fun afternoon

[gary]

on the way home from work last night, the truck started overheating. temp guage got to 250, and antifreeze could be smelled roasting, just as i was pulling into my driveway. i shut it off, and called it a night. i attempted to pop out the thermostat before work today, thinking i'd run without one til i could grab a new one. one of the housing bolts broke off...

so i called in sick to work, and got out the tools. 2 pairs of vise grips later, i got the stud out, and a new thermostat in...this one's a 180, the old one was a 195. the truck is running WAY cooler with this thermostat. like 30-40 degrees...

so i dunked the old thermostat in boiling water, and it opened a hair. just curious, how far should it open?

all seems well now, but i do intend to keep an eye on things, in case more damage was done....i believe my truck knows i'm getting married in a few weeks, and is upset that my funds are being redirected...next incident will probably be bigger... ;)

[phorensic]

I see a Toyota as your avatar, was this on a 22re?

[gary]

22r...i s'pose i could've included that info in the post, huh???? ;)
but i figured i've cried for help enuf that people would know it by now...

anyone know how far a thermostat should open in the boiling water test????

[gary]

while we're on this subject, does anyone know a) what type of yota (4wd, v6, etc?) has a bigger radiator and b) will it drop right in? might as well upgrade....

[FlyHiFlyLo7]

I designed a steam head that retracts and we sell thousands a month. I use the heat motor from a standard 180* Stant T-Stat. you should see at least .25 travel.

[movindirt]

22r...i s'pose i could've included that info in the post, huh???? ;)
but i figured i've cried for help enuf that people would know it by now...

anyone know how far a thermostat should open in the boiling water test????

The thermostat should open 3/8 to 1/2 or so I would say. Next time you pull in your driveway with a hot motor DON'T turn it off! Instead jump out and grab the garden hose and spray water on the FRONT OF THE RADIATOR (not in the radiator or on the engine!). There is one exception to this which is if the cooling system is empty. I don't know anything about the 22r but by turning it off when hot or just from the over heating in itself you could have warped the head. This may show up in the near future. Maybe someone that knows that motor can give better info.

Tony

[phorensic]

while we're on this subject, does anyone know a) what type of yota (4wd, v6, etc?) has a bigger radiator and b) will it drop right in? might as well upgrade....

My radiator is pretty big for my 4wd v6 yota. In fact, I destroyed my fan shroud by breaking a motor mount prerunning the Barstow course and it still doesn't overheat, even on those 90 degree days we have been having here in SoCal lately. Sometimes the fan locks up for about 45 seconds, but then it's cool again. If you ask me, the radiator is way more than enough to cool my v6. Most stock radiator sizes won't work without a shroud on the fan, not in my case.

As far as fitting, don't you have an off-road truck? Fab something up if it doesn't drop in! You know you want a full tube core support.

[gary]

i want full tube, but i don't have the time or garage area to do it right now..looking for the easy way out on this one... ;)

[gary]

BUMP!

all's been well for 2 weeks, til today. i noticed it was running hot, so i checked it all out and...NO fluid in the radiator. there's a line around the engine compartment where it looks like the fan is slinging coolant around in there. also a nice green coating on top of the skid plate/oil leak catcher. maybe a pinhole leak in the radiator, shooting onto the fan? the oil looks good, and it's running fine, so i don't think there's head gasket issues...any thoughts?????? i filled up the radiator once again, and i can't see any leaks, under running pressure or otherwise. hoses are ok....

[OldStroppeTeam]

HMM, How about a system pressure test at say....AUTO ZONE or Checkers? Maybe its the water pump ? When is the last time you changed all your hoses... It's usually all about the basics.....

[matt_helton]

water pump, radiator, hoses, timing cover.......cmon gary it shouldnt be rocket science to find the leak. stop by my work sometime and we'll look at it.

[gary]

I claim NO great mechanic abilities...and that includes rocket science!

as i said, the hoses are good. i think if i have to pull the radiator out to test it, i might as well drop in a bigger one, save the hassle of the test, and cross it off the upgrade list. i can't see a leak anywhere, or else i'd be able to pinpoint it. the truck has had an oil leak out of the crankshaft seal from day 1, so the layers of oil make it a little tough to see what's going on. that seal has been changed yearly, but it only solves that leak for a short time...it always comes back. so, back to square 1. there's antifreeze pooling up at the bottom, outside lip of the radiator. there's spray directly in line with the fan blades throughout the engine compartment. it's on the hood, what's left of the inner fenders, frame rails, and skidplate. but, i can not see anything spraying out from the radiator...or from the block side...but the most antifreeze is on the radiator side.

[OldStroppeTeam]

Well , if you don't wnt to pull the radiator out, then try some Bars-leak or something similar. However,IF you are planning on pre-running or playing in the dezert :D it would certainly be to your advantage to fix it right..........

Support your local Search and Rescue- Get lost or stranded.. just kidding , but that's the point anyway.....