I just finished rebuilding my 87 22re and now the engine overheats and boils in the overflow resevoir. My T-stat looks new, not that that means it works, but I got a replacement and I need to check it out and see if it works. Any ideas as to why my engine overheats after the rebuild? How do I get air out of the coolant system?

Another problem I have is that after I got my fuel injectors back from being cleaned, one of them leaks. I took the upper intake off and found that the o ring was damaged. The rebuild kit I got from Ted at Engbldr came with diff size o rings.

Does anyone know the correct size? I also bought an injector seal kit from Pep Boys and that one has diff size o rings also. What is the correct size.

This is a big problem because on Monday I am planning to move out to Colorado from Michigan and I need to resolve this quick.

 

I did a little searching and found that on the 3.0 it is possible to put the HG on backwards. Is this possible on the 22re and how would I know?

 

It's pretty hard to put it on backwards on the 22re.
I understand that different plenums had different o-rings.. You'll probably have to go to the dealer.

Worst case, your HG isn't sealing. Have the tools to pressure test the radiator or leak down test the cylinders?

 

I don't have the tools to leak down test the cylinders or pressure test the radiator. I don't like the worst case scenario,lol. Any other ideas of why it is overheating? It never did this before the rebuild.

 

Bottom radiator hose hot when it does this?

 

When mine went I was on a road trip , so I used some block seal stuff for a temp fix. After I changed out the gasket , it started to boil over too. Turns out that the radiator got very plugged up from the block seal crap. Swapped in a new rad and I was good to go.

Do you know why your gasket blew out ? How is the radiator ? Is the T-stat in right ?


Check to see if the radiator heats ups evenly threw both side's.

I like to retorque my head bolts after running it for a few on a new gasket.

 

My head Gasket did not blow. I rebuilt the motor due to it being hydro locked. I did not have this issue before the rebuild. I don't think my radiator would go bad that fast. Thanks for the ideas. Please keep them coming. I would like to get back on the road ASAP!

 

How hot is the bottom radiator hose when this happens? I ask because it will help indicate if this is a flow problem or a potential leak from somewhere else.

Did you torque the head down in the right order when reassembling?

 

A couple of questions....

Does it have the factory shroud?

Under what conditions does it over-heat (going slow and idling.... or at speed and on the highway)?

 

There's something "magical" about the 87 22RE's.....I had an 87 Runner 22RE with 210k on the engine and it would sneak up to the red line within a couple miles of hitting the highway. It turned out to be a clogged radiator(probably the original radiator also). It would boil violently making all kinds of googling noises while it cooled down on the side of the road.

 

if you put the head gasket on wrong you will have a real nice oil leak on the left rear corner. i know all too well.

 

could there be air trapped in the cooling system? I know a few with 3.0's have had this issue and it was fixed after "burping" the system

 

Mine Boiled over After my overhaul. If the t-stat is good, and it has been "burped" like gilby said, it sounds like the radiator may be clogged. Tried running it w/out the t-stat? Mine overheated while driving, turned out the fan clutch went days after my rebuild was dropped in.

 

we need details in what zuk described to help. i cured my overheating problem by burping it. that stop leak stuff is BAD. dont ever use it. just fix what you have to and go on.

 

Thanks for all the ideas, I don't really know exactly when it overheats because I have not driven it that much. I just went down the road about 4 miles from my house and came back and I thought all was fine. Until I popped the hood and I heard it boiling.

First, I need to let you know a few things. I was not running a good mix of antifreeze, just water mostly. I don't think that would contribute but maybe? And during the first part of breaking in the camshaft after about 20 minutes of it running it was violently boiling. I thought that it was just hot air and tried to get it out and maybe it is still in there.

I need to fix my leaking injectors first before I can test the cooling system further. I don't have any oil leaks, so hopefully that means that the head gasket was installed properly.

I was not the one who actually tightened the head it was my friend who is a race mechanic for Norcal Subaru. I think he knew what he was doing since he has lost count of how many engines he has built. His idea was that there was air trapped in the heater core.

 

start your motor cold with radiator cap off and let it warm up. (burping) this should help you figure out whether it is an air bubble problem within your coolant system.

 

Assuming thermostat is working properly, i.e. put in a new on during rebuild. I would look at fan clutch, ensure shroud is in place and question old radiator. After my rebuild in the summer, without fan shroud it would heat quickly unless I was moving down the road. Also, if you layed the fan flat during repairs, the fan clutch can go bad, so I have read. So, investigate thermostat, make sure shroud is in place, and if there is low feeling air flow over engine, get a flex fan to replace clutch unit. Lastly, its the radiator. If no rear oil leak then HG is on correctly as stated. A radiator shop can pull a sample of water and determine if head gasket is a problem. Its a chemical test. May want to retorque HG for posterity. May want to drain block at rear plug near pan just for the hell of it. May be crap in block?

My $0.02

 

How do I tell if in fact the fan clutch is bad?

 

How do I tell if in fact the fan clutch is bad?

 

how.. ok. first start you motor up from cold. let it warm up completely, then drive it for a few minutes, then park and shut it off. spin the fan by hand and see if it has any accessive bearing play or is easily turned by hand. if it freewheels it will need to be replaced. however if it is engaged it will be harder to turn obviously. make sure your shroud is as air tight as possible up against the radiator, as that would not let the fan clutch operate as efficient as it really is able.