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Tacoma V6 3.4 Wants to overheat

Discussion in 'Technical Chat' started by Anthony250, Jan 26, 2013.

  1. Jan 26, 2013 at 8:53 PM
    #1
    Anthony250

    Anthony250 [OP] Ex Fabricator

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    So my 99 Taco 3.4 Auto. Ever since i purchased it I would easily rise the temps climbing hills. But Slightly progressively over the past 2 years the temps would rise greater over hills. As of tonight driving from Los Angeles to Barstow which includes one large hill but mostly a even flat drive the truck was at above average temps of about 203-210 F. The only way i made it this drive or any other time my truck wanted to overheat "usually temps of 212-220 above" is by keeping the rpms really high or turning on the heater which did help significantly. And when I would come to a stop the temps would raise agian somewhat quickly. Im stumped is that the radiator was just replaced with a dual core, replaced oem thermostat, waterpump , and change the radiator fluid. Im guessing the fan clutch is suspect, the head gasket , but I just did an oil change yesterday and the oil was fine. And I do have an aftermarket bumper with a skidplate which blocks some airflow and I removed it and it helped but it still raises the temps.

    Any suggestions?
     
  2. Jan 27, 2013 at 6:27 PM
    #2
    Ga tacoguy

    Ga tacoguy Well-Known Member

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    :) Sorry about your problems, I need to ask you How old are the upper and lower radiator hoses? If they are old, they may be collapsing while you are driving and restricting your water flow through your new radiator. You need to look at them for bulges and feel and grip them when they are cold and see if the hose material is soft and pliable. A soft radiator hose may collapse under pressure.
    Have you changed your radiator cap when you changed your radiator? A old cap will not hold pressure if the rubber gaskets are worn and the pressure regulator on the cap is worn out. This prevents the Radiator from building pressure, which you need since you are above sea level.
    I doubt your fan clutch is bad, as it would have overheated when moving just as easily as it does when stopped and idling. It could be bad, but it is not the primary problem. Since you can bleed off the excess heat with the heater, you have a flow problem with either air or water through your system. Go to the parts places and you can rent a pressure tester for the radiator for free. Pump up your system and check it's integrity, then check the cap.
    If the hoses are good, and nothing could be found, do you know how long it has been since the whole cooling system has been power flushed. It is possible a build up of rust and corrosion inside your block could prevent the transfer of heat from the engine into the oil. A lot of heat is bled off into the oil system and if it is not functioning due to rust and corrosion inside your block, the extra heat is being dumped into your radiator also.
    Adding an external transmission cooler to your system and the removal of the transmission lines into the radiator may help remove extra heat from your radiator. I hope some of this help to give you some guidelines to look for problems. Good Luck.
     
  3. Jan 27, 2013 at 7:14 PM
    #3
    Anthony250

    Anthony250 [OP] Ex Fabricator

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    They are probably the original hoses, as for softness yes they are a bit soft. Radiator Cap is a new one as of a couple weeks ago high pressure 1.3 bar. I checked the fan clutch for resistance when warm and it did have a good amount of resistance. I do have a big skid plate with little holes in it for air flow. I took off the skid plate yesterday and on the drive home it actually did stay a few degrees cooler, but I have driven on the highway with the skidplate before and didnt have much temperature increase last time. Last time the whole system was flushed was probably 1 year ago when i changed the radiator. I will try pressure testing it. Any idea if i can use the radiator fluid called Engine Ice?
     
  4. Jan 28, 2013 at 5:26 AM
    #4
    Robertgeejr1

    Robertgeejr1 Well-Known Member

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    I have done all the hi-pro mods for a life time, since I got this truck at a great price, I will be happy with showroom new.
    Now don't take this wrong, but let a old man give you some tips. don't band aid this problem. Don't let this motor overhead or you will destroy it or take years and miles off its life. Now when I got my truck, its "core" was great, but routine maintenance was lacking, badly, hence the price, but that was cool with me, since i like to do shit like this. when I did the flush, I flushed it, I spent 3 days, about 14 gallons of distilled water, and 2 things of flush, I was going to see if I could either put a hole in the radiator or if it would hold, it held, but the shit that did come out...... and new hoses and new thermostat, those can really make a difference. and a OEM thermostat, one that was made in JAPAN, not CHINA!!! got it at NAPA about 31 dollars, com paired to the cheep Chinese ones, around 18, and you can see the difference in the make. I use, have used it for different cars the stuff from REDLINE, that stuff is fine, but don't bet on it to solve this problem. hope this helps, but don't let these motors overheat.....
     
  5. Jan 28, 2013 at 9:13 AM
    #5
    Anthony250

    Anthony250 [OP] Ex Fabricator

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    Exactly! I dont want to overheat it, I actually never had , only time I came close to it was almost to redline and I just stopped the motor. I will probably flush it soon, change fluid, change hoses, and possibly fan clutch. If not those then probably the thermostat.
     
  6. Jan 28, 2013 at 9:17 AM
    #6
    BAMFTACO

    BAMFTACO Another day another beer

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    Wondering if a sensor is going bad. Maybe try hooking up a scanner to see if there are any pending codes.
     
  7. Jan 28, 2013 at 9:20 AM
    #7
    Anthony250

    Anthony250 [OP] Ex Fabricator

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    Don't Think so, these temps i mentioned are off my Ultraguage. And No pending codes, and I know the temp gauge is good because the last time I driven uphill besides this past weekend the temp gauge climbed.
     
