I would like you to take a journey with me and offer your opinions as to what you think could be the problem based on symptoms observed. Think of it as a word problem on crack. Please read, vote and offer your comments. I will then post what I've since found out.
Observation - noticed the rig would begin getting hot sitting in the TX heat, AC on blast while in stop and go traffic or while parked someplace. On a couple of occasions I shut her off to cool down as it was apparent overheating would occur in short order unless I did so. I also noticed that turning off the AC made a considerable difference in whether or not the rig would start to overheat.
In preparation for an elk hunting trip to CO I made a few changes in an attempt to cross off the overheating worry from the trip list.
New Parts: KoyoRad, DexCool fluid, 170 degree thermostat, temp probe / fan relay / temp adjustable harness and SPAL electric fan in place of the factory fan and shroud. I also installed a Satoshi modified grill I had been working on at the same time.
Trip happenings:
Drove from TX to KS (to pickup my Dad), then drove from KS to Denver with no problems. Pulling into the REI parking garage I could hear a very slight pinhole in the radiator. Observed occasional drips in the middle the radiator underneath the electric fan. Found a nearby shop to replace the radiator that evening before closing (on Friday). Once the newly old KoyoRad was out it became apparent the fan mounting pads failed and the center hub of the fan rubbed a hole in the cooling fins thus causing the leak.
This is where things got interesting...
New replacement rad in, new green coolant (that he swears was Toyota compatible), and supposedly some new tranny coolant (he also swears is compatible with the brand new Dexron VI I just had put in during a full tranny service 3 days before). He admitted letting 2-3 quarts run out because he didn't cap the hoses while replacing the rad. As he's buttoning everything up, I was in the office paying for the service performed. Once done I walk around the corner and observe him hooking up the electric fan relay and I see him arc the ground and notice the truck was running.
Nothing seems to be hurt as a result, fuses look good, shop closes and I roll out finally headed to the mountains.
I notice the truck getting hot as I'm leaving Denver and starting to make the first long pull up the mountain towards the pass.
The truck is fine on flat ground, slight hills or going downhill but gets hot when pulling up a medium to steep grade. I pull over and it becomes apparent the electric fan is not coming on despite hot coolant temps. I had extra relay fuses with me but replacing the blown fuse did not cause the fan to work. Some shade tree mechanic analysis at the crappiest Conoco station I've ever encountered confirmed the fan itself was fine and still functional but the relay and adjustable fan harness were both fried.
I wired the fan directly, bypassing the relay, so that I could get the truck to someplace for additional parts. With my MacGyver skills exercised the fan was back in working order but required stopping every hour or so to shut the fan off and give it a break since electric fans are not made to run continuously. Babied the truck and got out to Glenwood Springs for a white water rafting trip on Saturday since it was already scheduled and non-refundable.
Head back into Denver (Sat evening) for the best chance at parts and/or a shop to help figure out what's up. I finally located a new harness and relay, after trying 6 different parts stores along the way, and rewired the whole fan (in the parking lot) to ensure no lingering problems could exist. Fan was back in normal working order.
Took off again for the mountains and experienced the exact same overheating problem while trying to pull the long climb over the pass.
Back to the O'Reilly's parking lot for additional troubleshooting. Walked through each component to sort out what could be causing the truck to overheat. Ran the truck w/o a thermostat, flushed and replaced rad fluid, burped burped and burped again...etc. Nothing seems to be helping. The truck runs nice and cool sitting in a hot parking lot with the AC on blast but it overheats under load when pulling a steep grade.
No dice on getting her fixed so I finally checked the rig into a Toyota Specialist on Tuesday.
Play the part of the specialist and vote/comment on what you think could be causing the problem.
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'99 Millennium Silver Metallic T4R Limited Auto 4-Speed
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