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Overheating with brand new motor?!?!?

Discussion in '1st Gen. Tacomas (1995-2004)' started by tacomac03, Nov 20, 2013.

  1. Nov 20, 2013 at 8:13 PM
    #1
    tacomac03

    tacomac03 [OP] Member

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    hey guys,

    Completely new to motor swaps, this site, and yotas in general, but i jumped in deep on all three with this truck.

    03 v6 4x4 manual SR5 with only 72k miles for only $2500 bucks!! Body was perfect, xtra cab, towing package, and a knocking motor haha (only had a couple oil changes and the original air filter >:/ which caused the oval shaped cylinders and spun #6 bearing)...so i bought it. Pulled the motor and had it done by the best machine shop in town....completely hot tanked, decked, bored (.020) , miced, checked everything. My cousin works at the biggest Toyota dealer on the east coast in the shop and every single new part ie, pistons, crank, water pump, oil pump, everything! came in a red box covered in toyota symbols (ask my bank account about it). Flushed everything, cleaned out the blow by, and bolted her back in. Fired right up and purred like a kitten and this continued for the first 45 miles. I did notice during this time however, it ran at about 65 to 75% to red on the temp gauge...but never having a 0 miled engine before, i just chalked it up to break-in friction, ring seating, extra heat. Today when I went for a little 15 mile loop, it got right up to 65% between cold and the red and then after about 12 miles went into the red....my heart dropped.

    No CEL and no misfiring or boiling water, stem, anything....already had the heat blasting so I shut it down. the lower radiator hose was cool to the touch, as well as the bottom of the rad. there was some slushing coming from the radiator like water was slowly filling in. After less than 5 minutes, the heat gauge was at the half way mark which i thought was very quick...so i took off the radiator cap (i know, bad idea) but nothing happened...it just sat there at the top of the rad. Drove it home at 65-75% of the gauge...heat blasting and it never reached red again. I'm terrified to crank it up again...or that i've already harmed my very expensive, very new engine....can someone please give me some guidence.

    The t-stat is brand new from toyota, as is the coolant. The hoses never collapsed, and the radiator was spotless, inside and out. It took over 2 gallons when we filled it, drove it, and it emptied the reservoir i had up to full. Refilled it to full before this overheating drive and it was extremely full when the needle hit red. I'm at a complete lose.

    Help me enjoy my new taco!!!!
     
  2. Nov 20, 2013 at 8:19 PM
    #2
    bldegle2

    bldegle2 OldPhart

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    thermostat install backwards?
     
  3. Nov 20, 2013 at 8:19 PM
    #3
    JLee50

    JLee50 Well-Known Member

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    A 0-mile motor should warm up just like any other.

    If your water pump failed, you'd heat up REALLY fast (lost a water pump on my CTS-V. I knew that in about a mile.) So, leaves us with t-stat, air pockets, or a faulty temp sensor.

    I would start the truck with the radiator cap off and let it idle up to operating temp. Make sure the cooling system is full after operating temp (i.e. the thermostat has opened and you're circulating coolant through the radiator).

    From the description, it sounds like there are air pockets invading your cooling system. Give it a good proper bleeding and see what happens from there.

    If you are worried about the motor, do a compression check - it won't always read low given a blown head gasket, but it'll give you a rough idea. You can also rev the engine a bit with the radiator cap off and see if it starts violently spraying coolant out (keep people away from it just in case) - i.e. exhaust in the cooling system.
     
  4. Nov 20, 2013 at 8:20 PM
    #4
    whahahajr

    whahahajr Lone Star Club

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    Check the actually temp of the engine. Sounds like could be something in wiring. If not it sounds like its not building coolant pressure. Possibly getting a air bubble some where. Or blockage?

    One other thing check belt routing. I've see where it was routed wrong and water pump was running backwards.
     
  5. Nov 20, 2013 at 8:21 PM
    #5
    JLee50

    JLee50 Well-Known Member

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    This reminds me - at least on my MR2, the thermostat is keyed in a particular direction. Make sure that is correct.
     
  6. Nov 20, 2013 at 8:22 PM
    #6
    JLee50

    JLee50 Well-Known Member

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    An inability to build pressure would lower the boiling point - if it was overheated much, he'd see steam.

    It'd be really tricky to get the water pump to run backwards:
    [​IMG]
     
  7. Nov 20, 2013 at 8:23 PM
    #7
    2010Tacoma4x4

    2010Tacoma4x4 "Man Ho"

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    I would be suspicious of the radiator not having proper flow (pluggage forming inside the fins). Judging by the rest of the maintenance from the previous owner, my guess is he never flushed or changed the original coolant. A good radiator shop can dip it clean maybe or you can just replace it.
     
  8. Nov 20, 2013 at 8:33 PM
    #8
    tacomac03

    tacomac03 [OP] Member

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    Wow guys, thanks for the quick replies! We put the t-stat in exactly how it came out, and it seemed to be able to go in at any degree but I'll check it out...need to boil it anyway just to eliminate a variable.
    As far as the rad, it seemed to flow very good...as you said, with the prev owners wonderful care of the truck, i too was nervous about what would be inside, but there was no corrosion or debri.
    I don't believe i harmed the motor because of how cold the lower hose was and how fast it cooled down and didn't re-overheat.
    I also have a feeling it has something to do with the wonderful compressibility of air. So to bleed it, just letting it hit temp with the cap off and watching to see if it displaces air with water and topping it off is all you gotta do?
     
