Is my fj62 overheating? You tell me!!!

[FJ-KroozerKrusader]

Hi guys, i replaced my radiator a few months ago now and am wondering on where other fj62 owners needle is at on the temp gauge and was wondering if ya'll could tell me if i am overheating or no from my picture. thanks if ya'll can. it runs cool at highway speeds and then climbs up rather quickly to where it is in the pic if i am in stop and go traffic or if it is just hot outside. and seems to run cooler in cooler weather, please tell me if i need to worry or if i need to get a lower temp tstat. God Bless - Cody

 

[cwwfj60]

sounds like you fan clutch is beggining to go out maybe...your definitely not overheating...thats what the red bar is for. But if it climbs close to that at stops then you probably need a fan clutch. You put your fan shroud back on right? i've heard of people discarding them because they don't think they matter...they do

 

[FJ-KroozerKrusader]

yea i did have it off for a while and it wasnt a good idea. but it doesnt come near the red ever at dead stops, just at the 2/3 bar and a smidge over is all. i know some cruisers run a little hotter i hear. i was just wondering if i am good. does anyone know what temp mine would be at from that reading or what each bar is on the fj?

 

[FJ-KroozerKrusader]

does anyone else with fj62's have their gauge at this spot normally when running after 15 minutes in town?

 

[Devils Paw 80]

Mine never climbs above the 1/4 mark, regardless of operating time.

 

[IH8Wood]

I wouldn't trust the stock gauge. Buy a quality after market gauge or an IR thermometer and go from there.

 

[CaptHamster]

Mine never goes past that...it's only even gotten as high as the point in your pic twice: once while doing lots of uphill hard climbing with the A/C on, and once when the freeway was shut down while it was 100 degrees outside, and I left it idling, in park, for about half an hour...you're perfectly fine. Don't quote me, but for some reason I want to say the actual engine temp is around 190-220 degrees Celsius...again, don't quote me, but that's what I seem to remember offhand. But again, you're perfectly fine at that level

 

[satchel]

I think that middle mark is 200 according to other posts.

 

[Bryan062087]

Your truck is probably about at 220-225 degrees in that pic.. too hot. Yes you are overheating, but not so hot that you need to shut it down right away. If you figure out your problem let me know, mine's been doing this for years in stop and go traffic and I cant figure it out.

 

[FJ-KroozerKrusader]

see , theres the problem. one says it is normal and the other says it is not.................haha i may try to run it without the Tstat and see if it runs cooler, but other than that i dono besides fan clutch but mine works pretty well. ive had mechanics tell me that it is fine where it is at but it use to run cooler long ago but that changed after i changed the Tstat. if i have results, i will definitely post. thanks for the input guys. God Bless - Cody

 

[cwwfj60]

Your truck is probably about at 220-225 degrees in that pic.. too hot. Yes you are overheating, but not so hot that you need to shut it down right away. If you figure out your problem let me know, mine's been doing this for years in stop and go traffic and I cant figure it out.

I believe that overheating is heating the engine up past where it can stand to operate. That picture shows the needle in a spot that is NOT overheating. Choose the opinion you want, thats why this site is free but you don't have anything to worry about. Just watch it. I hope this helps

 

[cwwfj60]

just realized you mentioned removing your thermostat. Not a good idea. Do it if you want but its actually goin to run hotter because the coolant is passing through the radiator to quickly and not cooling enough.

 

[Bryan062087]

However you want to phrase it, his engine is running too hot according to that temp gauge. 220-225 is not the range in which you want the engine to operate, although you are right there is not imminent danger per say.

I've heard its bad to remove the thermostat completely as well.

Did it do this before you changed the radiator?

Make sure you got all the air out of the system and make sure your fan clutch is working well.

 

[cruiser88]

dump the stock guage and DONT get rid of t he stat

 

[IH8Wood]

Removing the thermostat will not cause your engine to run hotter. The only effect of removing the thermostat will be that your engine may not run hot enough. You can safely take it out and see if it makes a difference.

 

[FJ-KroozerKrusader]

guys, am only taking it out temporarily soo i can see if it cools better, then put a new one in immediately or my old one. and it did the same thing before with my oe radiator as it is now. im not super worried and i watch my gauge ll day, just bugs me . thanks for all the replies

 

[77cruiser]

I am very interested in this thread. My truck runs with the needle there or right on the mid mark all the time. I have always wondered since alot of people say that theres runs much cooler according to the gauge. I have had the t-stat done, radiator flushed, water pump replaced, fan clutch checked... you name it and it still runs at that point. mechanic who does the work is extremely knowledgeable about cruisers and doesnt seem to think its an issue at all.'

 

[Elbert]

install a real coolant temp guage.. the OEM is a known problem.

If you take the thermostat out...just put a new one in and be done with that.

is your fan clutch engaging when truck gets hot... More then likely its the fan clutch.

Don't play a guessing game with the OEM temp guage...because that's what you end up doing becasue its not accurate and you cannot tell what temp you are actully running, and when it shows hot it's really hot.

 

[Michael Hanson]

I dont know about La. right now but Tx. a few months ago was in the 80s,now we are at 100.My gauges are running higher.Did you replace your radiator with the same kind? Did you completely burp your system? Did you have your heaters going and flushed Both out when you changed out rads. ? MIke

 

[jleeFJ62]

Mine is about the same as well. When stopped it sits at the 1/2 mark and then when moving it drops back down. I've replaced the rad, thermostat, temp sending unit, water pump, fan clutch, and all hoses. All oem. Its been an expensive process. Just ordered new aftermarket guages though, hopefully the stock guages just suck.