Not Cool

[Grady]

Newbie here, sort of. I've read 10,000 posts and written 1 or 2.

I've had this 86fj60 for a year and a half, and love it. But it won't stay cool.

I have replaced (one at a time), water pump, fan clutch, head gasket, flushed the radiator (three years old), all the suspect hoses, and worked over 30 minutes to get the bubbles out when I filled the system.

The last try I thought I had it, it stayed cool for a couple of hours on an 80+ degree day,

Any ideas ?

 

[Mace]

timing?

 

[beaufort-fj60]

maybe your temp gauge is busted.

 

[Wile E Coyote]

I'll 2nd the timing question, and ask for more details. Does it steadily climb until it pukes, highway vs stop-and-go conditions, that sorta stuff.

 

[Mace]

yep, have you actually proved it was overheating?

 

[cruiser88]

I agree with mace . see if it is working first..How is the gas gauge?

 

[Dynosoar]

It could be running too lean.

Dynosoar

 

[sandcruiser]

if you haven't already, add a mechanical guage. It'll confirm the actual temperature for you.
You can take it off again if you don't like having it.

 

[CardinalFJ60]

didn't notice T-Stat...

Newbie here, sort of. I've read 10,000 posts and written 1 or 2.

I've had this 86fj60 for a year and a half, and love it. But it won't stay cool.

I have replaced (one at a time), water pump, fan clutch, head gasket, flushed the radiator (three years old), all the suspect hoses, and worked over 30 minutes to get the bubbles out when I filled the system.

The last try I thought I had it, it stayed cool for a couple of hours on an 80+ degree day,

Any ideas ?

Since you did all the other stuff...prolly just forgot to list changing the Thermostat, but maybe not. But Could just be the T-Stat??

 

[Spike Strip]

Yup - I had a truck once with the same symptoms and did just about everything you've done...

Turned out to be retarded timing.

You also didn't mention radiator cap. Did you do a pressure test? Is it holding pressure ? System as well as cap?

 

[fidel]

I would check with mrgasket.com they have a radiator cap that has a thermometer mounted on top to get an accurate temp readout on your engine its simply a 20 dollar way to get an accurate readout of your 2F's water temp. Because if you have done all the things you do it sounds like its definately a guage problem. Somehow you need to find an accurate read of your temp. If it is in fact running normal then you either have a bad temp sending unit or your gage its bad. If its the gage i recomend you replace it with a good manual gage. Also when are you over heating is it on the highway and fine around town or does it just heat up all the time from any driving? If you havent replaced the thermostat, that could very well be the problem. If it over heats only at high speeds I recomend replacing the rado with a new one. You can get one for $235 from carradiator.com they ship really quick too. If the rado is a problem you could get yours re cored but i think it would be best to do yourself a favor and just replace it with a new one.

 

[D'Animal]

Is your fan schroud installed?

Is the black fabric that is used to insulate your hood attached or is it dropping down and stoppoing your fan that is mounted to you good fan clutch?

 

[BwardeAZ]

Ok, one more temp sending unit replaced?

 

[Grady]

Thanks for the ideas. Forgot to mention in the original post, I have an IR guage, and it actually is running hot. When I bled the system, I drove it around for an hour and stopped to check it every fifteen minutes (night 75 degrees). Held 190 steady. Drove it all weekend around home no problems (under 40mph). Drove it 30 minutes on I-40, held fine until the exit ramp. Tope of the ramp noticed it was redlined. Let it cool a little and eased into work. Drove it home that night but didn't get 5 minutes to the interstate before it was hot (confirmed 230 with IR gauge). I've tried two new thermostats.

BUT... Mace and Dynosaur have good ideas (as usual). I dropped it off at the shop and they don't know where to start. I'll get it tuned see what happens. I'll post after that.

BTW, in the debate of stock carb vs. aftermarket, it's worth noting that no freakin body knows how to adjust the stock carb...bought new from Cruiserdan (awesome price and service).
It is almost worth it when I see the look on their face when they first see it though.

 

[D'Animal]

BTW, in the debate of stock carb vs. aftermarket, it's worth noting that no freakin body knows how to adjust the stock carb...bought new from Cruiserdan (awesome price and service).
It is almost worth it when I see the look on their face when they first see it though.

You should really start a seperate thread on this so we can flame you properly. You ask for our help on one issue and call us an idiot on a different issue. Not Cool Man.


The "Stock" Carb is not a problem, nor is the adjustment of the stock carb. You have to make sure all 63' of the vacuum line is connected correctly before you touch the carb. You also have to make sure all of the bsv valves are working properly and are the correct ones, HAC working correctly, no manifold leaks or exhaust leaks, etc. Check everything and replace the air filter before you start tweaking the carb.

 

[jvazquez53]

I am going through the same problems, only 4 things left to be checked; timing, the temperature sending unit (where is it?), temperature check with an outside source, and the water pump. I mentioned to my mechanic that the truck was running great (timing issue) and he said that it doesn't matter, it may seem to be running fine but the timing being off can be a significant factor. About the water pump, he saw the engine compartment and there were no leaks from the pump or any of the cooling components. However, he told me that one time he took a water pump out from another vehicle that looked fine from the outside and the impellers were almost gone.

 

[CruisinFJ60]

i had an old jeep that used to temp up on me real quick. it was due to an extreme case of retarded timing. the chain was loose so it would skip time. id adjust it and it would be ok then skip loose all power and get hot.

now mine was an extreme case they can run just fine and still temp up from retarded timing.

 

[gaylon]

Could it be a blockage, partial or complete, in the block cooling system somewhere? I am reaching to try and find what could cause intermittent over heating.

 

[Grady]

Just checked back in to see if any new ideas before talking to my mechanic in the morning. I'm pinning my hopes on timing and fuel mix.

Sorry if I stepped on any tails on the carb thing. No disrepect intended.

I bought this rig because I loved the way it looked and always wanted to learn to wrench (got my wish). I've done about 60% of the work by myself (and very proud of it). I have learned how to do every fix and upgrade on this site, have had a thousand questions anwered without a single post, and wouldn't have gotten to first base without the years of comments on this board. My hat is off to all of you for thousand thanks I haven't given when reading other posts and thanks in advance for jumping in when I couldn't find the answer to this one.

 

[GLTHFJ60]

BTW, in the debate of stock carb vs. aftermarket, it's worth noting that no freakin body knows how to adjust the stock carb...bought new from Cruiserdan (awesome price and service).
It is almost worth it when I see the look on their face when they first see it though.

FWIW, I rebuilt the carb on my first 60 at 16 yrs old and had it getting 14 mpg in the city.

Not trying to toot my own horn, just saying that it isn't all that hard to correctly adjust the stock unit.