3rd Gen overheat

will the temp increase while sitting idle now OP? Or was it just a one time thing?

 

That was my thoughts on that as well, what will they replace the engine with. Id rather not F up the original engine if possible.

 

Hopefully a V8, or a turbo diesel

 

One time thing, I went and sat in a parking lot somewhere else after and tried to make it happen again, but the fan would keep kicking on like it should.

 

The fan doesn't usually kick on or off intermittently if it's defective. They either work or they fail...the beauty of a mechanical viscous clutch. A one time event sounds like the thermostat stuck and didn't open when it should have.

I battled this in my 03 Frontier. Exact same situation. Idling in drive through and the temp would spike. The fan clutch wouldn't engage which made me initially think it was the fan clutch but then I realized that it WOULDN'T engage as it's dependent upon the heat from the radiator. If your thermostat isn't working, it's overheating because it's not sending enough hot fluid through the radiator, thus it's not hot enough to engage the fan clutch.

I replaced the thermostat and then all of a sudden the fan clutch was working exactly as you'd expect, cycling on and off, keeping the truck cool in idle situations.

 

I agree with Scooby, sounds like your t-stat was stuck closed in the driveway.

 

China or...

 

Lol

 

I want them to go back to being inspected here:

 

Yep I'm right there with ya!

 

Where do you live that it is 81 degrees on January 2nd? Shit, I need to move...

 

Florida, and 81 is actually above normal for this time of year even for us.

 

Oh wow that sucks! Guess it's like the black box of an airplane then huh?

 

Serious question; But why didn't you just go with the Tundra?

 

I guide some hunts on the side and a midsized truck is more suitable for accessing some of the overgrown/unmaintained forest and ranch roads. Also while the Tundra is a very solid and proven vehicle I was drawn to the updated/modernized feel of the new Tacoma. I should have bought the 2015, I was VERY close to pulling the trigger on a Barcelona Red DCSB TRD OR 2015 just before the 2016's hit the lot. I test drove the 2016 and noticed right away how it felt underpowered and shifted oddly but I attributed this to being a new vehicle and something that would break in over time. If (and most likely when) I go back to full size I'll lean toward the Silverado. My last full size was a 2011 GMC Sierra and I had zero issues with that truck. It was flawless, literally.

 

Gotcha. I guess for me, someone who has never owned a Tacoma, coming from a Corolla, and mainly used in city, this is a great option, but I can see as for specific needs that can be a toss up.

 

I was floored to see a clutch fan the first time I popped the hood (yes, before purchase). This can't be good for fuel economy!

The stuck thermostat sounds like the most plausible explanation.

 

Nope. I've sat idling with the AC full blast in Phoenix in the summer time for over 45 minutes. The truck stayed right in the middle. But, my truck is a 6MT.

 

When you're driving the fan is idling with very little drag and you're only dealing with the added weight/inertia of the clutch innards. If you take off when the fan is engaged you will definitely feel the parasitic loss but that's short lived, as it quickly cools down.

As the fan ages it might be a different story but on my nissan, it was still going strong at 170k.

IMO, the big benefit is to the A/C performance. The fan works off a combined temperature of the condenser and radiator and so it may not engage immediately when you're sitting idle and the A/C loses cooling capacity until it does. With an electric fan, you generally wire those up to use the A/C compressor signal as a secondary trigger for the fan in addition to the radiator temp, so if A/C is cycling, fan is on by default...no up and down temperature changes in the A/C's performance.

 

My understanding is that a clutch fan still uses approximately 30% of the power even when not "engaged". The fan never really totally stops. Good point about the AC though. Probably not worthwhile to do an electric conversion until the clutch fails (If ever)