Supplemental electric fan?

Has anyone installed an additional supplemental electric fan to help keep the engine cool while idling on a 100+ degree day w the A/C on?

I was waiting in my 08 taco in the parking lot for the wife to get groceries and my truck started stumbling and missing. The outside air temp was 100 and my A/C on high. The temp gauge read halfway and wasn’t close to in the red. Immediately Popped the hood and my rad overflow was full to the brim and just about to spew out. I shut the truck down to cool and the missing went away after we started driving again. Truck seemed to be overheating. Same thing happened before in my ‘06 taco too. Is this just what happens in high temps in parking lots at idle? Any fixes to know of are greatly appreciated! Tnx

 

I think there is something wrong with your cooling system. You shouldn’t have any trouble with the engine cooling and a/c running at idle, even well into the 100’s. I would have the radiator and heater core cleaned and flushed to remove a restricted flow. I would also replace the thermostat in case it isn’t opening fully. The fins on the water pump are steel so I highly doubt they aren’t moving coolant. It’s normal for the reservoir to be topped out at max when hot. Check it again when the engine is cool. It should have sucked in the coolant back to the radiator. If not replace the radiator cap.

One trouble spot that can be failing is the coolant temp sensor. When they go bad it causes bad signals to the ECU and the engine will run rough.

 

No that’s not normal. I have an aux fan and it will idle all day in those temps. I did however have the same issue as you.


Here was the solution

 

I sure hope it’s not the head gaskets! My ‘06 TRDOR was manufactured in September of 05 so it more than likely has the weak head gaskets. My 08 head gaskets are the stronger ones and shouldn’t be a problem. I did do the thermostat on my 08 last year and just did the thermostat on my 06 last month. Maybe I have air in the systems because this happened with both my trucks? The 06 actually spewed coolant out of the overflow. This did happen a few days after I replaced the thermostat and housing.

 

I just replaced the fan clutch on my 06 yesterday thinking maybe that’s the issue. Both trucks are having the same issue

 

It’s pretty easy to test for exhaust gases in the coolant

 

How? I’ve read some say start up cold, pull radiator cap and check for small bubbles as it warms up? No bubbles on mine but the coolant starts pushing out the cap before it gets to temp. Buddy said park on a hill so rad cap is highest point to burp the air outa the heater core? Ima try that next. Both trucks have 160k

 

I bought this a while ago but never used. About $40 CAN

 

My truck is a 2008. I had the reserviour going up and then NOT going back into the radiator when cool. Coolant entering cylinder 6 (which can cause misfires) have 264k miles and just finished the job

 

Mine passed the test however with the scope you could see coolant in the cylinder and also the gasket was blown when removed

 

If the res wasn’t going back down that seems like the exhaust must have been causing an air bubble in the system? Or your thermostat was stuck closed? Mine is returning to the full line. My ‘06 misses a tiny bit for a minute on startup in the mornings then clears up. Done that since I bought it 10 years ago w 100k. I’m dreading head gaskets! Good work getting your done man! Tnx for the pics! I think I got a buddy w a scope?

 

Did you use OEM / AISIN parts? It's a little weird that both trucks would blow head gaskets at the same time so wondering if theres something you could have done. Maybe overfilled the coolant even. I would reccomend getting something that you could use to monitor coolant temps and get some more data. Ultragauge, scangauge, OBD scanner, bluetooth to phone app etc.

 

Mine was staying full and the radiator was low because it wasn’t suctioning it back into the radiator when it cooled down.

due to the headgasket leak the system was not “sealed” and couldn’t suction the coolant back in

 

Yes, I’m an ALL OEM guy. And I’m always hassling my Taco buddies to be like me lol. I don’t think it’s the head gaskets? If it is it would most likely be the 2006 TRDOR. Like I said earlier I did the thermostat/housing on my 2008 TRDOR last year and the 2006 TRDOR last month. I just topped the radiators and overflow off on level ground and that was it. A couple days after changing the thermostat on the ‘06 I drove it to the armpit of CA, Redding, temps in the upper 90’s, A/C on high, and when I got home checked the coolant and seen that the overflow had overflowed a bit. After the fluid returned I topped it off to full and haven’t had a problem with it since, but also haven’t been back down to Redding again yet on a hot day. Then a couple weeks ago I drove my ‘08 to Redding on a 100 degree day, A/C on high, waiting in the 120 degree plus parking lot, and A/C wasn’t blowing very cold and it started stumbling. I shut the truck down, checked the rad overflow and it was full to the brim. After the wife got outa the grocery store I took off and got up to speed and the missing stopped and overflow went back down to normal. Temp gauge was only at halfway, far from red when it started stumbling/missing. It acted like there was air in the system or the black top temps were just too dang hot? I’m gonna also do the fan clutch on my ‘08 next check. Just did the fan clutch on the ‘06 a few days ago and the old one felt as stiff as the new one so I’m not sure it was even bad? Temps in Redding can get up to 120 and in the parking lots much higher so I was thinking a supplemental fan on the a/c condenser or something might help? Tnx for replying bro!

 

Okay I gotcha, that makes perfect sense. My trucks are returning the coolant to the block but I should still scope it like you suggested

 

All I have is a cheap code reader. No way to monitor temps besides the temp gauge

 

Tnx for the reply, I’m gonna try and borrow a better scan reader to monitor temps next time I go down to Redding on a blistering day. What temps should I look for to confirm a bad temp sensor? Tnx bro! I rode dirtbikes down in Moab once w Jeremy Pariot, he rode across one of those arches! It was one of the best times of my life riding down there! I used to live in the Denver area. I love Utah! Little bit of everything there!

 

Great that they're all OEM stuff it's def worth it for parts like these. I also replaced my fan clutch when I did a recent 200k cooling maintenance overhaul and it does seem to run a bit cooler (maybe 5 to 10 degrees difference via ultraguage) than it did before even though I wasn't having issues and both felt the same. FWIW I always target halfway between low and full in the overflow reservoir when parked at ambient temps so that there's room for expansion and contraction throughout the year. Probably habit because my subaru used to push it out the overflow sometimes if it was too high lol.

My biggest advice would be find a way to monitor temps live, the dash gauge just doesn't give you useful info. I love my ultragauge to monitor coolant, trans, mpg and voltage and was well worth the 100 bucks

 

Ultragauge, got it, I’ll get one asap! Thanks bro!

 

No prob! There's other options too that just what I picked. It has to be the MX not EM if you want to monitor trans temp (worth the 10 bucks or whatever more)