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Thermostat replacement question

Discussion in '1st Gen. Tacomas (1995-2004)' started by 5280, May 6, 2013.

  1. May 17, 2013 at 10:23 AM
    #21
    5280

    5280 [OP] old school

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    Well, got in the truck today and noticed right away that the temp gauge was AGAIN in the red. This after I paid for replacing the thermostat and a coolant change, to correct this very problem!
    The shop will have to fix it, but I don't want to spend any more money there... After searching around TW and elsewhere I think maybe the problem is the ECT sensor... Has anyone else dealt with a similar problem?
     
    Last edited: May 17, 2013
  2. Mar 22, 2014 at 7:40 PM
    #22
    Coppertone

    Coppertone Well-Known Member

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    Bumping for this phenomenon.

    The temp on my SGII has ready 186-190 for the last couple of years. This weekend I did a timing belt / water pump / t-stat / etc.......all Toyota parts. I installed the t-stat with the jiggle valve at 12 o'clock as per the Hayne's manual, Safetydang's video, etc. Wouldn't you know....my temp is running at 198-202 now.

    Tomorrow I will flip the t-stat to have the jiggle valve at 6 o'clock and report back.
     
  3. Mar 22, 2014 at 8:29 PM
    #23
    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.


    its still hard to say, now they could have put the thermostat in backwards, I have seen that more than once.
    Now, one thing, do not let the motor overheat. one tip if she starts to run warm, throw your heater on high, its not much but it might help.
     
  4. Mar 22, 2014 at 8:31 PM
    #24
    Toyota4x46921

    Toyota4x46921 Well-Known Member

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    Mine was at 12 o'clock....scan gauge 202...6 o'clock runs 190.....
     
    1997tacomav6 likes this.
  5. Mar 23, 2014 at 6:30 AM
    #25
    Coppertone

    Coppertone Well-Known Member

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    mind blowing.
     
  6. Mar 23, 2014 at 1:02 PM
    #26
    Coppertone

    Coppertone Well-Known Member

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    I just moved it to 6 o'clock. Running 188 on the SGII now.
     
  7. Mar 24, 2014 at 2:45 AM
    #27
    JJ04TACO

    JJ04TACO Well-Known Member

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    Jiggle valve goes down. Search jiggle valve. There is a thread with links to the fsm that will tell you he same. As for the thermostat it is sooooooo easy. Did it and hoses in 30 minutes. I installed jiggle valve at 6 o'clock. When I removed the original it was at 7 o'clock. It's a one owner truck so I thought that was wierd. I did research and it goes down.
     
  8. Mar 25, 2015 at 7:57 PM
    #28
    yoTaco98

    yoTaco98 Well-Known Member

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    Rehashing and thread...

    Just did my tstat the weekend.

    New water pump and tstat. Old one ran at 195-204.

    New one runs at 204.8 - 208.4. It even hit 210 once. I installed my jiggle at the 12 o'clock like the one that was in there previously.

    I want to flip it to the 6 o'clock. But i had a couple questions.

    1) Do I have to drain the cool to flip the tstat?

    This pink premixed stuff is expensive. Is there a way to clamp the hoses and pull the housing real fast and flip the tstat?

    2) Since the current tstat is a week old, do I have to replace rubber gasket? Or is it still good since it's not very old?

    I appreciate the help!
     
    Last edited: Apr 5, 2015
  9. Mar 26, 2015 at 8:41 AM
    #29
    JJ04TACO

    JJ04TACO Well-Known Member

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    You may want to drain a little out to get the fluid level below the t stat. Just put it in a clean container. Switch it to the 6 O'clock, and replace. Shouldn't take but 20 minutes start to finish.

    If you don't drain it out it will flow out the opening and you will lose the fluid anyway. Best to keep it.
     
  10. Mar 28, 2015 at 5:15 PM
    #30
    yoTaco98

    yoTaco98 Well-Known Member

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    Thanks!
     
  11. Apr 5, 2015 at 1:46 PM
    #31
    yoTaco98

    yoTaco98 Well-Known Member

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    Happy Easter everyone!

    So with the thermostat (82 degree Celsius tstat) at 12 o'clock I was running 198-212, and the fan would kick on and it would settle at 208.

    So I flipped it today to 6 o'clock. And now it sit at 186-188. Every now and then, it bumps up to 190, and then back down 188.

    Am I running too cool now? This is mess.

    Should the jiggle valve be at the 3 o'clock to hit that magical center of 195 - 203?

    Kinda frustrating...
     
