I used a sledge hammer to kill a fly...

[ElJayBird]

After my head gasket catastrophe in Utah, I decided to take steps ensuring that it'd never happen again. Well, at least not for another 100k miles or so. For those who don't know, my radiator blew up in Utah, causing the head gasket to fail and leaving me stranded for 10 days and then limping back home to Austin, Texas...across the desert....with the heater blowing full blast....in the summer.

Since returning home, this is what I've done...

Replaced the fan clutch with blue Aisin fan (no fluid mod yet)
Replaced the water pump (OEM)
Inspected and replaced all hoses showing any signs of wear
Replaced PHH with heavy duty silicon and constant tension clamps
Replaced the radiator (OEM) (Pulled the Napa radiator we used to get home)
Replaced thermostat (Napa - OEM going in soon)
Vented the holy s*** out of the hood. Basically cut away anything that wasn't part of the hood frame from the center of the hood. Used a hood louver for a Jeep to cover the hole and provide anti-glare for when I add roof rack and lights. (I know....Jeep parts on my Toyota...for shame)

Since doing all of this, I have yet to see the truck run over 190 deg with ambient temps in the hundreds. It will get to 194 at long stops but then cool down again within a few seconds once I'm moving. If I place my hand behind the hood vents, I can feel hot air blasting out from under the hood. The vents are definitely working and probably help defrost in winter!

Also replaced the belts while I was at it. The truck feels and runs so much better now. Oddly, the belts really quieted down the engine and the AC seems cooler now (maybe my imagination).

Anyhow - truck is running great now!

 

[NLXTACY]

It might be that the belts are properly tightened this go around and not slipping on the pulleys.

 

[Kaninja]

I actually think those hood louvers look awesome. I just did my entire cooling system as well. My only advice would be to also change the hoses that look fine. There were a couple I had that looked great on the outside, but the insides were all dry and cracking.

Awesome job.

I used 15k fluid in my blue clutch. So far 196.8 is max temp otherwise runs at 195 in the heat with A/C on sitting in traffic.

 

[ZackR]

Nice work - the next trip will be a lot less stressful with that list taken care of. Probably not necessary at this point but if you are looking for every last bit of airflow the front license plate could be moved out of the grille area.

 

[bajaphile]

I want that hood louver! Is it the poison spider one? What did you do with the sprayer nozzles? I think installing it would get rid of my clear coat issue on the hood too

 

[inkpot]

Did you replace the Other PHH? The one on the bottom of the throttle body that goes straight down? It is even harder to access than the original PHH !!

 

[ElJayBird]

I want that hood louver! Is it the poison spider one? What did you do with the sprayer nozzles? I think installing it would get rid of my clear coat issue on the hood too

Yes, it's the Poison Spider louver. I bought a pair of universal spray nozzles off of Amazon for about 5 bucks. I plan to install them this weekend but they should work perfectly. The OEM sprayers require an odd shaped hole in the hood that would be tough to duplicate. The ones I bought are the kind with a nut on the bottom and only require a uniform round hole.

 

[ElJayBird]

Nice work - the next trip will be a lot less stressful with that list taken care of. Probably not necessary at this point but if you are looking for every last bit of airflow the front license plate could be moved out of the grille area.

I plan to order a Hawse fairlead license plate holder this week. That should clean it up a bit and also get the plate away from the grill.

 

[ElJayBird]

Did you replace the Other PHH? The one on the bottom of the throttle body that goes straight down? It is even harder to access than the original PHH !!

Did not replace that one yet - I'll replace it when I replace the vacuum valve that's under the throttle body.

 

[ElJayBird]

After all of this, I'm ready to do some fun mods. I plan to paint all of the body molding satin black and then add Dobinsons drawers, Front Runner Roof rack and an RTT. I'm waiting until I move to for the tent and rack. Once those go on, parking garages are officially off-limits.

Once those are done it'll be a 4" lift, drive shaft, etc then new gears, 35's and air lockers. Not sure after that...cry over all the cash missing from my bank account, I guess.

 

[NateMob]

Hood louver looks great on there, nice work!

 

[bajaphile]

So would you install the hood louver again? Is the hood stiffness still about the same (stiffer?). Does the louver section have any curvature to it? Did you have to cut out a lot of the hood support stiffeners? Easy install?

 

[ElJayBird]

So would you install the hood louver again? Is the hood stiffness still about the same (stiffer?). Does the louver section have any curvature to it? Did you have to cut out a lot of the hood support stiffeners? Easy install?

I'd definitely do it again. I vented the hood before all of the other parts and it dropped the running temps by about 10 degrees. The fit is great - it follows the shallow curvature of the sheet metal perfectly. Hood is still just as rigid as stock if not more so.

Where the truck is now, average running temps are in the mid 180's. I see 190 every now and then but it runs MUCH cooler than it was. Once I replace the fluid in the fan clutch I expect it to idle cooler than it does now...

 

[fuzzywuzzy]

Great call on the Poison Spider louver insert, looks awesome. I'd been thinking if it would work on my and you've sold me!

 

[fuzzywuzzy]

I was just on the poison spider website and there are a few different models for different years, do you know which one you used?

 

[BILT4ME]

I'm just gonna throw this out there.......

I love the look and functionality of the hood louver. I think it adds to the look.

I would have a couple concerns on:
1) Water running into the louvers on top of my engine and electronics while parked or even operating in a heavy rain. (I washed my engine the other day and threw a code while it dried out.....)
2) If you had a failure under the hood (Coolant, fuel, oil, smoke) a large portion of the discharge would go up through those louvers, then directly into the cabin air intake, as well as on the windshield.


If the vents were outboard a bit further (like the Chevy Lumina or Grand Prix version) closer to the edges of the hood, it could reduce the possibilities of the events listed above.

Another to consider would be fender vents like other makes and models have.

FWIW.

 

[fuzzywuzzy]

#2 may be a valid concern, you could install some mesh to deflect some amount of bugs going in or stuff coming out.
#1 thought... doesn't make sense that he would have a snorkel but be concerned about rain, just sayin'.

 

[BILT4ME]

#2 may be a valid concern, you could install some mesh to deflect some amount of bugs going in or stuff coming out.
#1 thought... doesn't make sense that he would have a snorkel but be concerned about rain, just sayin'.

I'm not worried about the engine sucking in water during a rain, I'm concerned about electronics or spark plug wires shorting out due to water ON the engine. I managed to fill my spark plug tubes with water and they kept arcing out and misfiring.

Just because you have a snorkel doesn't mean your PETROL engine won't have an issue running in the water........ Most of the ones you see "swimming" are diesels.......

 

[fuzzywuzzy]

Well that's good to know, I just assumed one in the same. Good info. I don't see water much at all, flowing or falling, so I doubt a snorkel's for me but I'd definitely look at louvers because a lot of off-road here is in the desert.

 

[baldilocks]

That louver plate is perfect for me because we don't see rain during the hot months at all. For the rest of the year, I could swap in a solid plate to keep rainfall out.

@ElJayBird nice work and thanks for showing off the hood vent.