I have a 1988 22re pickup. After I drive around for about 10 minutes (give or take) the temp needle comes past the 3/4 mark then it will drop back down to less then half.

It will only do this once and only from a cold start. The temp needle has gone up to 7/8 ish of the way up before dropping back down. It worries me to the point where i stare at the temp guage more than the road lol.

Does this sound like a thermostat problem?

 

sticky t-stat. Get a toyota t-stat and go from there. Check your fan clutch as well. If the truck is warmed up and you park it it should be tighter than if the engine was cold. When the truck heats up can you hear the fan engage? i know i can hear mine in 1st through 3rd gear.

 

Its a normal thing that happens on our toyotas a lot, its called temperature over shoot (atleast thats what i was told), toyota actually has a special thermostat that is supposed to fix the problem. Check out 4crawlers web site, he has an article about it and the thermostat on his site. I think he also sells the thermostat.

 

That thermostat is Toyota Part number 90916-03070. Mine ran cool (180) thermo, so the idle ran queer off n on. The new stat fixed that, and its around 30 bucks.

 

Thanks for the replies : ). I'll check out 4crawlers site tonight. I am at work on my phone. I think I work too hard sometimes lol

 

I went ahead and changed out the thermostat today with an aftermarket one i got from outozone. I took it for a drive and it worked great. The temp gauge now sits at 1/4 the entire time : ).

Is it normal for the fan on the rediator to be running right when i start it up?

Thanlks for all the help

 

The fan shouldn't be turning when the engine is cold. The fan clutch is probably not working right. The silicone may have leaked out. There's a link on 4crawler's site on how to overhaul a fan clutch. My fan runs all the time as well.

 

The fan SHOULD spin when the engine is cold, or whenever its on, it is still being turned by a belt

You should be able to stop it with your hands. Some do a "string test" you take a string, tie it up, and it should stop the fan when cold, but I say just man up, throw on some mechanics gloves, and see if you can stop your fan easily.

You can also just spin your fan with the engine off. There should be little resistance if your fan clutch is working properly.

 

I stand corrected. The fan should run all the time, just not at full speed when the engine is cold. I wouldn't want to stick my hand in my fan because I'm pretty sure all the silicone has leaked out. It doesn't spin freely when cold.

 

True, and yeah check if it spins with little resistance before stopping the fan ha

 

Good to know. I will check it tomorrow.

What is the down side of the fan running at full power the entire time?

 

When the fan clutch isn't engaged, the fan is spinning freely, so it hardly puts any resistance on the engine.

When it is engaged, it causes far more drag and resistance, which takes away more of your power at the crank.