  12. Apr 6, 2015 at 7:40 AM
    #32
    JJ04TACO

    JJ04TACO Well-Known Member

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    Nope, just leave it at the 6 oclock position. Mine runs at at constant 193, just putting that out there.
     
  13. Apr 6, 2015 at 11:36 AM
    #33
    bry838

    bry838 Well-Known Member

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    Mine runs between 186-190. Its not "too cool"
     
  14. Apr 7, 2015 at 3:51 AM
    #34
    yoTaco98

    yoTaco98 Well-Known Member

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    Thanks!
     
  15. Apr 8, 2015 at 5:35 AM
    #35
    yoTaco98

    yoTaco98 Well-Known Member

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    Well.. Flipped the thermostat and filled the radiator back up and while I was there I replaced the radiator cap since the old one's rubber gasket has cracks in it. (190k miles)

    Now I noticed that there's coolant leaking to the bottom. It seems to be coming from where the top plastic cap the runs the length of the radiator meets the metal frame that starts the cooling fins.

    This could be a cause of the flipped thermostat right?

    It can't possibly be from installing a new (toyota oem) radiator cap?

    Seems like things keep coming up. Any ideas?
     
  16. Apr 8, 2015 at 11:31 AM
    #36
    bry838

    bry838 Well-Known Member

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    It could be caused by the new cap. There coulb be more pressure in the system due to the fresh cap...or the leak has been caused by lots of leaning on the radiator tinkering with your t-stat. This is the most likely reason.
     
  17. Apr 8, 2015 at 12:03 PM
    #37
    yoTaco98

    yoTaco98 Well-Known Member

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    So the radiator is shot?

    Do you think it has anything to do with the thermostat being flipped to 6 o'clock and the air not being able to properly vent because the jiggle valve was pointed up?

    I'm just hoping it's just that the radiator was old and the new cap allowed pressure to build that wasn't there before, and not anything more serious where there's too much pressure in the cooling system because of the thermostat or some bigger issue.

    The sucks. Wonder where everyone is getting their replacement radiators? OEM/Toyota at $200?
     
  18. Jul 25, 2016 at 7:27 AM
    #38
    Gooch

    Gooch Well-Known Member

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    I've read about the jiggle valve phenomenon for a while. I am a skeptic by nature, but there were WAY too many guys reporting a pretty big temperature difference to write it off.

    So, I did what in my opinion was a pretty controlled experiment. My commute to work is very consistent, so I recorded the engine temperature when I pulled into a parking spot at work several times by taking a picture of my Ultragauge as soon as I pulled the parking brake.

    Last Saturday, I pulled the thermostat and noticed it was at 2 o'clock. I assume that the tech that did the timing belt at 90K reinstalled it in a random position. I put on a new gasket, reinstalled the same exact thermostat (not a replacement) with the jiggle valve at 6 o'clock, put the same coolant that I drained out back in and made no other changes.

    Here are the Ultragauge images from several trips to work before the change, one trip home, and one trip to work after the change.

    Trip to work #1, jiggle valve at 2 o'clock:

    Trip to work 1.jpg

    Trip home, jiggle valve at 2 o'clock:

    Trip Home.jpg

    Trip to work #2, jiggle valve at 2 o'clock:

    Trip to work 2.jpg

    Trip to work #3, jiggle valve at 2 o'clock:

    Trip to work 3.jpg

    Trip to work #4, jiggle valve at 2 o'clock:

    Trip to work 4.jpg

    OK, so are you convinced that my truck runs at 199.4°F yet? I hope so. :)

    Trip to work this morning, jiggle valve at 6 o'clock:

    Trip to work cool.jpg

    Second trip to work, jiggle valve at 6 o'clock:

    Trip to work cool2.jpg
     
    Last edited: Jul 26, 2016
  19. Jul 25, 2016 at 9:58 AM
    #39
    Sicyota04

    Sicyota04 Slowly but surely.

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    If you don't have a scan gauge, how do you tell your engine temp? My temp gauge stays in the middle once it's up to operating temp and has never gone over that position. So am I good?
     
  20. Jul 25, 2016 at 10:17 AM
    #40
    Gooch

    Gooch Well-Known Member

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    The analog gauge doesn't provide enough resolution to be able to see a 10-15 degree difference. You would have to borrow a Scangauge, Ultragauge or maybe a scan tool.

    There's no danger in running at 200. Some guys would rather run cooler for several reasons though. Some people just want to have the thermostat installed the way the FSM tells you to.

    For me, I'm mostly interested in seeing if running 12 degrees cooler will cure my pinging problem.
     
    Last edited: Jul 25, 2016

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