Overheating help and fan clutch advice (1 Viewer)

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hammerheadfistpunch

hammerheadfistpunch

Joined
Jun 14, 2013
Threads
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Location
Sandy Utah area
So I'm overheating (shocked face!) and I need to know where to look next. I replaced a factory rad with the CSF when the factory one started leaking. Coolant is flushed with 50/50 Toyota red and doesn't appear to be leaking anywhere. New foam around the entire rad, shroud and fan in great shape.

symptoms

  • heats normally and runs 187 for the first dozen miles regardless of temps, if its even slightly warm (70's) out then it sits around 190 with no load, go up a hill and it gets to 196. I can bring down the temps to 186 if I high idle. If its hot this takes a long time. If Im on the freeway and its spring weather aim doing 198 or higher. If im towing a trailer in these temps I will easily get into the 220-230 range where Im windows down heat on.
  • The new in box blue hub fan clutch I bought seems to kick on normally
  • It seems to only happen once the truck has been up to temp for a while, i.e. I can run it hard for 10-15 minutes with no change but once its started heating up it wont easily cool or stay cool.
  • the heat coming off the trans cooler seems REALLY hot. I used my IR therm and got well above 230 on the exchanger at operating temp
  • Revs only matter a little to cooling, it seems to cool better with LOWER revs than higher. i.e. if I can get out of 3rd and into OD towing on the flats it cools way faster than leaving it in 3rd with higher revs but low loads.

It sounds to me like either an air bubble (happens at speed, doesn't cool easily, temps raise quickly, etc) a clogged radiator or some other clog. I've burped it several times and it was just flushed and refilled.

the transmission has felt a little softer and I found out recently its been overfilled for a while. I took nearly a quart out to get it to the proper fill lines (it was at the hot line when cool) but the fluid is pink and doesn't smell burnt. Is there a possibility that the in/out lines on the trans cooler on the CSF are backwards? would that matter?

whats the best way to backflush a stopped coolant passage?

Faulty T-stat?

Tell me about the blue clutch mod. Does it REALLY work that well? Also, whats the final word on fluid weight and where to get it?

Thanks, this is only going to get worse as it gets warmer and I would love to solve this now.
 
Last edited:
Yes, the blue clutch mod will help and it is simple. Theres a good Youtube video I watched then did it. I used 20K fluid but most recommend 30K if you're not in the arctic north.

Whats your water pump situation? I replaced that along with belts and my thermostat and I sit at 184-186. 190 if pulling up hills but I have 4.10 and 315 with OME heavy springs, front ARB bumper, Rear 4x4 double swing arm and roofrack with a hard top tent.

Sounds like you should address those things, sorry i can't help much with the transmission issues but I doubt thats causing your coolant temp issues.
 
whaler said:
Yes, the blue clutch mod will help and it is simple. Theres a good Youtube video I watched then did it. I used 20K fluid but most recommend 30K if you're not in the arctic north.

Whats your water pump situation? I replaced that along with belts and my thermostat and I sit at 184-186. 190 if pulling up hills but I have 4.10 and 315 with OME heavy springs, front ARB bumper, Rear 4x4 double swing arm and roofrack with a hard top tent.

Sounds like you should address those things, sorry i can't help much with the transmission issues but I doubt thats causing your coolant temp issues.
Click to expand...

Water pump was replaced about 50k ago, I don't think thats it but its on my 300,000k service list I suppose, along with a new T-stat just for kicks.
 
whaler said:
Yes, the blue clutch mod will help and it is simple. Theres a good Youtube video I watched then did it. I used 20K fluid but most recommend 30K if you're not in the arctic north.

Whats your water pump situation? I replaced that along with belts and my thermostat and I sit at 184-186. 190 if pulling up hills but I have 4.10 and 315 with OME heavy springs, front ARB bumper, Rear 4x4 double swing arm and roofrack with a hard top tent.

Sounds like you should address those things, sorry i can't help much with the transmission issues but I doubt thats causing your coolant temp issues.
Click to expand...

Where did you get your silicon fluid? I've got parts on order for water pump and t-stat but if I can source the fluid local I can start on that.
 
Air will burp automatically so its not like normal operation (with your heater valve open) wont handle that if that was to be a problem.
From your revs statement, i would say look at waterpump. Mine looked fine but was causing me to run 5 degrees or so warmer compared to a denso replacement. Besides that Im no pro, so others will likely give you better information.
 
You can get the silicon fluid at most local hobby stores...its rear diff fluid for remote cars, weird I know but same stuff
 
whaler said:
Amazon but any hobby store has it. Its used in RC car diffs.
Click to expand...
oh shoot, I bet my brother has tons of the stuff. I should ask. Didn't realize it was the same stuff. WEEKEND PROJECT AWAY!
 
fluid...

make sure and get the correct amount in and weight for the style of hub you have..and temps for your area..

005.JPG
 
make sure and research...I dont have a blue hub...they all differ a bit..
 
Put heavier weight in. 20k. I think they come with like 6k thick oil?
 
^x2
To the OP. Your symptoms sound very similar to mine. I replaced my radiator and did the blue fan clutch. Initially, the results were...meh. I bumped my fluid up to 20K. It helped but did not cure the problem. Bumped it up to 30K and am satisfied with the results.

Good luck!
 
I would check rubber hoses for firmness, they can get sucked in at high revolutions and reduce flow.

Thermostat is always a possibility, TBH I would change that and the main hoses as a matter of course and go from there.

Does your heater work really well, I know you mentioned it but how hot does it get? Its a good way to confirm your water pump is up to snuff.

No automatic expert, but doubt having the cooler lines swapped would make any difference.

A head that is 'lifting' under load, may be dumping excess heat into the coolant, sniff test?

That all for the moment.

Regards

Dave
 
Dave 2000 said:
I would check rubber hoses for firmness, they can get sucked in at high revolutions and reduce flow.

Thermostat is always a possibility, TBH I would change that and the main hoses as a matter of course and go from there.

Does your heater work really well, I know you mentioned it but how hot does it get? Its a good way to confirm your water pump is up to snuff.

No automatic expert, but doubt having the cooler lines swapped would make any difference.

A head that is 'lifting' under load, may be dumping excess heat into the coolant, sniff test?

That all for the moment.

Regards

Dave
Click to expand...

Heater works great, all hoses are fresh. no bad smells from the head (hg done at 236k, 300k now)
 
Modding the clutch is most certainly worth it and dont waste your time with anything less than 20k fluid. Good luck!
 
UPDATE and BUMP
So I did a comprehensive flush (drain, fill with distilled, run, drain, fill with cooling system cleaner and distilled, ran, drained, filled with distilled, run, drain, removed t-stat and back-flushed the system with compressed air)

Then I put in a new OE water pump and T-stat and filled with 50/50 Toyota red.

Still getting hot but its performing better. it cools down a little quicker than before but I still got up to 196 just driving around town in 95 degree heat. No loads, no hills, just driving around.

I think I've come to the conclusion that the CSF 2517 radiator just can't reject the heat fast enough at my elevation. Either the design doesn't permit enough airflow, the area isn't large enough for the all brass design or a combination of the two. I bought some silicon fluid to fan clutch mod, I guess I'll try that next because its cheaper than a new OE radiator. I reached out to CSF but I am guessing I'm going to get a whole bunch of nothing from them. Really annoying.
 
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