is 202 degrees an acceptable operating temp? (1 Viewer)

[peepers]

i am driving from boston, ma to austin, tx with the cruise control set around 72 mph. there are two of us in the truck, some tools, lots of luggage. my general operating temp (via scangauge II) is 180 degrees on downhills to 198 - 202 degrees on the flats to 204 - 211 degrees on the uphills.

are these temps normal? somewhat high? very high?

i have 3 more long days of driving and dont want to do any damage. please advise.

 

[Brindleboxer]

Peepers,

My first question would be what is your baseline/normal temp for this rig? You have the scangauge so you should know what you are running in these conditions prior to the trip.

I am assuming these are elevated hence you are posting up for temps. Here is a thread that has other members usual temps, looks as though your is falling around the norm.

https://forum.ih8mud.com/80-series-tech/173422-got-my-scangauge-ii.html

Glen

 

[peepers]

i would peek at it once in a while... the around town temps were 193 - 198 so those dont scare me. is a few degrees of variation to 204 that big of a deal? i am getting worried about nothing?

 

[e9999]

it's not cold cold, but not unreasonable either. 211 is getting up there a bit but if it's a serious uphill, it should still be OK.

 

[peepers]

it's not cold cold, but not unreasonable either. 211 is getting up there a bit but if it's a serious uphill, it should still be OK.

thanks. bottom line is when i get to austin a new radiator is going in. its not the fan clutch because when i stopped and opened the hood after the 211, the fan was spinning away.

this is all good to know, thanks for the input!

 

[gray]

Is your radiator clogged up or damaged? A radiator shop can check the flow rate and rod it out and repair it if needed. You might also bench test the thermostat, flush the system, use the correct Toyota red coolant at the proper concentration, etc. The heat in TX can get brutal, time also for synthetic engine oil and ATF if not using them already, IMHO.

 

[peepers]

Is your radiator clogged up or damaged? A radiator shop can check the flow rate and rod it out and repair it if needed. You might also bench test the thermostat, flush the system, use the correct Toyota red coolant at the proper concentration, etc. The heat in TX can get brutal, time also for synthetic engine oil and ATF if not using them already, IMHO.

there is toyota red in there at 50/50. the lucky part of the trip is that i have been in cold weather the entire time until now. i head to memphis tomorrow then down to new orleans. i hope she holds.

i dont know if the flow is normal.

i have syn engine oil and and regular ATF.

 

[landtank]

its not the fan clutch because when i stopped and opened the hood after the 211, the fan was spinning away.

at 211* and stopped it SHOULDN'T spin away. It should only move 2 or 3 blades after a good push.

 

[mainemike]

peepers-

I think your fine. I've seen 211 in cold temps. It doesn't stay there for long, only on long climbs, and sometimes when I've been running at hwy speeds all day and pull off to hit a drive-thru McMunch, the temp spikes up a bit. We just did a 4500 mile trip through Canada, down to Ohio and back to Maine - 19 days in the Cruiser.

it's the curse of having a ScanGauge! If I didn't have that displaying my realtime temps I would be blissfully unaware of the water temp fluctuations. I haven't been able to pin down any one variable - I also freaked out when I saw 211 (I think I saw it hit 216) in the drive-through line, and grabbed my food and popped the hood. The fan was running, and the temp dropped after a few minutes.

I have a recently flushed system, Toyota red, new thermostat... if I did NOT have a ScanGauge i wouldn't have noticed anything seemed amiss. That thing can lead to chronic paranoia....

 

[landtank]

pulling a 3500 lb trailer in 100* heat and the most I saw was 195*. 211* in cold weather is a problem for sure.

 

[96Cruiser13]

at 211* and stopped it SHOULDN'T spin away. It should only move 2 or 3 blades after a good push.

He said he stopped, he didnt say he turned the rig off.. haha

 

[Atticus]

at 211* and stopped it SHOULDN'T spin away. It should only move 2 or 3 blades after a good push.

Heed landtank's post. A fan clutch is a super-easy replacement. An hour max, including belts. If your fan is just spinning, then the clutch is worn out and should be replaced.

 

[Romer]

Just because the fan clutch is spinning doesn't mean its still working fine. You need to take a thick leather glove and slowly try and stop the plade. If it stops easy its got a problem.

Are you running the AC? When towing in the hot summer with the AC up a mtn pass I will get above 210

If it starts to heat up, you can turn your heat on full bore, that should help.

When you pull in for the night, check your overfill resv? If its empty, I would pour some water into the radiator until its full.

 

[mainemike]

<<211* in cold weather is a problem for sure.>>


But the odd thing is I see 185-195 the vast majority of the time. The recent trip encountered lows of -20 and highs of 65. I don't know what accounts for the occasional spikes, some days the cruiser was running 8-10 hours non-stop, except for short breaks when we would go on foot for an hour or so.

Based on your temp readings I wonder about replacing the radiator as PM. I believe I have the original fan and radiator, so perhaps I should replace the fan first and see what happens. (1996 w/150k) All hoses/thermo/coolant have been replaced regularly.

 

[cary]

I'm guessing your radiator and fan clutch are on their way out. On my 80 after replacing both, I don't see temps of over 200 on cool days. In hot weather, full chat up hills (105F+) I don't see more than 215f.

 

[cruiserdan]

Anything below 217 F is considered "normal" by the engineers because that is the threshold temperature at which they allow the A/C compressor to come back on line. Anything over 226 f is a "threat" because that is the compressor cut-off threshold. In between 217 and 226 it is not hot enough to kill the compressor but too hot to let it come back on.

That being said, 211 seems a bit warm in the winter unless you are really working it.

 

[landtank]

JYou need to take a thick leather glove and slowly try and stop the plade. If it stops easy its got a problem.

An archaic and dangerous technique that serves no perpose.

Since you already know the truck is running hotter than normal just pull over, turn off the engine and check the fan for rotational resistance. If it spins freely the fan clutch has issues and needs replacing.

 

[Atticus]

An archaic and dangerous technique that serves no perpose.

Since you already know the truck is running hotter than normal just pull over, turn off the engine and check the fan for rotational resistance. If it spins freely the fan clutch has issues and needs replacing.

I agree. The whole "stick your hand in the fan" test is questionable at best.

 

[Romer]

An archaic and dangerous technique that serves no perpose.

Since you already know the truck is running hotter than normal just pull over, turn off the engine and check the fan for rotational resistance. If it spins freely the fan clutch has issues and needs replacing.

I have never done it. Thats Robbies approach and he might be very very very old, but I would trust him if thats how he does it.

 

[landtank]

I have never done it. Thats Robbies approach and he might be very very very old, but I would trust him if thats how he does it.

I don't care if Robbie walks on water this is a dangerous suggestion.

it's one thing to be working on a cold engine and needed to overheat it intentionally to evaluate the fan. And if you want to put your hand in a running engine to save some time that's on you.

But here the engine is already hot and to stick you hand in there is not needed and IMO shouldn't be advised.