Hello fellow Mudders, a couple of weeks back I was ascending Stevens Pass (interstate mountain pass) and as I approached the top of the climb, I noticed the coolant temp starting to move from the middle, where it had always been, closer to the red. The FZJ80 had been up this pass and others earlier that month without any issues whatsoever. As I reached the top and started the descent, I kept my eye on it and watched it return the spot right below 50%, where it normally stays. The next day returning, the same thing happened; I paid close attention to it made sure it didn’t get close to the red and watched it return to normal on the descent. I spoke with my local Land Cruiser experts who flushed the system a few months back and they thought this could be a bad fan clutch or a thermostat issue. I decided to purchase both OEM parts before a upcoming trip this weekend but was only able to install the fan clutch. Going across the pass the coolant temp started to rise again just like last time—so much in fact that I decided to pull over at the top and left her running to cool down. This basically happened on most major climbs for the rest of the trip. Turning the heater on full blast seemed to help, but this wasn’t preferable due to it being 90+ degrees outside, and the trail was extremely dusty, so keeping the windows down was difficult. The temp sits fine when idling, when in traffic, and when on the regular highways; it only gets hot while climbing. Do you think this could be a T-Stat issue?
Vehicle Info 96 FZJ80 206000 miles
Head gasket done 40k miles ago
Coolant flush done a few months ago Toyota Red Coolant
New fan clutch and radiator cap installed before my trip this weekend
35 inch tires
Any help would be greatly appreciated, I’m just trying to stay cool.
Vehicle Info 96 FZJ80 206000 miles
Head gasket done 40k miles ago
Coolant flush done a few months ago Toyota Red Coolant
New fan clutch and radiator cap installed before my trip this weekend
35 inch tires
Any help would be greatly appreciated, I’m just trying to stay cool.