Is this the place we go to after selling our LC’s? (2 Viewers)

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate
links, including eBay, Amazon, Skimlinks, and others.

I do miss some aspects of the 200.... it had some better aftermarket options Ironically....not impressed with any of the front bumper options thus far.... 3 years out... and there's nothing over the top for suspension.... (or that I've seen... looked like Brenthal and DK both pulled their offerings..)...
I've been blessed to have some fun builds - the Tundra while utterly capable has yet to feel special... perhaps, it just needs more mods....

IMG_7241.jpg


IMG_20240824_175938537_HDR.jpg


IMG_20250330_175140093_HDR.jpg
 
loved my old 2013 tundra, great truck, new 2024 gets 20% better mileage, engine feels much more relaxed when diving it, and the option of crewmax with the 6.5 bed is the thing that did it for me, my old DC was not enough...
 
My only gripe is I am at the point I need at least a 3/4 ton truck. My wife’s 200 has been flawless. My Sequoia and Tundra both have been great. But I need to occasionally tow at the 10k mark and it makes me nervous enough to rely on the Tundra, that I haven’t even tested it around town yet.
 
Ha, yeh my 80, 60, T100 and 2nd Gen 4Runner, 06 Wrangler have been replaced with a 2012 GX460 and a 2008 Tundra 5.7. Picked the tundra up used with 140k miles but at 240k the transmission has failed. Occasionally towed a 18ft center console and one trip from VA - Florida and back pulling a 26ft Airstream. I set up gauges on a tablet for that trip to watch the fluid temps and all was good. That was in 2022. I had my shop do a drain and replace at about 180k miles and am wondering if that was a mistake or if this one was just destined to fail. I was shopping for a 2019 Tundra to replace the 08 but wasn't seeing any deals within 200 miles of my loc. A 2012 RW with 68k owned by a retired Mac Truck mechanic popped up in Pa so I ran up there a bought it. In the process of swapping over some parts from the 08, bed rails, soft topper, doesn't look like the TRD pro cold air intake will swap.
 
I still have my 80 but she's been sitting relaxing in the garage as I try to figure out what is wrong with her.

Wish my Sequoia was 6 lug

PXL_20250731_193313183.webp
 
I’ll be honest, the stories of temperature issues, like what you experience with fuel boiling, as well as coolant valley leaks, radiator issues, and generally higher recorded temps while towing/offroading—these are all exactly why I haven’t sold my v8 Tundra.

I would LOVE to tow in a 3-row SUV to separate the kids out a bit (family of 5 plus a 60-lb dog here), but I can’t bring myself to stick with the 200 as the main towing vehicle due to the previously mentioned reasons.

My truck has the same 3UR-FE, but its cooling system is substantially larger than the 200 series. And it drives much smaller than it is, seems to have fewer coolant valley leaks, almost no radiator issues, and never vents boiling fuel.

That’s what attracted me to the 2nd gen Tundra in general—so much overlap with a 200 series. It’s like a slightly bigger 200 with a bed and a massive backseat. Higher tow rating, similar payload. And it just runs cooler. This seems to be supported by the fact that Tundras and Sequoias in the American market generally last a bit longer than the 200.

I wouldn’t discount a low mileage 2017-2021 Tundra for your needs.
How do you figure the Tundra cooling system is "substantially bigger"? Have you looked at the specs for the cooling systems? They strongly disagree.
 
How do you figure the Tundra cooling system is "substantially bigger"? Have you looked at the specs for the cooling systems? They strongly disagree.
I guess you’re referring to coolant capacity.

But the Tundra stock radiator is bigger — 894 cu in vs 200’s 824 cu in.

Tundra factory aux cooler is also 22% bigger than the 200’s.

It also has a lot more space in the engine bay (if we’re counting airflow as part of the cooling system).

It’s just a bigger vehicle, which is probably why no one’s Tundra to my knowledge vents fuel due to boiling and probably why we don’t see nearly as many coolant valley leaks on Tundras as 200s.

It’s also rwd (less parasitic load), can be up to 500lb lighter, longer wheelbase, has better stock gearing, etc.

But it’s mostly the cooling aspect that has me not wanting to tow in the 570. The temps people report in the towing thread seem really high.
 
I guess you’re referring to coolant capacity.

But the Tundra stock radiator is bigger — 894 cu in vs 200’s 824 cu in.

Tundra factory aux cooler is also 22% bigger than the 200’s.

It also has a lot more space in the engine bay (if we’re counting airflow as part of the cooling system).

It’s just a bigger vehicle, which is probably why no one’s Tundra to my knowledge vents fuel due to boiling and probably why we don’t see nearly as many coolant valley leaks on Tundras as 200s.

It’s also rwd (less parasitic load), can be up to 500lb lighter, longer wheelbase, has better stock gearing, etc.

