Another overheating issue, searched but need insight

[timsrv]

In the winter with the heater on, mine averages around 185 deg F. In the summer with my AC on it ranges between 195 - 205. In extreme situations (like gridlock) while running the AC it will run hotter. I like to keep it below 220 deg F, so if I'm not able to move fast enough to get air flow I shut off the AC. With AC off temp will drop to around 195 or so. The van can be run hotter than 220 for short periods, but I wouldn't recommend pushing it. Overheating can cause severe wear and/or scoring damage to your pistons (among other things). If it gets over 225 I'd recommend taking immediate counter measures. Tim

[Jlhollowx13]

In the winter with the heater on, mine averages around 185 deg F. In the summer with my AC on it ranges between 195 - 205. In extreme situations (like gridlock) while running the AC it will run hotter. I like to keep it below 220 deg F, so if I'm not able to move fast enough to get air flow I shut off the AC. With AC off temp will drop to around 195 or so. The van can be run hotter than 220 for short periods, but I wouldn't recommend pushing it. Overheating can cause severe wear and/or scoring damage to your pistons (among other things). If it gets over 225 I'd recommend taking immediate counter measures. Tim

Thanks, now that i know what temp i should be at i can see how accurate the gauge on the dash is. I will probably end up getting one with numbers, maybe digital.

[Jlhollowx13]

Ok, so i thought everything might be ok, but now im not so confident. I put my digital temp gauge in with the rad cap off and at operating temp at idle. I was getting around 170F, then i went up the mountain and it got warm, since i couldnt open the rad cap i stuck the probe in the radiator and it said 205, i thought that was ok based on the temps from tim (thanks!). Then this morning i installed an aftermarket electric temp sensor and gauge and i used my digital thermometer to test its accuracy. When it was off i realized the sensor is much deeper in the head than i was measuring with my probe, so i put it deeper and i was registering 205 at idle with my stock temp gauge being below half. The new gauge is reading 190 to 195F at idle and driving around town. This seems to high to me.

At this point im still trying to be cheap as i dont have alot of money left to throw at this. I am going to clean my spare radiator as best i can and find out where and how bad its leaking and try to fix it if i can. If not, itll be on to soending money getting a radiator fixed and hoping it solves the problem, if it doesnt thats alot of money down the drain.

Does anyone have anymore tips or things i should try or check before i dive into spending more money? Could it be possible that my new thermostat is bad since the engine overheated when it was in? Maybe something else like that i should check?

Thanks for all the help and anymore input!

[CleverUserName]

You can test your thermostat. Not sure if you've done that yet.

Heat up a pan of water on the stove.
Stick a candy thermometer in the pan to measure temp.
Put thermostat in pan. You should be able to see what temp it opens at.

Have you pressure tested your cooling system? If not you may want to do that also.

Another member here had an overheat due to a new aftermarket radiator cap. Based on reading that I would not use anything but OEM.

[Jlhollowx13]

You can test your thermostat. Not sure if you've done that yet.

Heat up a pan of water on the stove.
Stick a candy thermometer in the pan to measure temp.
Put thermostat in pan. You should be able to see what temp it opens at.

Have you pressure tested your cooling system? If not you may want to do that also.

Another member here had an overheat due to a new aftermarket radiator cap. Based on reading that I would not use anything but OEM.

Thanks for the input. I pressure tested the cooling system and it didnt lose pressure over the 5 minutes i lwt it sit. My radiator felt cool today even though my engine was hot. At this point i cant think of anything else but the radiator, i decided to fo ahead and send it to california for a 4 core high efficiency recore. Ill also be buying a brand new toyota oem thermostat again as well as a rad cap, just to be safe. Fingers are crossed that this will fix it. Ill update when i get it back, installed and tested.

[timsrv]

As measured from a submerged probe in the head, during the summer, I'd consider 195 - 205 to be normal (even without AC). On my van with the electric fans, I have the fan thermostat set to come on at 205 and shut-off at around 200. The fans will go on-off when I'm driving without AC on. I rigged the fans to come on constant when the AC is on. On the really hot days, there are times I need to shut-off the AC to keep my temps below 220.

Considering the age of the radiator, it's already lived a long life and it doesn't owe you anything. Based on the time/money you've already invested, even if you don't yet need it, I'd consider the radiator a good investment & one less thing to worry about. Tim

[Jlhollowx13]

As measured from a submerged probe in the head, during the summer, I'd consider 195 - 205 to be normal (even without AC). On my van with the electric fans, I have the fan thermostat set to come on at 205 and shut-off at around 200. The fans will go on-off when I'm driving without AC on. I rigged the fans to come on constant when the AC is on. On the really hot days, there are times I need to shut-off the AC to keep my temps below 220.

Considering the age of the radiator, it's already lived a long life and it doesn't owe you anything. Based on the time/money you've already invested, even if you don't yet need it, I'd consider the radiator a good investment & one less thing to worry about. Tim

Thanks for the info tim. The real only trouble im having is it getting extra warm on inclines and highway and the temp here isnt as hot as the places ill be traveling to with the van. It seems to me the only way to get that extra cooling at this point is a new radiator. It all seems to point to a semi clogged radiator to me and im hoping thats the case. If it doesnt help, well then i guess thats just how this van runs and at least my radiator should be trouble free for awhile. All i have to compare it to is my old 2wd, the temp gauge on it never budged in the same conditions, and thats my goal for this van. We will see how it goes.

[Jlhollowx13]

Well i finally got my radiator back from ability radiator. It is definitely larger than the old one! Put it in, changed the oil, rewired my electic fans and put in a switch for winter time and did a couple other little things i wanted to get done. Tool it up the mountain pass near by and cruised up at a good pace and it did great! Exactly what i wanted it to do so im happy. I can officially say this problem is resolved! Thanks for all the help everyone!