2004 V6 4x4 RUNNING HOT, BUT NOT OVERHEATING...PLEASE HELP!!!!!!!

Hi everyone,


I've posted a few times regarding an overheat problem I'm having:

• 2004 Tacoma V6 3.4L 4X4 CrewCab
• Never had a coolant system leak
• No water in oil system
• It was going to overheat one time, so I changed out thermostat
• It was going to overheat again, and changed out fan clutch
• It was going to overheat once again, and changed lower radiator hose which was actually collapsing due to the suction pressure
• After all that, the temperature started to increase again, and I checked the coolant system and it was a bit low, so I added
• I've ran it for several minutes hot, with the radiator cap off, to bleed the system
• It still began to get hot, only that this time, it has stabilized.
• It is in the upper 3/4 of the temperature range, but it only happens when idling for a long time, but not every time.
• It is random!!!!
• Just today, I sat in it for 30 minutes, full A/C, and nothing. Absolutely perfectly in the middle.

I have attached a picture of the temperature gauge. What should I do?? I don't want to assume this is OK, because it used to run dead in the middle. Now, whenever it wants, it creeps up to about 75%. I just came from the dealer, and the service scheduler said "To be honest, my guys aren't going to have a clue what's wrong, and most likely, they will want to change the water pump". Is there no specific and exact way to determine what is wrong with my truck and why it is overheating????

Any help is appreciated!

Thanks!!

 

you have had the cooling system pressure tested? the radiator cap is tested and ok? that collaspe hose has me wondering..wierd.

 

first thing you need to do is check the temperature of the coolant when its up that far,is it really that hot,or could it be a faulty sending unit or gauge...if its not either one of those,i would check for a blown head gasket or a partially clogged radiator

 

is the upper and lower hose hot when it starts to go past half? And why in the hell did you replace the fan clutch? just get a electric.

 

im no expert, but use "Antifreeze Coolant Tester" and see if your coolant can displace the heat...
this happened with my old jeep

 

I had a problem like this in an old Subaru. Finally took it to a radiator shop, the guy took a Lazar thermometer and checked the temp at the top and bottom of the radiator. He said the difference should be at least 20 degrees if flowing properly. Bought a after market radiator. No more creeping temp. It was fine driving around town, but on the road longer then a trip to work it would slowly climb.

 

sounds like a stopped up radiator to me, i had this same issue on my 97 which had the same motor. Sometimes it would completely overheat to where i had to shut the truck off and other times it would just run a little hotter than normal. take off your bottom hose off then take the radiator cap off and flush it with a hose pipe to see how much flow you have. A local radiator shop shouldn't charge but about $50 or so to clean your radiator if you take it out and take it to them.

 

As far as the coolant temperature, I felt the hoses and they were burning hot. Also, the overflow tank is almost boiling. And according to my friend and the Toyota technician, there is no sign of a blown head gasket.

 

I'm kicking myself right now for not doing this when I had everything in pieces. I even thought about it, but figured it was fine. I guess I'm going to have to tear down everything again....really hoping its simply clogged, or full of crap. This is going to be the next thing I try this weekend when I get a chance.

 

I'd be buying (or borrowing) a scan guage to verify the coolant temp via OBDII rather than an analog gauge.

Mabes you just have a bad sending unit.

EDIT: Scratch that - if the sending unit is bad the info sent to computer will be too I guess. Good luck!

 

SUCCESS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! (so far, but I think this is it!!!)

I went to the Toyota dealer for their "official diagnosis", and after some difficulty, they finally spotted the radiator with non-uniform temperatures across it. And because they didn't have the radiator in stock (and they themselves did not do radiator cleanings), they didn't even charge me for the inspection!!

So after that, I decided to get the radiator professionally cleaned at a local place, but after realizing how much they were charging around my area compared to just buying a new one, I decided to just replace it myself. Been running for a day and a half with no problems. It's actually running cooler than ever. I once thought I had fixed it when I replaced the fan clutch, and after a day or two, it overheated again...but this time, I think it's for real. Clogged up radiator!!!! PROBLEM SOLVED!!!!!!

THANK YOU TO EVERYONE!!!!!!!!!!!

 

Thanks wolfpack!! I'll make sure to check again when I get home and for the next few days.

 

I think I may have the same problem (damn) but was unsure because I just got the truck about a month ago and had a 2000 before that. Can someone tell me if this is running hot also (2004 V6 4x4)? It looks similar to Tacomapilot2004 pic but a little lower on the gauge.

Tacomapilot2004, can you tell me how much you were looking at for a cleaning versus just getting the new radiator (was the new radiotor OEM)? Could you also post a pic of where the temp gauge is at now that you have the new radiator.

Thanks!

 

I meant if it was above normal running temp. The pic I posted is not that far off of tacomapilot2004 and from reading his posts above it seems he got the temp gauge to drop after replacing the radiator. So is this normal because I seem to remember the temp gauge on my 2000 running at the half way point or a little below???

Thanks in advance

 

Can someone post a pic for me of what there temp gauge looks like when it is at normal running temp...I would really like to see if the gauge compared to mine, which looks like this:

 

Mines running about the same and I have no problems I'm going to replace all those hoses t stat waterpump and whatever else and flush the system when I get around to my timing belt

 

I will the next time I have it warmed up, mine seems to run a little bit below what yours is showing.
Have the radiator cap presure tested! If the cap isn't holding presure it will cause the temp to rise.

 

your in the same boat as me, except mines with my honda. Done everything i can do to make it go back to normal, but my car runs hot even when its 0* outside. Im voting its possessed.

 

Hey pt law,

Sorry for the delay. I'm just now getting home from traveling and I'm uploading a pic of where my truck now runs. After changing the thermostat, fan clutch, radiator upper and lower hoses, and radiator cap, it was still running hot. I ended up taking it to the dealership and they found that the radiator did not have uniform temperatures across the fins, so it must've been clogged. I ended up changing it myself and after that, it's been running PERFECT. I'd also like to note that while I did change a lot of things for no reason, the fan clutch and lower radiator hose were also coincidentally bad. The fan clutch was almost not blowing air at all and you can stop it by simply touching it. And the lower hose was so soft it was collapsing due to suction pressure, but the radiator clog was the true cause of my elevated temps, because after changing all those, it was still running at a steady, but hot temp. Now it runs at the middle, but just a slight lower than dead center. The angle of the picture might make it seem like its a bit higher than center, but it's actually just a tiny bit lower. I hope this helps.

 

Here's mine.