Keeping my cool?

[Recruiter]

After reading the HG thread below I began to worry about my 97 LX450 and am wondering if I am keeping her cool enough. I am replacing the radiator currently (OEM) and have the new thermostat to install when I break into it all. From here, what else do I NEED to do to keep it cool? I DO pull a 21 ft wakeboard boat with my beloved truck and don't want to get any hotter than needed. What SHOULD I use for coolant - specific brands would help - as far as a new fan clutch - how difficult is it to replace? CDan beware - a parts order to Tennessee might be in your future .

As always, many thanks for your help,
Katie

 

[d0ubledown]

do you currently have cooling issues while towing? any issues that warrant the rad needing to be replaced? toyota red coolant is preferred, however theres a debate on which one is better...depending on what you use now. using synth motor oil? blue hub fan clutch is a worthy upgrade if your current oem one isnt working properly. afaik, not too difficult to replace...there should be a write up in the FAQ. theres also a coolant temp guage mod you can do to more accurately monitor coolant temps. bigger tranny cooler might help when towing as well...esp if youve got bigger than oem tires and havent regeared.

im sure theres more that ive missed and others will chime in

 

[Recruiter]

I have to replace radiator because it decided to drop a core. It is in the box at my house waiting on me to put it in. The truck is parked until I complete the job. I have not noticed that pulling the boat gets the truck hot. It does get warmer than just a normal cruze down the interstate, but nothing like getting into the red. I just want to make sure that I fix it and fix it right - I am not into patches on problems/potential problems so much. I do run synthetic oil - also changing tonight. I will do another search on FAQ and see what I come up with on the fan clutch. Many thanks,
Katie

 

[Tools R Us]

IMHO the #1 cooling mod is changing the fan clutch to thicker viscosity. In our local desert climate we have good results with 10,000 fluid in the earlier type clutches and ~13,000 in the newest blue hub type clutch. Depending on your climate and use, thinner fluid may work.

There is a thread here on doing it, but is huge, over on the mini form is a shorter one.

https://forum.ih8mud.com/79-95-toyota-truck-tech/167678-fan-clutch-service.html