nuke1105

So this weekend I was pulling my tent trailer which weighs 2400 pounds loaded with my 2002 4 door tacoma v6 that is loaded with TRD Headers, TRD air intake system, TRD Supercharger and TRD Exhaust and as I was traveling up hills my temp gauge would rise up high. Its usually half way without a trailer but when i was towing it went as high as 90 - 95 percent. I did have my AC off and my truck did have 2 adults including myself, one 4 month old baby and a 3 year old. My truck does have 128K miles and I believe the water pump has never been changed as I bought the truck from the original owner at 109K miles. Once I arrived to my destination (Gorman CA) I checked the coolant and the reservoir was empty and the radiator needed about 1qt. I filled the radiator and filled the plastic reservoir to the fill line. By the way I let my engine cool down for about 6 hours before i check the coolant level.

So my question is, why do you guys think its overheating? I have read the specs on this truck online and it says i can pull between 3500 and 5000 pounds. So why does it overheat on hills with my trailer? I know its more of a load when going up hill but is this normal for it to get a hairline below the red zone on the temp gauge? Should I flush the radiator and refill it? Change the thermostat? Get an extra fan put in that i can control with a switch? My truck does come with the tow package by the way. Thanks for your help!

DeathCougar

iTrader: (23)

Being a quart low and having an empty overflow will do it. it is certainly NOT normal for an engine to get that warm, even towing heavy loads.

nuke1105

I added the quart of coolant and on my way back home the engine would get hot (temp gauge would rise high) again going up hills. So adding the extra coolant didnt do anything for me.

nuke1105

I been told that it could be a bad fan clutch? Anyone?

eddieleephd

what plugs and do you have a coolant injection for the intake? look for gadgets input on this one.

nuke1105

i dont know what kind of plugs i have. I will be removing the SC this weekend so what plugs do you recommend for me to put on after i remove it? Also i do not have a coolant injection for the intake. I was told by a few TTORA members that the pinging from the supercharger will cause the overheating. What do you guys think?

CYi5

PM'd you nuke

nuke1105

If anyone is interested in the supercharger its listed in the classified section of this website and in TTORA's classifed section.

Digger33

I would check the water pump if it hasn't been changed, they have been known to leak. May be the reason you're losing coolant and overheating.

akaphilly

i hope your not gettin rid of the supercharger jus cuz its overheating. its most likly the waterpump, the thermostat, or the fan clutch. i bet your still overheatin when u take it off. if thats all your doing

hross14

It doesnt matter what plugs are in it unless they are pinging---the urban myth about special plugs in this truck is a farse. THE ONLY reason toyota did that was because in a wasted spark system the plugs fire twice as much....

Ok that out of the way--did you hear any pinging? Smell coolant out the exhaust, how is she running. You also need to bleed/burp the system of air or that will also cause it to continue to run hot. Radiator in decent shape? Have you checked the fan clutch. Also look or feel under the water pump is and see if there is coolant running around down there.

stormin94

Blown Head gasket?

nuke1105

Yes I am. Actually Im getting rid of the SC because of several reasons but this is one of them. The water pump is not leaking, the engine does ping because i dont have the 7th injector kit (one of the many reasons i getting rid of the SC), the radiator is in good condition but the fan clutch......Well it spins with the engine cold and when the engine is hot itll still spin but with a little tiny bit of restriction. Could this be it?

nuke1105

She only gets hotter (not in the red zone on the gauge) when towing and going up hill. Blown head gasket would mean big trouble right? The engine runs perfectly fine without a trailer.

okie81

Keep in mind that you probably have a lower temperature thermostat with the S/C (if you don't have fuel mods)

nuke1105

what would a lower therm do? Itll open up at around 170 instead of the 180 or 190? I doubt it has a lower therm but i will check it this weekend when i drain the radiator. Thanks for all the input by the way!

stormin94

Crank the heater going up hill, and maybe wire in an auxilary fan to help with the hills.

mt_goat

Sure, that could be it.

j-man

3.4 motors are very strong and rarely blow head gaskets.
Start simple first. I'd replace the thermostat just in case its not opening fully. Replace the fan clutch. Drain/refill the radiator with new coolant including the overflow tank.
If its still getting hot, then its either your water pump going out, or your radiator is blocked or full of crud inside not allowing the coolant to fully circulate. What ever you do, dont run the motor hot - you can still get a lot of mileage outof it if you keep the simple maintenace up on it. Good luck.