Temp issues

[tlava]

I seem to have bad luck with engines running hot. Some odd temp fluctuations. Was fine cruising along on the highway. Stopped in the City for a couple hrs, When I started driving again, the temp rose, within a few minutes under load, very close to the red, then dropped back down, and fluctuated like this a few times; standing still at idle (as at a stoplight) it would drop down and stay down, but when under load again, the temp would rise, then drop back down; this was better at night when things cooled off, but still basically the same behavior. Temp never actually entered the red zone, but uncomfortably close... could the t-stat be sticking? I don't think I've lost any coolant, but will see what is in the reserve in the morning.

I noticed previously that, after driving the highway for a while, and stopping for gas, when I got back on the road again after maybe a half hour respite, the needle would also climb pretty high--not immediately, but after driving for a minute or so, but then it would drop down and be fine. The fluctuation in city traffic is a recent development...

This is an '84 22 RE; don't know if it matters, but only about 6k miles put on it over the last 12 yrs; 75k total now.

Could this have any connection to valves/rough idle, as well? Odd thing, as I say, is it is fine (temp wise) when idling, but only seems to have the prob under load. up, then down... sometimes stays up a bit longer than others...

[WME]

Thermostats are cheap so start there. Use OEM or good quality aftermarket.

[Maineah]

This ^ You may have a look at the coolant level (remove the cap when cold) and the fan belt (tension and condition) and beyond that fan clutch.

[Totem]

I thought 85 was the first year of the 22re; is your motor carbureted?

[Maineah]

"E's" are fuel injected. Little trivia, the “E” is German for Einspritzer meaning fuel injection you'll see that on many cars.The German's had the first fuel injection systems..

[tlava]

I noticed a bit of orange-colored residue at the end of the tailpipe, inside. The coolant is ornage. After driving a short distance, there was a bit of moisture at the end of the pipe; there is a slight lip at the end of the tailpipe, which perhaps prevents this be of moisture from draining, so drying, and I assume leaving the residue--which means the moisture is coolant, seeping into the exhaust ports, which means a bad head gasket? Would this explain the erratic temp behavior--staying down at idle, but up high and down, up and down, while driving?

Or is some moisture in the tailpipe normal, and the residue just a bit of rust (somehow I think the former, given the temp swings...)

vexing....

[waiter]

Is it consuming coolant? but I suspect its just rust colored condensation in the tail pipe.

cooling fluctuation could be thermostat or coolant level low. make sure the coolant level is at the top of the radiator. run the engine at high RPM with the cap off and the heater full HOT. top off the fluid level. be carefull as it will squirt out if you let off the gas. Put the cap on before you lower the RPM.

Make sure the overflow bottle id about 1/2 full.

John Mc

88 Dolphin 4 Auto

[tlava]

So is it common to have moisture at the tail? Not losing coolant that I can tell--the radiator is full to brim when checked cold, and overflow tank a bit over half. I'm afraid reving up etc might cause it to overheat?

what would be the right T-stat (temp-wise)? From Toy dealer best?

[waiter]

Very common to have condensation in the tail pipe. Most mufflers have a drain hole in them to drain the water, Also. we have a very long tail pipe so the exhaust gasses cool down a little and moisture condenses inside the pipe.

Replace the thermostat with an OEM, probably a 180 deg. Others recommend Dealer, I recommend local auto parts store. Buy the OEM replacement.. After you put the new thermostat on, take the radiator cap off, turn the heater on max heat (this opens the valve to allow coolant to flow thru the heater core)

Fill the radiator full, then get someone to rev the engine while you fill the radiator, after a minute or so of revving and filling, put the cap back on and you should be good.

John Mc

88 Dolphin 4 Auto

[Maineah]

Antifreeze has a very definite smell to it when it is burned and will leave no residue. As John said burning gasoline makes water and a pretty good charge of it. Most good shops have exhaust gas analyzers a better check for a leaking head gasket is to anodize the vapor from the radiator and see if any CO from combustion can be detected.

[Totem]

i know what the e stands for. just wasn't aware they were made in 84.

[linda s]

i know what the e stands for. just wasn't aware they were made in 84.

They were made but not put into the trucks until 85. I think he's mistaken too

Linda S

[tlava]

No mistake--it is a 22 RE in an SR5, auto, Xcab: I can send a pic if you like...

As for the heat: I did notice that if I throw the heat on w/ fan it will bring the temp down, but it will climb up even with the heat on, though not quite as much; also, I just don't get the fluctuation, unless the t-stat could be somehow opening and closing, or the fan somehow compensates?

fluid is plenty hot--too hot to keep hand on radiator-- so it must be circulating...

when replacing, and particular details--does the jiggle valve, if it has one, need to be pointing a particular, etc?

just drop in the T-stat and top off through the radiator cap?

This seems a lot eaiser than with the NIssan vg30i--at least, it looks like I can get to the T-stat easily, just move a couple vacuum or EGR hoses...

[linda s]

No it can and probably is the radiator. If it's the original a very good chance it's not flowing freely through the whole radiator. I was sure mine was fine even though it was getting hot, very hot. Almost replaced the fan clutch but then I had someone test it with one of those electric temp test things that you can wave over the whole thing and find cold spots. Sure enough there was a whole section that was clogged. Got a new one and never even gets up to the middle now. radiators are cheap and easy to switch out. After thermostat that is always the next thing I would do know that I know how they can go bad

Linda S

Yup just checked and the 84 toyota truck brochure shows the efi engine available only on the sr5 model

[Totem]

Nice to know this! someone should correct the Wiki on the 22RE

[WME]

Here ya go. http://www.harborfreight.com/infrared-thermometer-93984.html

What this cost you would spent going to a Radiator shop and let them check your radiator.

