Thought you guys might be interested in this with all the recent cooling system and A/C concerns: I took a trip from LA to Vegas from Thursday to Sunday. It was quite hot (temps reached 110+ on the way there and back) and I thought it was a good test of the cooling system.
Specs: '97 80 w/ relatively new OEM Aluminum radiator (new one installed last year under CPO warranty after old one got clogged due to mixing red/green coolant), new thermostat, original fan clutch, just did a coolant flush with Toyota Red before the trip, along with a bottle of Redline Water Wetter, which I use whenever I do a flush. Running Mobil 1 0W-40 oil and Mobil 1 in tranny/transfer/diffs. Filled up with mid-grade Chevron and a bottle of Chevron Techron Fuel System Cleaner before the trip (which probably explains the relatively good mileage numbers in the next paragraph). I have a digital temp. guage installed which reads, on average, about 8F higher than the OBD-II temp. reading.
The truck was pretty well loaded with luggage and 3 people (myself included), and I had the A/C on the whole way. I got 14.94MPG on the first tank of gas, which included a lot of stop-and-go traffic from LA to Riverside (where I had to pickup my 2 passengers) during rush hour.
The highest temp I saw on my digital temp gauge for the entire trip was during a steady climb up an incline on the 15 freeway with RPMs in the 3000-3500 range for 3-5 minutes. My digital temp. gauge read 220F, which I would guess would be approx. 212F on the OBD-II. Of course, the regular dash temp gauge never moved beyond the halfway point. The A/C never cut out. I was seriously considering installing an aux. fan for the A/C (and I still might just for overkill) but the A/C not only stayed cold, but ICE-cold for the entire trip, including at stop lights in Henderson when the temps were 110F- I remember we were at a stoplight in Henderson where several gas station signs had temp readings of 110F, and I had to turn off the A/C because myself and the front passenger were too cold!
One thing I did notice was the fan clutch. When I stopped for gas on the way back, I noticed a vibration and a noise at idle that I thought was a problem. As it turns out, it was the fan spinning at a much faster rate due to the fan clutch engaging.
At any rate, I am now convinced that the 80's cooling and A/C systems are just fine as-is, as long as they are well maintained.
Specs: '97 80 w/ relatively new OEM Aluminum radiator (new one installed last year under CPO warranty after old one got clogged due to mixing red/green coolant), new thermostat, original fan clutch, just did a coolant flush with Toyota Red before the trip, along with a bottle of Redline Water Wetter, which I use whenever I do a flush. Running Mobil 1 0W-40 oil and Mobil 1 in tranny/transfer/diffs. Filled up with mid-grade Chevron and a bottle of Chevron Techron Fuel System Cleaner before the trip (which probably explains the relatively good mileage numbers in the next paragraph). I have a digital temp. guage installed which reads, on average, about 8F higher than the OBD-II temp. reading.
The truck was pretty well loaded with luggage and 3 people (myself included), and I had the A/C on the whole way. I got 14.94MPG on the first tank of gas, which included a lot of stop-and-go traffic from LA to Riverside (where I had to pickup my 2 passengers) during rush hour.
The highest temp I saw on my digital temp gauge for the entire trip was during a steady climb up an incline on the 15 freeway with RPMs in the 3000-3500 range for 3-5 minutes. My digital temp. gauge read 220F, which I would guess would be approx. 212F on the OBD-II. Of course, the regular dash temp gauge never moved beyond the halfway point. The A/C never cut out. I was seriously considering installing an aux. fan for the A/C (and I still might just for overkill) but the A/C not only stayed cold, but ICE-cold for the entire trip, including at stop lights in Henderson when the temps were 110F- I remember we were at a stoplight in Henderson where several gas station signs had temp readings of 110F, and I had to turn off the A/C because myself and the front passenger were too cold!
One thing I did notice was the fan clutch. When I stopped for gas on the way back, I noticed a vibration and a noise at idle that I thought was a problem. As it turns out, it was the fan spinning at a much faster rate due to the fan clutch engaging.
At any rate, I am now convinced that the 80's cooling and A/C systems are just fine as-is, as long as they are well maintained.
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