from about now until March, no matter what I drive it helps a ton.

I usually just take a large discarded box from work and cut it and fold it a couple times so it stays in place, very common here.

 

Have you tried a genuine Toyota thermostat? My truck was running very cold when I had a generic auto parts store thermostat, but a Toyota thermostat seemed to help a lot. The Toyota thermostat has a rubber seal in the valve that seals a lot better than the generic ones. I have a 22R, not the V6, but I would assume it is similar.

 

Make sure to use OEM cardboard or you might ruin your engine.

 

sounds like there's not even a thermostat in there.

 

That was a problem with ealier 22R/E's called temperature gauge overshoot. Not a problem with the 3vze. 4crawler mentions it on his site.
http://www.4crawler.com/4x4/CheapTri...tml#Thermostat


Yeah, use ONLY OEM cardboard..... I've heard Maytag is fair standby, though.

 

Temperature gauge overshoot is a different issue that requires a special dual stage thermostat to fix. I just have the standard OEM one in my truck. It helped a lot over the cheap parts store one. My temp use to go almost to the cold line when driving down a long descent, but now it will only go down to about 1/4, even on a cold day with the heater on.

I just did a thermostat replacement on my dad's 3VZ and the OEM thermostat appears to be the same design as the 22R thermostat. Basically the OEM one has a rubber seal in the thermostat where some of the cheap ones do not. That allows it to seal a lot better when it is closed so the water flow is completely shut off, which allows the engine to warm up.

I am not knocking the cardboard idea, but I would prefer to make sure everything is working properly first. Just my $.02.

 

yeah the cardboard can help, but if it keeps cooling down the t-stat should shut, and stay shut. the idea is that it should keep the temp the same. As soon as the coolant drops below whatever temp the t-stat is designed to open/close at it should close, and the temp should stay fairly regular.

I have used cardboard and it helps keep it from jumping back and forth.

 

Oooooh!...Sorry, I misunderstood where you were going with that. My bad, man......my bad. So, what you're saying is there a rubber INSIDE the thermo? Hmmmm....I wonder if the one I bought from NAPA does (I was trying to save a little change....cost half the OEM price). Anyway, my 22re takes twice as long to heat up than the 3vze. I wonder.....do you think an OEM thermo (because of the "special" seal) would help with that? Sure would be nicer this winter.

I was joking about the cardboard myself. A thermo should shut to prevent overcooling. But, I suppose in extreme cold cardboard's not a bad idea.

 

All I can tell you is that the heat in my rig has no problem. I have to much. I have to turn it down all the time, and it is about 28-32 here now in NY. Even in very cold weather like 10-15, it still kicks a%**ss

 

The Old Man Emu accessory coolant grade cardboard will outperform any other cardboard out there. JC Whitney's knock-off does pretty good too, but I'd go OME or OEM. I once knew a guy that sucked some flimsy Maytag cardboard through the radiator, instantly shredding his muffler belt, causing him to lose all power to the blinker fluid overflow, leading to a catastrophic failure of the tail pipe bearings on his Chevy. Needless to say, it tore the truck a new one... Just my $.02

 

CARDBOARD
I have owned 9 Toyotas so far, including 2 Tacomas, 6 Corollas, And my current '93 Pickup. I have used Cardboard on ALL of them in the winter, even the brand new ones, I find it hard to believe that all of my coolant systems don't function properly and/or I got the odd-ball ones.

My conclussion, along with the dealership personel I have talked to and know, is that Toyotas of all models are engineered to run on the cool side, for what exact reason I have no idea and don't care......it works and I don't complain about foggy windows like alot of other Toyota owners or cold feet, I have good heat and I'm happy!

 

The OEM thermostat helps a lot with warm up. The extra gasket seals where the thermostat opens and closes instead of having a metal to metal seal. It is hard to explain without a pic. That rubber seal allows the water flow to stop completely. Once I was flushing my cooling system with the thermostat housing off. I put a cheap thermostat in the hole and there was a lot of water still flowing through it, even though it was shut. I tried it again with the OEM one and it completely shut off the water flow except for a very small stream coming out of the air relief pin.

I would also like to know if other companies make them with that seal, because the OEM one is about twice the price of a regular one. If I remember correctly, it was about $15 at the dealer for a 22R thermostat, and about $20 for the 3VZE and 5SFE (Camry engine). That is very expensive for a thermostat, but having the heater work well on a cold day is worth it!

Even with a good thermostat, I would assume that the 22R is going to take longer to warm up than the 3VZ because it is not going to generate as much heat. I also think that there is something scientific about having the thermostat on the lower radiator hose, which the 3VZ has, that allows it to work better. My mother has a Camry with the thermostat on the lower hose and it warms up quick and the temp stays at half way on the gauge. Once it is hot, it seems to not drop much more than a needle width or two, even traveling downhill with the heater on.

 

Okay. Well, I'll look at my NAPA thermo when I change the coolant (soon) and let you know. I may wind up having to just live with the nature of the beast.....for the design reasons you have stated. You may be right. Sounds plausible, anyway...

One thing has my concern, though. You said the OEM completely shut the water off. After having read a few info pages recently about how the temp gauge overshoot happens (22RE), this kind of function would seem to produce the overshoot result. I had thought of either buying a dual stage stat, but the cost...ya know? So, I decided I'd just drill a little hole instead. Well..hehe...it seems I'd be back to square one with the slow-to-heat dilemma. I dunno...maybe a little hole won't allow as much coolant by as thermo with no inside seal. ??? I guess I'll just have to find out!

 

I use the TRD card board myself. I swear, that, and the TRD muffler bearings, and synthetic blinker fluid(OEM only, of course) are giving me AT LEAST like 10 more horsepower.

 

Thank you all. New T-stat and card board it is then.

 

i used to live in Alberta & BC a few years ago with my Surf with the soon to be replaced 3.0 V6 Petrol, and never once had a problem, well, actually, it got to -35 and i closed my drivers door and it craked the side mirror! other than that never had to replace anything. i dont have to worry about that in Belize