Foam around radiator ? (1 Viewer)

[Elbert]

anyone replaced the foam around the FJ60 radiator? If so ...what did you use and what did you use to get the foam to adhere to the metal?

I don't know if there is any specific stuff to use, if its out there...I'm not aware.

Anyway I have a OEM style 4 row radiator and the radiator itself is in good shape but the foam needs to be replaced.... Ideas ?

 

[Spook50]

If I were to replace mine (as it is, the foam on mine is still holding up well), I'd probably use this: https://www.grainger.com/product/80...E-wsxGUyfUiNtg3YO6xoCMTgQAvD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds

 

[toy_tek]

I used some weather stripping bulb seal that I had for another project, got it from Amazon. Seems to work fine.

 

[86aggie]

While it is technically for soundproofing, I used this. The adhesive held up well.

Super Sound Proof With Adhesive | Aircraft Spruce

Super Sound Proof With Adhesive Super Soundproofing Foam Mat for noise control: A closed cell vinyl-nitride noise control FOAM suitable for application to cars, boats, planes, home and office, anywhere a noise control mat is needed. Won't a

www.aircraftspruce.com

 

[OSS]

I purchased my ‘86 FJ60 in 1988, so it was almost brand new.
When I removed the radiator years later to do some stuff, I don’t recall there being any foam weatherstripping around the fan shroud except for a little strip between the radiator cross support and the shroud at the front top. Nothing fancy.

 

[86aggie]

If I recall, there is some thin foam that I can see between the mounting flange of the radiator on the sides and the back of the front clip that it mounts to, in addition to the strip that was between the radiator tank and the cross support.

 

[arcadian]

Here is what I used

 

[bj70bc]

worked well

 

[CruiserTrash]

Do people notice a significant difference in temp if the weather strip is missing between the radiator and the support?

I recently replaced my leaking original radiator - 42 years was a good run - with a an aftermarket one. I did not change anything or replace the weatherstripping. Temps immediately read appx 15-20 degrees higher on long uphill highway climbs. I did not change anything else about the cooling system, and the rest of the system is fairly new. Two years ago I flushed the coolant, replaced the water pump & fan clutch, put in a new thermostat, and replaced all hoses.

Wondering if this is the culprit.

 

[bj70bc]

it surely doesnt help things not having it, but probably negligible

 

[OSS]

Do people notice a significant difference in temp if the weather strip is missing between the radiator and the support?

I recently replaced my leaking original radiator - 42 years was a good run - with a an aftermarket one. I did not change anything or replace the weatherstripping. Temps immediately read appx 15-20 degrees higher on long uphill highway climbs. I did not change anything else about the cooling system, and the rest of the system is fairly new. Two years ago I flushed the coolant, replaced the water pump & fan clutch, put in a new thermostat, and replaced all hoses.

Wondering if this is the culprit.

Nope.
Likely there’s still air bubbles trapped everywhere in the cooling system after changing the radiator.
Typically my 60 would take about 2 weeks of daily driving to get the gauge needle to return to where it normally pointed.

That’s my take on it.

 

[CruiserTrash]

Nope.
Likely there’s still air bubbles trapped everywhere in the cooling system after changing the radiator.
Typically my 60 would take about 2 weeks of daily driving to get the gauge needle to return to where it normally pointed.

That’s my take on it.

I daily drive my 60 and have gone on several trips of 100-300 miles. I replaced the radiator in early March. The temps have been consistent ever since then … consistently hot. I recently replaced the Motorrad radiator cap on the CSF with a Toyota one, that bought me about 3-5 degrees on the long highway climbs.

Neither my previous 60, which had the original radiator, or this 60, when it had the original, ever ran past 195. Not once, never. Both trucks have had the entire cooling system overhauled - water pump, fan clutch, all new hoses, etc. The only variables are the radiator and weatherstripping.

 

[Spike Strip]

That weather-stripping does make a difference, but how much, I don't know. However, I usually operate under the assumption Toyota knows better than me why something was spec'd, so when mine disintegrated I used some of the square/rectangular high-density one-side-adhesive stuff from Home Deport similar to the product shown above. Works fine. Has held up for about five years. I think the HD stuff is in the Garage-Door maintenance isle.

 

[OSS]

The only variables are the radiator and weatherstripping.

Well installing some foam packing along the little gaps at the shroud is hardly a big job - so try it and see!
But it’s hard to see how an engine would run consistently hot just because a little bit of air leaks past the fan shroud.
Here’s something you don’t want to think about….. if the consistent too hot engine can only be caused by two things: new radiator and lack of shroud packing…. maybe that radiator sucks?

 

[CruiserTrash]

Well installing some foam packing along the little gaps at the shroud is hardly a big job - so try it and see!
But it’s hard to see how an engine would run consistently hot just because a little bit of air leaks past the fan shroud.
Here’s something you don’t want to think about….. if the consistent too hot engine can only be caused by two things: new radiator and lack of shroud packing…. maybe that radiator sucks?

