I ran water for 2 weeks in my truck. Switched to antifreeze and can NOT get it to run right. It overheats. The idle surges and is too high with the idle screw all the way in. I tried burping it. I replaced the thermostat twice and the gauge reads all the way to red before it opens. I ran it with out a thermostat and it never got hot. I just flushed it and I don't know if it made a difference. What could my problem be? Sorry for making two threads but the other one people lost interest into.

Thanks!

 

You have air in the system.

Taking the thermostat out eliminates the air trap, hence why the problem disappears when its not there.

 

I tried burping it...do I need professional help? When I remove the thermostat it is full of water below (if that matters?)

 

Is there a special way I need to do it? I just flushed it last night! I put the front end of my truck like 2ft higher than the back and ran it til the thermostat opened and it shot antifreeze all over my engine so I killed it and filled it back up...is that right?

 

Are you opening the heater all the way while doing this?

Otherwise, you're burping correctly (hehehe). However, two feet? That's fine, but you shouldn't have to lift it that high. Make sure you don't have any leaks anywhere that would be allowing air back into the system.

 

Yeah. The heater is on high. Yeah...I figured maybe more lift the better....but who knows. My cooling system does not leak...thats why I am confused.

 

Are you using a 2 stage t-stat? See here: http://www.4crawler.com/4x4/CheapTri...tml#Thermostat

 

Nope...are you? Can it cause piss poor idling?

 

Did you just start overheating after the t-stat change? If so, it is probably an air pocket trapped I would remove the thermostat and pour the anti-freeze/water solution straight into the block, then re-install, re-fill the raditor and run the engine with the heat on and radiator cap off.

You should check your head gasket too, 40psi in #3 is really low.

 

I agree, if the information in your sig is accurate, this is a problem.

It is possible that when you drained and refilled with antifreeze, you got an air pocket, and it overheated; to the point of blowing the headgasket. This is of course speculation.

Did you notice the low cranking compression on #3 before, or after you changed back to antifreeze?

Smish

 

Nope, but I don't have a 22re. It is a 22 engine specific problem as the link shows.

 

No, I just started over heating when I changed from water to anitfeeze.

I have always had low compression since I got this truck. It was around 40psi when I tore it down and I decided to put it back together rather than replace the rings and I got it running right with water so I changed to antifreeze and I have had problems since. I switched back to water and I still have the problem.

 

Yeah...it is a problem. I don't think I have a blown head gasket. It runs and starts fine. It just won't idle worth crap and when I take out the t-stat and run it it does not heat up at all...well a little but not to the normal temp.

Yes, I did know the cranking compression on #3 before I changed to antifreeze. I have not looked at it for awhile though.

Thanks

 

ok dude u either have a blown HG, or a sticky valve or something. cuz that #3 aint right. and overheating is a sign of a HG.

 

I gotta ask...

Why were you running straight water in the first place?
Were you losing water/coolant. Was the system drained or depleted of coolant/water when you got it?

At what point did you start over heating?

Did you install the t-stat correctly? Spring down?

As far as the poor idling. Sounds like poor power balance in the motor. You only have three good cylinders. IMO your poor idling and overheating are two seperate problems.

 

Brand new head gasket. Very UNLIKELY. There is NO sign of a blown head gasket. I have been driving it for like a month and there is nothing wrong other than the horrible idle and over heating. I put some oil in my cylinder and it shot up. I had a valve job done and the head is fine. I am thinking it is the rings.


I had a minor leak until I figured out the problem. I didn't want to waste a bunch of antifreeze so I used water for a cheap solution for awhile. I started over heating once I switched from water to antifreeze. Yeah...I installed it correclty. Well, my trucks idle never comes down. The screw is turned all the way in! It likes to idle around 2k and surge like hell. But if I went to start it right now (cold engine) it would start and idle at like 1300 then as soon as I move like 20ft it will shoot up. It surges all the time.

