Nam Posted June 18, 2017 Share Posted June 18, 2017 I am puzzled with this issue...any help is greatly appreciated. Purchased this Toy home in 2011 at 55k miles. Brought it in Concord Toyota for head gasket recall in 2014. The dealer replaced the timing belt and water pump at the same time. It put in a wrong AC belt and left a tube of black silicone by the radiator (another story). In 2015 on a trip from Yosemite while encountered some heavy traffic on I580, I noticed the engine temp climbed up to about 3/4 of the way. Otherwise it remained cool (fluctuated between 1/3 and 1/2 way on the gauge). From my experience the 1st thing I did was replacing the fan clutch (after market) and while at it, I replaced the 180 deg. Thermostat and most hoses. Thinking that this solved the problem since then we didn't take the Toy home far away...just some short trips around the cooler Bay Area destinations (typically less than 100 miles round trip) This weekend we took it to Lake Tahoe area and I noticed after refueling while waiting to get back on ramp, the engine temperature climbed again to the 3/4 mark in about 100 degree heat; otherwise it runs cool (fluctuate's between 1/3 and 1/2 mark). The fan roars well when hot eventhough I have no way to tell if the new fan clutch is working well or not. The thermostat is new. The radiator and condenser area is clean of debris. Turning AC off doesn't seem to make a difference. I notice that climbing a 30deg slop on the 1st gear at 25mph is still OK (temp. Gauge at 1/2 mark or slightly above) but not all the way to 3/4. Normal fwy driving at 70mph is fine. Are there any other tests I can try before either replacing the fan clutch again or the radiator? I will try to idle for about 30 min when getting home to see if it over heats Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WME Posted June 19, 2017 Share Posted June 19, 2017 Overheating while stopped is purely airflow. A marginal radiator will make it worse. You might try a pusher fan mounted in front of the AC condenser. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
linda s Posted June 19, 2017 Share Posted June 19, 2017 Is your fan cowl intact and in place. If not that will lower air flow Linda S Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nam Posted June 19, 2017 Author Share Posted June 19, 2017 Everything is in tack as far as I know. I think the fan clutch may not activate at idle as it gets quote warm. I took 4 mile city street on the way to Sacramento to see how it reacts at 107 deg. While moving...no problem even slow moving in a 2 mile traffic by Placerville. When stopping for fuel...it gets warmer as shown on the pic. I got to my parents' house in Sacramento and let it idle for about 30min and the gauge shows the same...I guess the problem is not as bad. I will check the radiator as it's original. Thanks for all the input so far. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
linda s Posted June 19, 2017 Share Posted June 19, 2017 It's barely a bit above the center. I would call that normal in 107 degree weather. hard to cool off hell. Just be glad your not in Phoenix Linda S Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nam Posted June 19, 2017 Author Share Posted June 19, 2017 Got home ok...no overheating. I will continue to monitor this on future trips...I wouldn't do anything for time being. There are more fun projects to do at this time Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jjrbus Posted June 19, 2017 Share Posted June 19, 2017 Let me preface this with I am not a mechanic, just another Toy owner trying to get by. When I see someone with an over heating issue if it was me the first thing I would check is actual motor temperature at the temperature sensor with an IR gun. I would not accept the reading of a decades old temp sensor or gauge at face value. The gauge is slightly over the middle, how hot is that in degree's? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nam Posted June 19, 2017 Author Share Posted June 19, 2017 20 minutes ago, jjrbus said: Let me preface this with I am not a mechanic, just another Toy owner trying to get by. When I see someone with an over heating issue if it was me the first thing I would check is actual motor temperature at the temperature sensor with an IR gun. I would not accept the reading of a decades old temp sensor or gauge at face value. The gauge is slightly over the middle, how hot is that in degree's? I agree...it's more like almost three decade old temp gauge. Here is what I found at Yotatech in term of sensor location. I will warm the engine up and take the infrared temp. gun. It was about 107deg outside when this happened Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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