Hey guys, I’m having an issue with my truck not warming up to operating temperature, on the highway, the gauge just creeps over the white line and in the city and at idle, it goes up to about 1/3 but never reaches up to operating temp like it used too, changed the thermostat, any ideas or thoughts ?

Thanks !!

 

My 92 pickup never goes past 1/3 unless I get on it real hard. Then it will creep up just a little bit, but go back down to about 1/3.

 

This was driving for a while in the city, and on the highway it goes even lower, is that normal ?

 

About 1/3 to 1/2 up the gauge is what many people see when the engine is up to operating temperature with these gauges.

Your gauge is definitely on the low side.

Now we need to figure out if the engine actually running on the cool side, or if the gauge not reading accurately.

Do you happen to have an infrared thermometer gun?

If you do, you can point it at the thermostat housing and the top of the radiator to get an idea of how hot the coolant is.

Which thermostat did you use? Toyota says it should be rated at 88°C or 190°F.

 

That’s correct I used a 190, I don’t have the IR thermometer, but I will get one, what temperature should the radiator and tstat housing be at ?

thanks

 

This is good too to confirm gauge/sender in truck is correct, it was the right size for a 4wd stock '92 radiator:

https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

 

Once I get the ir thermometer and if the engine isn’t warming up based off of what I find, would do you guys think could be the issue ? Thanks

 

Engine fan nosier than usual? The bearing in the fan clutch can seize, locking up and permanently engaging the fan at 100% engine speeds.

 

Do you have hot air in your vents pr just luke warm?

 

When my truck wouldn't warm up I put a 195 degree thermostat in and put some cardboard in front of the rad just to get some warm air in the cab. You should turn the rad fan by hand and see if it catches or if it's locked up that's caused some issues for me

 

Thermostat not fully closing was the cause in my Honda Crv. I could watch the gauge drop when going downhills on the highway.

 

Nice find, Paul22RE!

Comparing good and bad fluid coupling aka fan clutch:

https://www.yotatech.com/forums/f199...l#post52229129

 

Hey Cesar Telles, did you ever figure out if your truck was actually not warming up completely? Did you check the temp sensor or oxygen sensor?