I mean, that's been my initial assumption and working theory this whole time: just blame the CSF haha. I'm trying to do my due diligence here.

 

[OSS]

I mean, that's been my initial assumption and working theory this whole time: just blame the CSF haha. I'm trying to do my due diligence here.

the leaky fan shroud theory could be ruled out with some tape.
Just tape up any suspicious gaps & take the vehicle for a test ride. You’ll know right away if it made any difference.
If yes: remove tape & install foam
If no: remove tape.

I know you said that your consistent hot running happened after the radiator replacement- but maybe that was a coincidence?

In the past, My 2F was always running hotter than usual and I couldn’t pin it down. A mystery.
Then later on I removed the cylinder head to refurbish the valves (which probably got burned from over heat) and low & behold, I discovered why my engine was running too hot — several small coolant passages in the cylinder head were partially blocked off by a gummy residue. The coolant flow was blocked inside the head.

Once the head got refurbished and cleaned and everything put back together — the engine temperature was normal again when engine running.

 

[Elbert]

thanks for the feedback

 

[Elbert]

I daily drive my 60 and have gone on several trips of 100-300 miles. I replaced the radiator in early March. The temps have been consistent ever since then … consistently hot. I recently replaced the Motorrad radiator cap on the CSF with a Toyota one, that bought me about 3-5 degrees on the long highway climbs.

Neither my previous 60, which had the original radiator, or this 60, when it had the original, ever ran past 195. Not once, never. Both trucks have had the entire cooling system overhauled - water pump, fan clutch, all new hoses, etc. The only variables are the radiator and weatherstripping.

my view is that the foam on the radiator helps seal the radiator somewhat against the core support and thus help direct air through the radiator core, rather than letting a lot of the air bleed around the side of the radiator. Which would be a issue at speed. You might notice various vehicles have designs that help funnel air through the radiator...this is only a factor at speed, but important. Going down the highway or at speed is where I think the foam in question plays a part, or otherwise you want to direct air through the radiator core. The foam stuff is there for a reason.

 

[Elbert]

I daily drive my 60 and have gone on several trips of 100-300 miles. I replaced the radiator in early March. The temps have been consistent ever since then … consistently hot. I recently replaced the Motorrad radiator cap on the CSF with a Toyota one, that bought me about 3-5 degrees on the long highway climbs.

Neither my previous 60, which had the original radiator, or this 60, when it had the original, ever ran past 195. Not once, never. Both trucks have had the entire cooling system overhauled - water pump, fan clutch, all new hoses, etc. The only variables are the radiator and weatherstripping.

when my FJ60 was OEM it never ran hot as to overheating...but would get over 195 with a/c on. How hot is hot in your case now? I assume you are using an aftermarket gauge to understand the engine temp ? I have a 5.7 v8 now....with a/c off on cooler days it runs around 190f or so, up to just under 200f or so in hot weather. With a/c on it will run hotter 200-210. at low speeds and idle truck runs cool... I see higher temps at highway speed while not crazy I"m wanting to mitigatge that. Its never over-heated. So my truck is not OEM and may not be a direct comparison. But it does have a V8, it does run an OEM style 4 row radiator, I run a GM Fan and Fan clutch like off a 1997-99 GM SUV-Pickup and a custom fan shroud. A good functioning fan shroud is important because it helps the fan pull air through the core of the radiator adn of course a good fan clutch.

 

[CruiserTrash]

@Elbert Not a direct comparison, but good data points nonetheless. Thanks. My AC has never worked and I’ve never bothered fixing it, so we can discount that. I have an auxiliary temp gauge in the upper radiator hose.

I used to run 185 around town and 195 max on the highway. Now it runs 195 around town and 210-215 on the highway. Long climbs going up I-70 into the mountains might approach 220-225. The radiator cap brought the highway temps down almost 5 degrees, and blasting the heater is good for another 5 too. It did get to about 230 and blow a coolant hose a month ago - the only coolant hose I didn’t bother replacing (of course!). I shut it down right away and coasted to the side of the road.

A buddy who works on Land Cruisers every day proposed a theory that the hose had been slowly leaking for a long time, draining the coolant in the block & head and also messing up the pressurization of the system so it wasn’t drawing out of the overflow bottle. This is the rear heater return hose at the back of the head, driver side, that goes down between a heat shield and the firewall. I never would have seen the slow drip because it was hidden. Things finally got so hot and the pressure so high, it burst the part of the hose that was compromised. So there may have been air in the system prior to that. After changing the hose and bleeding the system, the temp situation hasn’t changed though. And I daily it, there’s plenty of miles for bubbles to work themselves out.