  9. Nov 20, 2013 at 8:36 PM
    #9
    JLee50

    JLee50 Well-Known Member

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    It will *fit* at any degree, but I know on the MR2 one it has a small hole that has to be in a certain range (I believe it was a 15 degree arc that was acceptable - it's been a few months since I built that motor). If you can find a factory service manual, it will say if it has to be keyed.

    That's typically how to bleed a front-engined vehicle. I'd hit up Google real quick to see if there's a specific process for a 5vz, but that is likely the case. When you first put coolant in and started it up, what process did you take? I.e. fill, start engine, replace radiator cap, etc - walk me through exactly step by step.
     
  10. Nov 20, 2013 at 8:43 PM
    #10
    tacomac03

    tacomac03 [OP] Member

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    Filled it up from the rad, then flipped open the heater valve, popped of the heater hose going into the block and filled it up that way until it started overflowing the radiator. Fired it up and did the "break-in" procedure to seat the rings/drove it to the gas station and filled it up and drove it back home. Topped off the reservoir (put it at the full mark) and drove it a week later. It emptied the reservoir, refilled it today and drove it again, hit the red mark...it filled the reservoir all the way to the top, but never came out of the little vent hose. Drove it back home, left it running for a sec to make sure the fan was blowing...it was. Made sure the bottom hose wasn't collapsing...it wasn't, and shut it down. Took off the cap and it was full, the coolant tank was also lower in level.

    EDIT: Put cap on before the first time I turned the key. It has actually never ran without the cap on it....:/
     
  11. Nov 20, 2013 at 8:51 PM
    #11
    JLee50

    JLee50 Well-Known Member

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    Bingo, my friend...I do believe we've solved it.

    Take the cap off when cold, fire her up, and add coolant as needed to keep the radiator full. Warm it up to operating temp. Fill from the radiator til it's full when at operating temp (also make sure to have the heater on full when doing this). Run it at operating temp for a few minutes just to be safe, since the OEM temp gauge is likely reading "normal" from ~160f to ~210f (rectal-plucking those numbers, but they are usually not very specific regardless). Once it's good and warm, you may see it slowly starting to push coolant out of the radiator as the coolant expands. Cap it and go for a test drive. Don't worry about putting too much in (not saying to over-fill on purpose, though) - if you're over-filled, it'll blow the excess out of the reservoir.
     
  12. Nov 20, 2013 at 8:51 PM
    #12
    02coma

    02coma Well-Known Member

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    Alway install small hole on t-stat on top, it is for air bleed. U may have air in coolant system.
    Btw turn on heat if overheat
     
  13. Nov 20, 2013 at 8:55 PM
    #13
    tacomac03

    tacomac03 [OP] Member

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    You guys are awesome, Jlee50...will do tomorrow, I'll def. post an update. I felt like I should of done that, but everywhere and everyone said not to let a new motor idle very long so i figured filling it from the highest point (heat hose on top) would get it all but I didn't think about the air in the top of the cooling jackets or heater core. Wish me luck guys.
     
  14. Nov 20, 2013 at 8:58 PM
    #14
    02coma

    02coma Well-Known Member

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    New motor should idle at least 5min
     
  15. Nov 20, 2013 at 8:59 PM
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    JLee50

    JLee50 Well-Known Member

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    Also keep in mind - the thermostat is closed when cold, so you aren't going to have full circulation until it warms up enough to open.

    I'm quite confident you'll fix it tomorrow. Enjoy!
     
  16. Nov 20, 2013 at 9:03 PM
    #16
    JLee50

    JLee50 Well-Known Member

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    IMO - it should idle as long as it needs to for warm-up / coolant bleed (after the initial ~15 seconds of run time, after which I shut down and check for leaks). Once coolant is bled and oil checks out OK, it's time to drive. A few (10-20) relatively easy miles to make sure everything's working right, nothing's loose, etc, and then you can change the oil, let 'er rip, and seat those rings like you mean it. :cool:

    It did the trick on mine - checked compression after about 500 miles and it was right where it should be. Not slow, either. :)
     
  17. Nov 20, 2013 at 10:08 PM
    #17
    whahahajr

    whahahajr Lone Star Club

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    The trick I did with my 22re was to lift the front end up when letting it idle. Helped get the air out.
     
  18. Nov 20, 2013 at 10:11 PM
    #18
    whahahajr

    whahahajr Lone Star Club

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    That's right I forgot it's ran by the timing belt
     
  19. Nov 21, 2013 at 11:30 AM
    #19
    Dirty Pool

    Dirty Pool FLIES ON THE FRIES, KETCHUPS WATERED DOWN

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    See the red arrow. It is widely documented (via ScanGuage) on this and many other forums, that the 5vz-fe will run about 10 degrees hotter with the jiggle valve in the "up" (wrong) position.
    e89abd99-5d3d-4e9e-ab8d-44d2296c42ef_zps_6791b275e5670456bcabf6dd42f04bc1cff23918.jpg
     
  20. Nov 21, 2013 at 11:41 AM
    #20
    JLee50

    JLee50 Well-Known Member

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    Factory service manual FTW. ;)

    Thanks Dirty Pool!
     

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