 

If the idle is always high, I'd suspect a vacuum leak- could cause overheating, but not from a simple change to using antifreeze. Potentially, you've got too much antifreeze and not enough water. Also, it could be the sensor malfunctioning.
But as a test to check for a blown head gasket, remove the thermostat and put everything together, take the radiator cap off and start the truck then make sure the radiator is full. If you start seeing bubbles in the radiator that smell like gasoline, you've most likely got a blown head gasket.

 

Concerning #3 cylinder...

Have you thoroughly check the valve lash? Could have a rockerarm too tight; holding a valve open. Although I imagine this would have little effect on your overheating.

0.008" Intake
0.012" Exhaust

is the recommended setting. I have always had far better luck setting them with the engine warm.

 

91toyota, let me tell you my story which has some symptoms in common with yours. Sorry this will be long winded.
Last Monday I was returning from a 100 mile trip. In constuction traffic with stop & go, I noticed my temp gauge was up to the 3/4 mark. Always ran at about 1/3 the way up. Truck still running great, no smoke. Tuesday morning I stopped at the garage on the way to another 100 mile trip. Checked radiator and was low so I added some antifreeze. Took a whole gallon. Truck never showed any signs of leakage. Still running great. Wednesday morning checked water level. Took about 2 quarts to fill. Left on 50 mile trip. Still running great. Thursday local jobs, no overheating, truck running great, as usual. Off Friday. Saturday left for 20 mile trip. Truck showed some overheating when I got to job. Left 2 hours later to return home. Noticed heat gauge was again showing higher than normal. Also noticed heater was not throwing any heat. Truck still running great. Checked water level, full. Now since I had some time to invest in it I started checking things. Did a compression check. 145-155 across all 4. Dipstick showing only oil. Radiatior showing only water. Decided to flush system. Opened heater controls, removed cap on heater hose and started flushing water through the radiator while engine running. Water came out of heater hose light brown and slimmy. Changed to clear water after a couple minutes. Recapped heater hose. Opened radiator petcock and let water run while constantly refilling with hose. After the remainder of the anti-freeze exited, water was coming out clean. I replaced the petcock, filled the radiator and let the engine warm up. From this point on things happened fast. The themostat opened and I started getting hot water ejecting from the radiator like a gyser. Spurt, spurt, etc. Water level or course dropped so I refilled with the hose. Dipstick still clean with oil. I assume this closed the thermostat again as the water lever stayed normal. I did turn off the engine when this first happened and refilled it at that point then restarted it again. As usual, 1 turn of the key and it fired right up. Good idle, no smoke. When the thermostat opened, again old faithful erupted. When level dropped enough to put hose in I refilled, opened the petcock and let it run through. Now I was getting that brown slimmy mix from the radiator. Shut off engine, checked dipstick and now the dipstick is solid brown mix. Water in the oil, just like that. Also, just prior to shutting off the engine, I thought I heard some ticking. Normally this engine purrs so any noise out of the ordinary is quickly noticed. When I saw the water in the oil I decided to pull the timing cover. Lo and behold, the passenger side guide was broke in two, upper 2" missing (in oil pan, probably). The drivers side guide was chewed up badly. The inside of the timing belt area was covered with the water/oily mess. Stangely the timing marks still lined up correctly so the chain didn't jump any teeth. The drivers side inner wall of the timing cover was deeply grooved from the chain rubbing it that it had worn through into the water jacket. The metal was not gone but there was an inch and a half crack in the worn channel easily visible. So, I know what, why, how, but my only questions are; why didn't the water in the oil or vice versa show up sooner. And, do you think the hg and timing chain problems occurred together or did they both just happen to occur at nearly the same time? Spent all afternoon today stipping the engine down to pull it. Anyway, I'm just going to replace the long block with a reman from Oregon Engines rather than rebuild.

 

I did not read it all but did you try a 160 Degree thermostat? Or running it with no thermo to see if it helped?