  8. Jan 28, 2013 at 11:03 AM
    #8
    BamaToy1997

    BamaToy1997 Wheel Bearing Master

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    Not that I am saying that this IS your problem, but it not uncommon for a head gasket to start leaking into a coolant jacket from the cylinder. This can cause increases in temperature under load, and there will be no mixing of oil and water, so the oil dipstick won't show anything. You can go to most parts places and they have a chemical tester to check for presence of combustion gasses in your coolant to try and quickly rule that possibility out.

    Other than that cooling fans, fan clutches, blockage, thermostats, poor performing water pumps, and bad sensors can cause the same problem.
     
  9. Jan 28, 2013 at 1:17 PM
    #9
    Robertgeejr1

    Robertgeejr1 Well-Known Member

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    I have done all the hi-pro mods for a life time, since I got this truck at a great price, I will be happy with showroom new.
    In a situation like this I always like to check off easiest to fix and most likely to fail, remember when I was a kid, you had to do this stuff every year, then It was like WOW that you could get 2 years out of rad. flushes, and hoses busted all the time, now hoses will last 7-10 years.... not to mention thermostats. do the obvious first, and see if it helps.
     
  10. Jan 28, 2013 at 1:26 PM
    #10
    EDJY

    EDJY Well-Known Member

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    I had a 01 Tacoma for many years. I would take these guys advice. Something is definitely wrong. Replace hoses and thermostat. I towed relatively heavy loads over the sierras in the summer, and never saw my temps for above 190. The needle never budged. The truck had 285k when it was totaled on all original hoses, radiator and thermostat. Definitely go with oem stuff if you are replacing anything.
     
  11. Jan 28, 2013 at 1:29 PM
    #11
    Anthony250

    Anthony250 [OP] Ex Fabricator

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    Im very suspect to the Head gasket, there was a few times I opened the radiator after being filled only a month or so and wondering why there was a little fluid lost. I just rechecked the fan clutch warm and it had good resistance, Now im not going to rule that out but im putting it off, for the hoses they are soft and they have probably never been replaced. Im going to replace the hoses, and as for skidplate that covers the radiator air flow im going to make holes in it. As of now i have been driving it around town with it off and the temps are 195-199. Is there any significant difference with Prestone and Toyota Oem Pink radiator fluid?
     
  12. Jan 28, 2013 at 1:48 PM
    #12
    Anthony250

    Anthony250 [OP] Ex Fabricator

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  13. Jan 28, 2013 at 3:14 PM
    #13
    DriverSound

    DriverSound Señor Member

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    Change the hoses first and possibly the thermostat. If that doesn't fix it, do the chemical test like BamaToy suggested. I believe the thermostat is at 190 degrees and there should be some fluctuation depending on how you're driving, towing, outside temp, etc but up to 220? How many miles?
     
  14. Jan 28, 2013 at 3:22 PM
    #14
    Anthony250

    Anthony250 [OP] Ex Fabricator

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    I google my thermostat and i think its 180-182 degrees. Im picking up new hoses right now. Thinking about running Engine Ice Coolant I run it in my dirt bike with awesome results. Usually rises up to 206 to 215 but the highest it has gone is about 225 degrees. But it does it almost every climb on the highway. 190K miles. Maintenence on my part is done very regularly but Ive only had the truck for about 3 years now , and got it since it had 164K.

    At the time it goes over 215 -220 degrees it boils over and leaks out of the overflow with 0.9 bar cap, I just installed a new 1.3 bar cap last month. And the fact the temp guage rises. I mean all my other buddys with Tacomas dont have any heating issues at all.
     
  15. Jan 28, 2013 at 3:30 PM
    #15
    DriverSound

    DriverSound Señor Member

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    I suspected head gasket leak on my engine as well since I found some green coolant (using green) on one side of the head but oil and radiator was clean. I did the block leak test and radiator pressure test that turned out to be good. My leaking valve covers was mixing with some coolant residue from when I flushed the block and radiator and had me thinking head gasket leak. No overheating of some kind though. Did you pull your plugs and check if it's wet at all or have any coolant residue?
     
  16. Jan 28, 2013 at 3:33 PM
    #16
    Anthony250

    Anthony250 [OP] Ex Fabricator

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    Hmm there is slight look of leaking around both Heads. But its very minimal. The last time I pulled the plugs was maybe 10-15K miles ago, and they looked perfect.
     
  17. Jan 28, 2013 at 3:39 PM
    #17
    DriverSound

    DriverSound Señor Member

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    Could be from your valve covers as they tend to get loosened over time. I couldn't believe how loose some of the bolts on mine were. Get some degreaser and clean them off that way you have a better idea where's it's coming from.
     
  18. Jan 28, 2013 at 3:53 PM
    #18
    CorrosiveTendency

    CorrosiveTendency When up to your nose in shit, keep your mouth shut

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    Anthony, I had the same issue with my '99/ 3.4l. New water pump, thermostat, several flushes, new Toyota coolant and a fan clutch. Did not replace the hoses though, thinking back, I should have. It stopped cooking over, but then the temp gauge stopped working, which told me the sensor was bad. I drove it like that for 2 years before it went to the crusher. Good luck, did you get the CSB?
     
  19. Jan 28, 2013 at 4:09 PM
    #19
    Anthony250

    Anthony250 [OP] Ex Fabricator

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    I just picked up the hoses, and should be installing sometime this week.

    Yes i got the bearing, havent installed it yet, but will soon.
     
  20. Jan 28, 2013 at 5:30 PM
    #20
    Robertgeejr1

    Robertgeejr1 Well-Known Member

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    I have done all the hi-pro mods for a life time, since I got this truck at a great price, I will be happy with showroom new.
    one more thing, now this is out of my ballpark, BUT don't start tightening those head gasket bolts with out know what you are doing. at least chat with Bamatoy, they are tork specif and I think order also, tightening too much
    and you will make it worse, that I do know.
     

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