96 80-Series Overheating (1 Viewer)

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Joined
Apr 4, 2004
Threads
8
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145
Location
Los Angeles
I drove from Los Angeles to Salt Lake City and my 80 overheated right before the hill at Stateline, Nevada. I turned the heater on to prevent the gauge from going to the red level. I stopped right away and let it cool down. The outside temperature was 112 degrees, I had the A/C on going up hill, and the 80 couldnt take it.

I drove it more without the A/C and made it to Mesquite, Nevada (about 90 miles past Las Vegas). No more overheating, but no a/c. I also added some Prestone -- the one that says you can add to any color and any make -- to my Toyota Red.

I got to Salt Lake City on Sunday morning and found a shop to take a look. They said that the fan clutch was bad, so they replaced it. I also had them flush the coolant and replace it with Toyota red plus an oil change. I took the car to my hotel and in 4 miles the 80 overheated right away. I went back to the shop with the heater on and they told me that the fan clutch was defective. They are putting another one on.

I'm at a hotel in Salt Lake City and I plan to go back to Los Angeles on Sunday 7/17, but Im a little worried. Can someone reply to this post and give me advise on what may be wrong? Or just give me some advice. Unfortunately, Im not able to search the history on this problem and I know theres a history. Please advice.

Thanks
 
Where did the clutch come from?
 
It was an after market one because the Toyota dealer in Salt Lake had them in back order. Im at a private shop -- not the toyota dealer. The part wont be available until next week on tuesday, so I could not wait.
 
I have one in stock right now.......:D

Of course that doesn't help you. If it got that hot that quick I think the radiator is also suspect. I would replace it with a 93-94 radiator, 16400-66040, I stock that as well.
 
Dan,

Thanks for the advice. I spoke with the mechanic and he told me that there was some miscommunication between him and the senior mechanic. He said something to the effect that the new fan clutch was defective and they were supposed to order a new one, but the senior mechanic went home sick and they never told the service manager who turned the car over to me.

I asked about the water pump and the thermostat, but the mechanic told me that they messed up on not replacing the new defective fan clutch. He said that he was going to replace the thermostat as well just in case.

Im hoping to make it back home and repair it the back in Los Angeles. Theres a Toyota specialist in Salt Lake City, but they did not have any appointments available until next week on Wednesday. I hope I dont need a new radiator, but whats the damage on one of those including labor?
 
A new OEM radiator lists for around 550 bucks. I am, of course, out of the office at the moment and I can't give you an exact number. Board members pay about 400 bucks for one. I do not know what the labor would be but it takes about half a day to swap one.

I'm still concerned about how fast it got hot after it was worked on. I wonder if the cooling system had some air trapped in it or something.
 
So, are you saying they didn't replace the fan clutch, but let you drive away thinking they did? And they let you also pay for it?

Did you know there's a fairly easy test you can do on your own clutch to determine if it's working? I don't know what it is, but it's been posted here - anyone???

If your truck overheated in 4 miles of driving, yet you were able to limp around to get to the shop, I wonder if there's a lot of crud in your radiator that the drain/fill moved around a bit. I'd leave the mechanic you're at and find a radiator shop who can clean your radiator out - rod the core, etc. Might be close to the cost of a new one, however since it involves removing the top cap and reinstalling.

Too bad you're not in my area - you'd have your choice of two used 80 rads to get you home.

DougM
 
Dan,

I failed to mention that the engine was left on for 1 hour after the radiator flush. The guys doing the oil changes and the flushes work on one side of the building while the mechanics doing repairs work on the other side of the building. The service office is in between. The guy who did the flush took it from the mechanic and did not know about the fan cluch replacement. He told me that he had run the engine for an hour to make sure everything was okay. There was some coolant in the ground when I picked up and I mentioned it to the flush guy. He said that there must have been some air, so he filled the overflow tank with Toyota red.

This might explain why the 80 overheated on the way to my hotel. I turned the heater on while close to the repair shop (about 8 miles in the freeway).
 
Im hurting right now because I have my kid with me and I need to get home on Sunday. They did replace the fan clutch, but the new one was defective.

