Another noob in trouble

[bstewart11]

So I took my first stab at doing anything on my 82 FJ60, and replaced the thermostat. It overheated one day, and I wasn't getting any heat, so it seemed logical. I also found that the oil coolant hose was cracked, so I replaced it (more on that later). I bought the t-stat from napa, and they gave me the o-ring and a two bolt gasket, so I cut out my own gasket instead. It all seemed to fit together so well, but when I ran the engine, it still overheated, and no heat from the vents. Did I not refill enough, do I need to put it on an incline, is something else broken?

As for the oil coolant hose, I just used a cut of straight hose and bent it to fit since I couldn't find an actual pre-bent hose that fit. I'm still working on it, but presume this temp fix will hold for a little, although the hose does pinch a bit, but doesn't completely close off. Could this be a problem?

Thanks - love the forum, wish I could contirbute, but I'm helpless, as you can see.

 

[Randy88FJ62]

If the wrong o-ring was used and it leaks you will be in trouble. The water pump gasket should be paper. Ordering both of these parts OEM from Toyota is cheap and worth your time as you are finding out now.

 

[NocalFJ60]

You are not getting any heat out the vents in the cab? There is a valve on the firewall actuated by a wire connected to the cool/heat slider switch in the cab. You want to confirm this valves is opening which lets hot coolant into the heater core.

It was running before without overheating? What do you call overheating? The temp gauge pegged?

 

[bstewart11]

Yes, it was running before.
Overheating = boiling, exploding, red lining, pegged, billowing clouds, etc.
Used the o-ring that came with t-stat - could stock t-stat be the problem?
I cut out my own gasket from gasket paper, and it seemed to fit fine - the gasket is for the t-stat, not water pump.

 

[Dirtgypsy]

Billowing clouds out of what? The exhaust = head gasket. Like stated above double check the actuator for the heater core.

clint

 

[bstewart11]

Billowing out from under the hood - there is coolant all over the place.

 

[Joshua993]

If there was coolant all over the place - could be a freeze plug, although I am baseing this off of experience with other motors, rather than the 3FE. But if one goes, usually all of your coolant goes right out the side of the motor, rather than through the galleys as it should.
Were you able to locate the source of the coolant mess? Did you find any other hose split besides the oil cooler hose?

 

[Hank]

Please clean up the mess (coolant all over the place) and find the leak. Coolant must be spraying from a hose, gasketed surface, overflow, hole in cooler, etc. My suggestion would be to find a friend or tool rental program and aquire a pressure tester. Pressurize the system with this tool to the pressure specified on the cap.

pressure test

http://www.sears.com/shc/s/ProductDisplay?partNumber=00946342000P&storeId=10153&catalogId=12605

 

[bstewart11]

Couldn't see a problem with any other hose. When I ran it after replacing the t-stat, it started over heating, but never got to the point of seeing any coolant/fluid leaks anywhere.

 

[Rigger]

Gotta go a step at a time here, bud.

As the guys say, need to find out where the coolant is coming from first.

When a rig overheats, the temp needle will go up, and the radiator cap will open, allowing coolant to spew into the overflow bottle, and if that bottle fill up, it'll spill on the ground. If you have old hoses that are cracked and worn, they can fail, and coolant will find it's way out of there. Or, as he says, a gasketed surface or a hole somewhere.

Overheating could also be caused by a clogged up radiator or a bad fan clutch. is the radiator new? Is it old? How old?

I also recommend as Randy does, using OEM parts, not Napa parts.

 

[bstewart11]

As best I can tell, all the hoses are ok, even had a mechanic verify that before I got it 1 month ago. Of course that doesn't mean there isn't one lingering in there somewhere.

Could the radiator cap be the problem? If it isn't opening, where does it go?

Not sure on the radiator age, I'll check the records. I'll search the forums and find how to check the fan clutch.

Is there a secret after replacing the t-stat? Fill with coolant? Anything else?

 

[Rigger]

As best I can tell, all the hoses are ok, even had a mechanic verify that before I got it 1 month ago. Of course that doesn't mean there isn't one lingering in there somewhere.

Could the radiator cap be the problem? If it isn't opening, where does it go?

Not sure on the radiator age, I'll check the records. I'll search the forums and find how to check the fan clutch.

Is there a secret after replacing the t-stat? Fill with coolant? Anything else?

The cap could be part of the problem, and it is a cheap replace. Get a new one. Get an OEM one.

Definitely look into the radiator and fan clutch. You may need new ones. I am not sure how to tell if a radiator is clogged. I replaced mine when it started leaking. The fan clutch is a part that wears out. The oil in it must seep out, and then it stops working correctly.

No secrets. I have drained my cooling system a number of times. Each time, I have just filled it back up and then drove it. Some say you have to "burp" the system, but I am a skeptic on that.

Good luck.

 

[wildman4wheeler]

Have you driven it in any mud recently? The mud will dry out on the exteror of the radiator between the fins and block air flow. Just throwing out ideas. Thermostat upside down maybe?

 

[specialk396]

You can borrow a pressure testing kit at Autozone, that will help a lot with your diagnosis.

 

[Butt Ugly Chuck]

I used to run an aftermarket radiator that was a pain to burp. Not burping leads to overheating rather quickly, and I imagine poor heater performance as an air bubble is clogging the works. My new-to-me OEM radiator is MUCH easier to burp and I haven't had to resort to the redneck burp setup.

Butt

 

[sdbrassfield]

Make sure the t-stat is in right side up. Could be your water pump if it is overheating and everything else is correct. An easy check is to remove your thermostat, button it back up & add water, start the truck up w/ the rad cap off...You should definitely be able to see the water move across the rad after starting if the water pump is working/circulating water. Add water as necessary (being very careful to not get sprayed since you are having a overheating problem). This would be a good check because it will rule out the water pump. If it circulates water and does not overheat, then look to the t-stat or a restriction in the coolant system. Possible bad cap since it pressurizes the system to raise the boiling point of the coolant. I would recommend using genuine toyota parts going forward.