But it’s mostly the cooling aspect that has me not wanting to tow in the 570. The temps people report in the towing thread seem really high.
You’re correct in that I was primarily looking at coolant capacity. Having swapped coolant in both my 2.5 gen Tundra and 200 series, I was shocked I needed over a gallon more SLL for the 200. I absolutely get the load from being a full time 4wd vehicle, gearing, etc. Seems to be plenty of valley plate leaks for both… That said, I’ve modded my Tundra so heavily for off-road use the 200 is now the superior tow vehicle. :cool:
 
You’re correct in that I was primarily looking at coolant capacity. Having swapped coolant in both my 2.5 gen Tundra and 200 series, I was shocked I needed over a gallon more SLL for the 200. I absolutely get the load from being a full time 4wd vehicle, gearing, etc. Seems to be plenty of valley plate leaks for both… That said, I’ve modded my Tundra so heavily for off-road use the 200 is now the superior tow vehicle. :cool:
Ha. Yeah I get that regarding all the mods. Ours even self levels with the AHC. Would be nice if the Tundra did that.

I’ve been told by multiple cruiser heads in my area the coolant valley plate will happen to my 570 100%. 203k miles. Guess I’m just waiting for it at this point.

There are just so many more Tundras than 200s in the US. The valley plate leak seems far less common, nowhere near the same % of Tundras as 200s, and more Tundras tend to rack up more miles. I don’t have any real data to back it up. Just my own perception from reading the forums and talking to Toyota shops
 
FWIW - The extra coolant is probably to fill the rear HVAC unit and lines and the radiator core is thicker. I can't seem to find a good spec for the LC radiator core. The Sequoia 5.7 is 41 or 42mm core thickness that would add volume of coolant over a Tundra that is about 36mm thick. Some aftermarket ones have 48mm thick for the LC, but I can't find that from a reliable source on the OEM one. Assuming it's 10mm or 1cm thicker core, that would translate to about 3.5L of extra fluid if it a radiator core was 100% fluid. Guessing it's about 50% air volume, that's around half a gallon of extra fluid for the radiator thickness and then half a gallon for the rear HVAC unit and you've got a full extra gallon of coolant.

The vehicle load should be closely associated with the fuel mileage. The LC200 epa rating was 17/13 vs the Tundra also 17/13. So, they should have very similar cooling needs under unloaded conditions. The Tundra obviously has a little higher tow rating so it was likely designed to have slightly more cooling. But they're pretty close in terms of engine and trans cooling. The LC200 would have more interior HVAC heat transfer though, so it would make sense to have a bit bigger AC system and two heater cores vs 1 in the Tundra.

I don't know what the ratio is between radiator area vs thickness in terms of cooling capacity. A thicker radiator will obviously have more surface area to transfer heat than a thinner one. But I'd guess it's not 1:1 vs having a larger area. The heat transfer efficiency will decline as the air passes through the radiator and as it gets thicker the incremental thickness will have declining benefits, but in this case I'd just take a wild guess that the extra 30ish percent radiator core depth probably translates to at least 20-25% more heat transfer capacity in the radiator core of the LC vs the Tundra if air flow and all other factors were similar.

It's a complex system where the air flow might be better in the Tundra due to the larger grill and more area behind the radiator for the hot air to exit the engine bay. Lots of factors to consider, so it's hard to know without going pretty deep in the weeds. The only thing I could say pretty confidently is that my Tundra never moves more than 3 degrees off of the baseline - and I think that's the minimum unit of measurement on the OBD2 output. That's regardless of elevation, ambient temps, and load. I've towed heavy - pushing 10k over passes in Utah in the summer heat and engine temps didn't budge. Very different story from a few people I now with EB F150s that will overheat and drop into reduced power mode in the mountains towing travel trailers.

I suspect the LC200 fuel boiling issue is something related to localized cooling but not really a result of inadequate cooling capacity of the radiator.

*****

I came from a 5th gen 4R so - kind of the same move over from a midsize SUV to a full size truck. My primary need was more room. 2nd kid plus a dog and the midsize SUV was a space crunch. Plus more towing was nice. Although I had a 4Runner and an F250 and sold both to move to the Tundra. The F250 was a hot mess - the only thing consistent about it was breaking down. And it was a pretty terrible daily driver because it was a crew cab long bed. On the flip side it towed like a champ and the 8 foot bed was really nice when I wanted to load up a lot of stuff. The Tundra 5.5 bed is too small at times. I'd LOVE to be able to put my side by side in the bed like I could in the F250, but I also like fitting in my garage and being able to park in normal parking spots.

I agree with many of the above comments regarding the features that they should have brought over from the LX and LC. AHC would be so great in a Tundra. A match made in heaven! The Tundra has plenty of space to fit all the components nicely up inside the frame rails. And the longer wheelbase would probably benefit more from the height adjustment, plus the longer front suspension travel would work slightly better - could probably go as far as 6 inches of height adjustment and still not bind the CVs.

I don't really care, but it would be nice to have the awd transfer case from the Sequoia. The Sequoia has the best awd setup in any of the Toyota full size models with the ability to run in any configuration of 2wd, 4wd, awd, and 4lo. Only thing missing is front digs, but that's almost possible with the awd system at low enough speed.
 
Last edited:

Users who are viewing this thread

Back
Top Bottom