CSF All Aluminum Performance Radiator For our trucks FINALLY!!!

I’ve hit 215 on the motor with the temp gauge planted in the center still. I was sweating bullets when I saw that temp on my UG. Turned ac off and idled the truck up to cool it down. This was before my csf radiator. I do not worry about engine temps anymore.

Just recently my trans got to 260 while off roading, engine was only at 198. I turned my ac off and the trans cooled down eventually.

I think you cannont rely on the stock temp needle. It is not accurate enough.

 

On the race truck the engine and trans temp are better controlled and more consistent. Both on and off the track. It is definitely a worthy mod even on a stock 1gr.

 

got another email... another week pushed back.

 

dag-nabbit

 

From whom?

 

http://www.offroadgorilla.com/shop/...tor-dual-row-fj-cruiser-4runner-tacoma-40l-v6

Supposedly, these guys have 16 of these available. Said they will be shipping Fri/Mon.

 

Didn’t refresh... maybe not. That’s what I was told in an email anyway.

 

I hit 222 in a slow desert hill climb, no budging of the factory needle.

Did they say they are actually in stock? I followed their page for a while and their ship dates kept getting pushed like everyone else’s.

 

They said they have pre-order spots left and they should ship Fri / Mon.

Take that however you’d like. I’m just passing along the info.

 

The radiator is bad ass and works very well on it's own but for max benefit a cooler thermostat is beneficial and possibly a modified fan clutch for idle and low speed temperature problems.
They all work together to handle different conditions.

 

Any documentation on the fan clutch mod? I don’t think I’d do the low temp thermostat. I spend time in the Eastern side of the state in the winter where temps don’t break the teens at times.

I was thinking temp controlled dual pusher fans which would also benifit the AC in traffic, but realistically summer is winding down so I’ll probably sit on all of it for 6 months.

 

I have done it after @loginfailed experimented with it. I dont have mine exactly perfect but it is close.
Ultimately I will be going with an electric fan setup but that is another costly option.
What are your summer temps? If you dont have an issue then I wouldnt mess with it.
For those of us that live or play where its 100° + it can help for sure.
Basically you split the fan clutch in half and change the silicone oil to a thicker oil and you can also adjust the temp in which the thermostat (the spring on the front of the fan clutch) starts to engage the fluid coupling.
I actually have mine start to engage at a higher than stock temperature so it's not loading the engine all the time, then with the thicker oil it engages harder to pull more air through the intercooler, condenser, and radiator.

This is the spring that senses temperature. It is adjusted inside with 2 Phillip's screws.this is the reservoir side. You can see the clear oil in the hole. I filled mine to a little below the bottom lip of the opening with 10K Team Associated silicone oil you get from R/C hobby shops. Stock fluid is 3K I think so the thicker fluid engages harder.

These are the adjustment screws. There is a black metal bar in the center which is attached to the thermostatic spring on the outside. When the spring heats up the metal bar starts rotating to allow more fluid to flow through the diagonal slots and the little hole outside of the slots.
There is more info about it online if you google fan clutch mod but that is the condensed version.
Like I said, I wouldnt mess with it unless you need to have your fan work harder. The downside is it will pull more power away from the engine more of the time.

 

Electric fan setup is working pretty good for me so far. But costly as @Roostfactor mentioned. My alternator seems to be keeping up, but I'm considering a Mechman alternator as one of my next mods. I like to bump my sound system while in traffic. Adding ~30-40a of fan draw to the equation, I'm sure the stock alternator isn't as comfortable as it once was. Also I'm considering a wider trans cooler and adding a couple small pusher fans on top of the trans cooler, since where the trans cooler will end up is at the bottom of the radiator (behind the plate bumper and winch).

 

Something like this (if it will fit, haven’t measured yet). I think the fan is an 8”.

 

Tricky part is where I live it is pretty temperate, near Seattle. But I have vacation property, family and wheel on the other side of the state so I am over there regularly, where temps are more extreme. 100+ in the summer is easily common as are temps in the teens in the winter. I'll probably just go with the larger radiator and trans cooler with the 180 degree trans thermostat and then see how that improves temps for my needs before trying more. But sitting in stopped traffic in 100+ degree heat on the highway leaves some performance to be desired from the AC.

 

I fully understand the a/c thing. How often are you in that environment? In Texas we have 100°ish temps for 4 months so its justifiable. If your a/c doesnt work well for 2 days all summer I wouldnt worry about it.

 

Several days a year. In the summer a lot of people head east of the mountains for the weekends, which results in massive traffic heading back west over the mountains on Sundays. If it was just me I really wouldn't care. Having a kid and GF getting super cranky, sitting in stop and go traffic for hour plus delays in high heat in the middle of nowhere where everyone is getting infuriated with beyond stupid traffic while the temperature in the truck is continuously rising even though the AC is on Max recirc is like a pressure cooker for misery.

 

Still waiting for the Tacoma specific model.

 

Pusher fans helped about ~5 degrees at idle. I’m sure they will help significantly offroad.

I was worried about natural air flow but have had zero issues so far.

Would still like the CSF radiator at some point though.

 

What's your set up?