2009 Tacoma off-road overheating issues

Hi all! New to the forum and had a quick question. I have a 2009 Tacoma off-road and am having issues with it overheating when going up steep hills (essentially putting the truck under load thats not street driving, I assume this would happen if I towed something etc.). I also noticed that the lower raditor hose and upper radiator hose are significantly different temperatures after a short drive not sure if thats supposed to be the case. I have a 3in lift, 285 tires, and front and rear aftermarket bumpers that add some weight. I also have an aftermarket Flexalite 678 S-Blade electric cooling fan (which I suspect may be an issue but not entirely sure). I recently replaced the thermostat and I am still having the issue. Any help would be greatly appreciated!

-Zach

 

Look at the fan when the truck is running and hot. If the fan and water pump are working properly, I would suspect the radiator is clogged.

 

I have the fan turning on around 190 degrees (for coolant temp) and it seems to be working ok. The only reason I say it may be an issue is because when it does overheat Ill pull over to cool down and the fan takes ~5 seconds to turn on and I would assume it should already be on at that point...Not entirely sure how to check that the water pump is functioning correctly. Any suggestions?

Thanks!

 

If the fan indeed comes on at 190 degrees, the engine should not be overheating. It sounds like the temperature sensor for the fan is not where the one for the temperature gauge is. The water pump problems I have experienced have been with the seals. The pump is a simple device; the only failure I can imagine would be a broken impeller, which seems unlikely to me. The only way I can think of to check for that would be to remove it. A trip to your local, friendly radiator shop might be the best idea.

BTW, the last time I had radiator problems (with a tractor) it cost less for me to replace the radiator than to have it repaired.

 

It does seem odd that the temperature sensor for the fan is just essentially designed to stick into the radiator fins I thought that may be inaccurate. I turned it down slightly to see if the fan turning on at a lower temperature would fix the issue but now it seem like every time I stop at a stop light around town the fan is on which seems excessive. I think I may look into a new radiator and maybe switching back to the stock fan if that doesn't work. Any recommendations for places to get a new radiator? Might as well get a nicer one while I'm at it right?

Thank a bunch azreb!

 

Did you replace the stock fan with the electric fan?
If you did that's the problem right there. The factory fan flows more volume and with the fan shroud it acts like a venturi effect.
I would reinstall the factory fan and report back

And how many miles do you have on your tacoma

 

The truck came with the aftermarket fan on it. I tried to do some research and no one has been complaining about it overheating so I thought it was ok. I think Ill put the stock fan back on and see what happens since I still have it and it wont cost me anything.

 

And don't forget the fan shroud

 

My '04 came with dual Flex a Lite electric fans (in place of the stock fan clutch) and I kept having overheating issues as well. I finally ditched the e-fans and had a stock fan clutch reinstalled, no more overheating and the truck runs perfectly temp-wise. I don't think e-fans are very popular for Tacomas. If you search these forums, you'll see that others mention similar symptoms with aftermarket electric fans.

 

Thanks for the info everyone! Ill report back when I switch everything out. It seems a little ridiculous to me that this is an issue, shouldn't they have tested and made sure things wouldn't be overheating? Anyway hopefully its an easy fix. tw0leftskis I think Im right around 87k

 

In some past threads about this (I made a couple myself when I was trying to narrow down the issue) there were some members with Flex a Lite fans that reported no issues with overheating, it just seems to affect some trucks. Some people seem happy with it. I didn't want to fuss around with the e-fans anymore though, it was so much easier to just swap the stock fan clutch back in and not have to worry about it anymore. Most of my overheating issues happened when I was off-roading but even on the street, my temps were too high for my liking (not overheating but still too high). Stock fan clutch resolved all of that though.

 

Ya I don't want to mess around with it anymore either its really annoying at this point. Same thing happened to me the first time I went wheeling is when I first noticed it.

 

Hi all! So I replaced the fan with the stock shroud/fan clutch and its all fixed. No more issues! Super psyched, thanks everybody!

 

Good hear.

 

Nice, good to hear. Yeah the e-fans are no bueno for our trucks. Glad you got it all figured out

 

If it's an issue with your fans not activating at the proper coolant temps, then install a proper temp sensor.
If any of the fans are tied into the air conditioning circuit, then turn your A/C on.

This worked for my Mazdaspeed6 when I was on the Dragon earlier this year. Running a bit hot in the tight twisted and revving the piss out of it. Turned A/C on and temps dropped right back down.

 

More proof of why "upgrading" is often a downgrade. This could have lead to a blown engine if the OP wasn't paying attention. All for like ONE horsepower.