So I bought my 88 4wd excab 3.0 5spd one owner truck with a rebuilt top end about a month ago. I found it in Phoenix and flew in and drove it home.

I knew the truck had alot of needs but the body and interior are really nice, zero rust anywhere including the bed seams.

I have been replacing/ fixing things since I got it, so far I have done:
CV axles
Ball joints
U joints
Rear springs
Shocks
Steering stabilizer
Tires
Clutch master and slave cylinders
Headlights
Clear corners/ blinkers
Throttle body
Radiator
Coolant overflow tank
Windshield washer tank and pump
Battery
All fluids

I have done all the work myself and the truck runs and drives great.

I have noticed the temp guage is wonky and it never really seemed to get warm. I replaced the thermostat and radiator hoses today and here is what I found...



Nice huh? You just never know what you will find...

Now the truck runs really well and the temp guage sits right where it should and the heater gets hot.

 

Poser shot.

 

Ummm...where's the rest of it?

What a stupid thing to do considering that t-stat's are only a few $ and always easy to locate. Ever go to NAPA and find out they didn't have the t-stat you need? Let me spell that guys name for you...D U M B A S S!!!

 

Phoenix, maybe they can by without a thermostat? Very nice Toyota BTW.

 

I'm assuming that at one point in time he had a bad head gasket, truck overheated and that is why the top-end was rebuilt. He either blamed the issue on the t-stat or thought it was insurance to no future overheating.

Good on you for fixing that. Just keep an eye on that head gasket. From everything I have read, they don't last too long.

 

I've known many guys around here that remove their t-stat every summer. I'm not condoning it, just saying that it is common practice for people that don't know better and just want their truck to stop overheating without putting forth any real effort.

 

nice truck, looks like mine in white.

 

I got the truck from a small car lot. The owner of the lot was a s--- talking weasel of a used car salesman who was selling the truck for his neighbor who was the original owner.

The guy gave me some story about why the top end was rebuilt. I mostly wanted it for the body and interior. I was pretty nervous on the drive home but had no problems.

I plan to drive it like this until the 3.0 goes and swap in a 3.4. Thats why I got a 3.0 truck to begin with.

The truck drives really well and has really good power for a 3.0. I think it's because the body is so light.
It passed emissions with very low numbers.

 

yea, for sure i think we are lighter than a taco. can't wait to get my 3.4 running. gonna put mine on a scale and see what she weighs. should have a better hp to weight ratio than newer trucks. you thought about suspension yet? if your not gonna sas it, look at chaos fab. total chaos has THE stuff for ifs. thats what i intend to go with , after i get my swap done and i recover financially lol !!!

 

Thats crazy. Maybe he didnt want to truck to over heat....ever. Haha. I hope there aren't pieces of that floating around in the cooling channels of your block, but ive neaver heard of a t stat "breaking"

 

Probably just paranoid cause he lives in phoenix with a 3.0

I would have taken it out in the summers too.

 

Trucks have been known to overheat in July just parked on the tarmac lots here

 

Yep, way too hot in the summer for my taste.

The truck has been running great since I installed the Totota thermostat. It takes about 5 minutes to warm up, the heater works great and the temp guage never goes past the halfway point.