Im actually in a small town near Salt Lake City, so this is the only decent shop around. Im asking the other families that came on the trip to drive me around, so this is the most convenient shop.

I wish I was back home and I could take my time repairing the 80 with OEM parts, but Im in a bind...
 
Stay up there in one of thoses high Utah hills where it is cool until the Toyota shop has the part and do it right. I infact was to have done that same journey this week, was calling in at Folsom to get a brush gaurd, but the heat is making me consider a delay. Across northern Nevada right now is a burning hell. If I with my dicky heart had to do that drive with no a/c I would be dead. Don't go cooking the tranny fluid or blowing the head - you would regret not doing this job right. It's tough having a sick truck on the road but don't risk more disaster by making a quick dash home in this heat. Anyway, good luck and I'm thinking on your positive resolution.
 
Do you know which dealer(s) they contacted? There are at least 6 in the corridor between Ogden and Provo. The part number for the clutch is 16210-66020.
 
I dont know which dealers they contacted. Im going to call them first thing in the morning and ask to get the toyota clutch because I no longer trust the after market part.

Also, even if the gauge did not go to the red level, can the tranny fluid and the coolant get cooked? I might ask for the flush to be redone and the tranny fluid re-checked.
 
My main concern would be the integrity of the head gasket. Below "red" is likely not going to adversely affect the transmission in the ammount of exposure you indicated.
 
By the way,

Brent Brown Toyota in Provo shows one stock. That does not mean they really have it but the update is from today.

The same locate shows that I have 2 and that is true.

D-
 
Thanks. Im going to call them tomorrow and if they have it, ill get a ride to pick the part up. I still need to call the repair shop and refuse the after-market clutch.
 
Legolas,

What kind of mechanical experience do you have?

One thing you should do is check the radiator when cold and be sure it's completely full. I have never experienced air trapped in my 80s, but it's worth a look as I've had this happen on other vehicles to a surprising degree. Definitely have the thermostat changed, and be SURE they also order the gasket that goes around it - they're always in need. Get Toyota parts if possible for this, and the rattle valve points straight up (12 o'clock).

When you arrived in town with the problem - was your radiator full?? If no, get a new cap as well - might be weak, which allows the cooling system pressure to drop and thus the coolant to boil (pressure prevents boilover).

DougM
 
Cap, 16401-54750
Stat, 90916-03117
Gasket, 16346-66020

D-
 
Once the vehicle is in motion, say > 25MPH, the fan/fan clutch has little to do with cooling, the air pretty much circulates by itself so if your overheating occurs when moving > 25 something other than the fan clutch is suspect.

My 91 FJ80 has about 2 gals of oil and an oil cooler that helped prevent disaster when I lost all coolant some time back, make sure you have all your oil in there as it also helps prevent overheating to some degree. Of course, driving around in over 112 degrees outside temp will stress any cooling system, even worse than LA traffic.
 
santiagol said:
Once the vehicle is in motion, say > 25MPH, the fan/fan clutch has little to do with cooling, the air pretty much circulates by itself so if your overheating occurs when moving > 25 something other than the fan clutch is suspect.

I disagree with this. Yes, one of the main functions of the fan clutch is cooling at idle, but the other is assisting with cooling in hot weather at hiway (or any) speeds. On a very hot day, driving up a grade, I can distinctly hear my 91's clutch engaging (locking up). It's a nice, reassuring roar.

I've heard many reports of replacing a faulty fan clutch (one that wouldn't lock at speed) bringing down hiway temp's.

Curtis

PS Hey santiagol, have you checked out the 3FE Yahoo Group? Another cool place for us 91's (and 92's).
 
The repair shop could not get me the clutch from Brent Brown in Provo because it was on hold for another customer. The repair shop gave me my money back for the labor and after-market clutch. They put back my old fan clutch, but now my 80 is overheating after driving for 10 minutes.

The radiator and the overflow container were topped off at the repair shop. It's been full all the time. The engine oil was changed yesterday too. The fan goes on when the engine is on -- I can see this. However, the engine is now overheating way too quick.

I'm not even sure what to do...Im running out of time and options...
 

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