2.4L, Auto, 2wd, 95.5 Highway Overheat

I have replaced the thermostat (180), water pump, hoses, both temp. sensors and of course new 50/50 coolant mixture. The fan clutch seems to be working correctly as well. The radiator is a replacement sometime in the past and I took it out and flushed it as well as I could. Even used a mixture of water and CLR soaked over night to get it cleaner. The truck runs 190-193 in the driveway or short distances without any problems with the AC on in SW Florida. The problem arises on the highway. The radiator seems to heat soak and the temperature slowly but surely rises. In 20 miles, at 65mph, it will go from 190s to 234 in 4-5 degree jumps. I am watching the temps. on a Scangauge II so this is the reported temp. to the ECU. The dash gauge
goes from the normal below half to about 3/4 during this. 234 degrees puts it at about 3/4 but still below the red range. I don't drive the truck long enough to reach that. I am not losing any coolant, there is no coolant in the oil and the coolant is clean. I want to replace the radiator but I can't find one that isn't plastic tanks that will fit. I would like to put a 2 row, all metal, one in if I could find one that I knew would fit. Has anyone been down this road and can direct to the right radiator? Thanks for any help.

 

As i dont have that motor cant say on what radiator. But even stock they were plastic tanks...i had the very same symtoms u r describing and after many part swaps it turned out to be a partially ristricted radiator..

 

Thank you for your reply. I ordered a new radiator today. Should have it in next week, so I hope you are right and I will be done with this little issue. I ordered an all metal radiator, so I won't have any cracked plastic tank problems down the road.

 

Where did you score a metal tank radiator??

 

I found it in CA with free shipping. GENESISAUTOPARTS.COM It was not inexpensive for sure, but I like to do things 1 time if possible.

 

The radiator came today via FedEx. It looks good and I should have it in on Sunday.

 

Dude thats nice! If ua dont mind me asking what was the monetary damage?? When the time comes i want one like that! I have manuals so i dont need the tranny cooler, so id expect those to be a bit cheaper. On my built truck i just had to replace it like a year or so ago, it milkshaked on me... Im sure my DD will need one fairly soon and like you i dont wanna plastic one!

 

Here's the Part Number: ALL52410X7266AA and the price is $143.95 to the door.

 

Amazon carries the all metal radiators for about the same exact price....if I had known the price was only about $40 more than the plastic one I bought (found it after purchase and install), I would have purchased the all metal one....hope it solves your overheating problems...

 

I looked at the offerings on Amazon, as I get free shipping from them as well. I could never find one that Amazon said it would fit my truck, so I found the one I bought. I hope it goes in without to much trouble.

 

http://www.amazon.com/Aluminum-Radi...3029&sr=8-1&keywords=tacoma+aluminum+radiator

Amazon carries it. Exact same dimensions of the one you bought (18-5/8 x 25-1/4 x 5/8), about the same price...actually a couple of bucks cheaper...probably the same manufacturer, different vendor...good luck with install...Amazons fitment program is lacking sometimes...

 

It clearly states it will not fit in my truck, so I was hesitant to buy it from Amazon. Genesis states it does, so that is why I bought it there instead. We will find out today when I install it.

 

It's all good...the only problem I had was getting the mounting holes to line up, they were off a smidgen, made starting the attachment bolts a bit if a biatch...hope the radiator solves your overheating problem...

Also, regarding your thermostat, if you installed it upsidedown it can cause higher temps, but not as high as you are reporting....something about the jigglevalve positioning....not sure if it applies to the 2.4/2.7, but with the 3.4 it makes a difference of about 10* or so....

Regarding the fitment, I measured my radiator several times before I ordered, there are three different radiators for the gen 1's, depends on engine size and whether you have TRD/tow package, auto tranny, etc...

 

The radiator is in and working fine at idle of course. I haven't driven it on the highway, but will soon.

As far as fit goes it was fine. I did have to realign the two tabs on each side that the radiator hangs from. They were too wide to both fit in the windows. Once I move them in toward the center the 4 mounting bolt holes lined up very well. I do have to say that the petcock for draining the radiator was shut so tight that the little handle turned before the screw did. Not a big deal really, if I need to drain the radiator in the future I can remove the entire petcock from the radiator. Other than that, it was a easy install in my old '95.

It has cooled down here in FL the last few days, so I will have to wait until it gets back up in the 90s again to see how it does on the highway with the AC on. I will let you know.