hmm, do you now where on the motor that temp reading comes from? just wondering how much different it is from the water outlet on top of the motor where i have my gauge.

 

The sensors for both the gauge and the ecu are in the back of the intake manifold.

 

well i got an OBD2 port today. ill have to wire it in and compare those numbers to my autometer that is on the outlet.

 

At the front of the manifold is the Water Temp Sender. This is what the water temp gauge in the combination meter reads.








The Engine Coolant Temp Sensor is at the rear. This is what the ECM reads.





Driving on surface streets, my temps stay in the 187-189 range. Freeway temps will cimb a degree. When its really hot outside, temps are 191-193. When I head out to the desert sometimes I see up to 195-197 going up the Cajon Pass. The hottest temp I ever saw was 204 going up the Tioga Pass through Yosemite last summer. I have a ScanGauge II hooked up to my port.

 

whoa your intake is different than mine. Both those sensors are next to each other on mine. At least I am pretty sure they are. And also the 2 wire sensor goes to the ECU, and the one wire goes to the temp gauge. I even confirmed it with your pic vs my EWD. At any rate, what kind of cooling do you have? We have been having 95-100 degree heat here, and my engine has been sitting around 195-200. I still think that I need to get a shroud to get better cooling...

 

My intake manifold is the one and only stock one from the 3.4L

Double check your EWD. Also look at the page with the compnent layout. This will show you where the sensors are located.

We have about the same heat your having, 70's - 80's near the coast, 90's to 100's inland/desert. I guess you can disregard the coastal temps.

I'm running all stock cooling components; 3.0 radiator, shroud, '94 fan, and 3.4 heavy duty fan clutch. I'm using the Toyota pink coolant, not the red version which is different.

I'm actually surprised my temps are not a bit higher, because my Badlands bumper & winch block half of the air flow going to the front of the radiator, plus I also have an IPT transmission cooler mounted in front of the radiator, right in the middle.

 

ya I have the 3.0 radiator, no shroud and a procomp e-fan. I think the no shroud is messing with my temps. And I am sorry but I am pretty darn right about the sensors. Though the sensor may be the one up front. I just could have sworn that both the sensors were next to each other. my component location shows E3 (Engine Coolant Temp Sensor) as being in the front of the intake. But there are 2 wires coming off of it. 1st wire goes to pin B4 and the other goes to a splice joint for B9 of the ECU, and E2 of the Mass Air Flow Meter. The single wire sensor I am positive is for the temp gauge not the ecu.

 

This is a good catch. The EWD I downloaded from TIS for the 1996 4Runner has the Water Temp Sender and Engine Coolant Temp Sensor labeled incorrectly and shown in the opposite locations. All of the '98 and later FSMs show the correct locations and labels.

 

i finally got an OB2 port, i need to wire it up and plug in my scan gauge (have it in my other truck). im interested to see how the reading differs from my autometer that is right inline with upper hose.

for now im perfectly happy with my temps. i plan to keep the 22r radiator and fan. if anything ill end up with a bigger radiator first, the mounts on mine have broke 2 times.

 

For reference, it's been a bit over 100 here in S Oregon recently. Got scan tool and hooked it up and did the live data while I was driving to a friend's house as I was curious about my temps and the OEM gauge seems finicky. Ran at 194 for the 7 miles to his house (5th gear, 50mph, 2200rpm avg), the Intake Air Temp (IAT)was 104, just about the ambient temp outside (think my cold air system is doing the trick as I would expected higher due to heat soak). Came back home and had to climb up a twisty 8% grade for abour 1 mile. Temp went to 205 in first gear at about 5-7 mph and 104 outside. Turned heater on, watched the temp drop to 194 in a matter of 30 seconds. Have the v6 radiator, two proform 10" 1100cfm fans shrouded. I think the thermo is at the bottom because rather than letting the hot stuff out the top, it's letting the cold stuff in the bottom when it needs to cool....if that makes any sense. This engine likes to keep itself warm/hot to operate more efficiently, that's according to a Toyota mech I know....D

 

Thanks for that info. That makes me feel a lot better. That sounds just like how mine is most of the time. It just gets a little scary when I am idling up in the mountains and I see it get over 210. It just makes me believe that my cooling system is not self sustaining per say. And I really want to fix that.