It also makes for an easy check of your tires when your traveling., just point at each tire and look for a hot one. Brakes too

[tlava]

I'm wondering--the radiator seems on the small side to me--is it possible the rediator is udersized, or would a larger one help, if even possible to put one in?

Linda--I wasn't sure what you were referring to when you said "no it can"? Sorry, can you explain?

so, I should replace the t-stat and the radiator? OR I guess have flow tested first?

Here we go again...

[waiter]

I'd start with a basic flushing of the radiator and cooling system,, slap in a new thermostat and see what happens.

One thought, is there a shroud around your cooling fan? sometimes people remove these thinking it will improve air flow, The shroud needs to be there.

John Mc

88 Dolphin 4 Auto

[linda s]

What I meant was even though the coolant at the top is hot it doesn't mean it's circulating through the whole radiator which would mean it's not cooling properly. I flushed mine several times and changed the thermo before I realized it wasn't enough. New radiator fixed it

Linda S

[Maineah]

I guess what I am saying if it has an "E" it is injected no matter what the year is. if it's just an "R" it is carbureted. And by and large it's pretty easy to tell the difference.

[waiter]

Linda, did you get anything special, i.e. a 3 row?

john

[tlava]

am I looking for cold spots in the radiator with the temp device can I measure enging block temp as well

[WME]

am I looking for cold spots in the radiator with the temp device can I measure enging block temp as well

Cooler-cold. The radiator will be hotter at the top and cooler at the bottom as the water cools from the air flow. Side to side should be constant. a cold area means no coolant flow in that area.

[tlava]

I will get one of these and report back, reading left to right, starting at the top, moving across horizontally, and working down--maybe taking readings at top, middle, and bottom? and three or four spots across each section? would this do it?

What would be the best spot(s) to read on the engine itself? (don't know if this is useful, since I won't be able to "catch" the engine in a hot reading, but maybe just to verify accuracy of temp sensor?--not sure where that is located on this engine...)

[WME]

Measure at the thermostat housing

[tlava]

bought the temp reader a local HF outlet that just opened in Brooklyn (same price); they also had a higher priced one with a gun handle, it a wider temp range.

I tried pointing this a few things, like the side of the bathtub while I was occupied otherwise, but it seems to fluctuate a lot, or give diff.readings each time I press the button. No special trick to this, right--just aim, click, release? I did zap hot water coming out of the tap, and got 97, so it seems to work, but just has a lot (as much as a degree or two or more sometimes) of variance, unless I'm not doing something right... most of the reviews raved about the accuracy...

[tlava]

Well, the readings seem fairly consistent--79-80 or so across radiator, part way down (but near top), and 160-170 across the very top; temp at t-stat housing 150-160, 170 on valve cover; didn't read block but will do. does any of that sound right? Didn't notice any areas that had a vastly different temp, though may need a more thorough check--a bit rainy out.

it seems the fan may be interferring with the reading? should I warm up the engine, shut it off, then check temp?

Also, not sure how close to get, since the closer the smaller the area of the reading; had to angle down between radiator and back side of grill to get a reading on the radiator

one review of the infrared sensor claimed the device had to adjust to ambient temp to get a good reading, though not sure why that would matter, since the lazer did the reading, I thought....actually, not quite sure how the infrared and lazer work together

[waiter]

The laser doesn't do the reading, its a pointer to show where the IR sensor is focused at.

Have you flushed the cooling system and put in a new thermostat?

John Mc

88 Dolphin 4 Auto

[tlava]

I thnk the previous owner had it flushed at some point--probably several years but only a few k miles age, since it has only been driven about 5k miles over the last 12 yrs. I'l have to check back through receipts.

I have not replaced anything yet. I had heating issues with the SR--replaced everything cooling-system related under the hood, including the temp sensor, with no improvement, and eventally replaced the engine, as well...

Should the temp readings at the top be double the readings on the radiator itself only a few inches from the top (as from 80 t0 160 for eg)? seems like I'm not getting an accurate reading? (maybe for some of the reasons mentioned above)?

Also, my "check engine" light popped on BRIEFLY while on the drive back from tne City to Catskills (stayed on for maybe a minute while on the Thruway). Could this be related to the temp problem?

JUST CHECKED: coolant system was flushed in Oct. 07, when vehicle had 72k miles; now has 75k...

[magic princess]

Toyota made a two holed thermostat for forty bux to solve overheating problems.

[tlava]

First I heard about the 2-holed t-stat, but how/where would I get that?

[magic princess]

Order at Toyota dealership...I put in a lower temp tstat for the mountains, and everything started acting screwy...overheating in idle but cool as a whistle climbing mountains...Googled problem and read about dual tstat...parts lady at toyota told me all systems depend on tstat...bond auto parts knew absolutely nothing about it.

[magic princess]

The sad part is I waited to install Toyota tstat and ended up blowing hole in radiator and snapping drive belt...on highway...expensive tow...all for a stinking ten dollar tstat....somebody shoot me please.

[tlava]

But how do you ID the part, just "2-hole t-stat"? or is there a more technical moniker...

It's also the up and down that gets me:

Could air bubbles also be causing the temp fluctuation?

or a faulty water pump?

[magic princess]

Before I put in the lower temp tstat I put in a higher temp tstat and when it was warming up would raise almost all the way to the red then come down...another auto zone tstat...drove me nuts.