Junior Member
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Join Date: Mar 2019
Posts: 1
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Junior Member
Join Date: Mar 2019
Posts: 1
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1997 Toyota 4runner overheating
I am new to this forum and I recently got a 1997 Toyota 4runner Limited, it had 219 000 km about a month ago when I picked it up. It now has about 220 200 km. It has the 3.4 v6 4x4, the rear diff lock option, automatic transmission. I was very surprised when first seeing it because it's in great shape. As far as I know, it has always been a local vehicle. We don't use salt on the roads and the frame still has paint on it. No rust. The vehicle was located an 8 hour drive away, so I flew there and drove the vehicle back and it was great. It had a brand new inspection slip so I did not worry about it. According to the previous owner it has recently had a new battery, genuine Toyota spark plugs, pcv valve, new front and rear shocks. The 4x4 still works great as far as I can tell. Everything was great, until the other day when it started having it's first issue:
I had been driving around town for maybe a half hour. The temperature gauge has always stayed around the halfway mark, usually a little under. As I came to the red light, I noticed the temperature gauge started to climb so I immedately pulled over and shut the vehicle off as I was terrified of doing damage to the engine. I waited a while for it to cool down, and was able to drive it home less than 1 km away. This is the first time it has happened since I owned it. I figured if it was going to overheat, it would have overheated on that 8 hour drive. I thought maybe the thermostat had failed. So I ordered a genuine Toyota thermostat and gasket, replaced it last night, drained the coolant and replaced it with new. I started the vehicle, let it come up to normal operating temperature and after about 15 minutes, the temperature began to climb again. I was wondering if maybe the fan clutch is not working properly. When the vehicle is cold and shut off, if I try to spin the fan it will move maybe an inch. It feels like there is quite a bit of tension. After the vehicle started to overheat again (with a new thermostat) I shut it off and I tried to spin the fan. This time it was spinning very freely and actually spin around a few times before it stopped. Is this normal? When I start my vehicle, I can see and hear my fan come on. It sounds like a big 'whoosh' and seems to get quieter after about 40 seconds. I ordered a new fan clutch from Amazon, I believe it is the same one Toyota uses, as well as a new radiator cap from the dealership. I am not really familiar with the vehicle as I have only had it for about a month but it seems when I start it up the fan is quite loud. I am not sure how loud they are suppose to be. I don't think the waterpump failed because it doesn't appear to be leaking. Could the water pump fail without leaking? If the clutch fan doesn't fix the problem, I think I will just order a new radiator. I should also mention that while replacing the thermostat I noticed there is no tensioner for the A/C so currently it has 2 belts. I did not try the A/C to see if it works because it's been cold, but I assume with those parts removed that it doesn't. Would this have anything to do with it overheating? I would also like to mention that I did notice this 4runner seems to come to normal operating temperature pretty fast, even when it was not overheating. I don't know if this is normal for these. Where I live, if it sits outside in -20 Celcius all night and I start it, it will probably come to operating temperature after about 5 minutes. Compared to my 2012 VW CC, which I could let warm up for a half hour and the temperature gauge would have barely moved until I start driving it around. I should also mention there are no coolant leaks or loss in the 4runner, the radiator hoses are both hot when the vehicle is running which I assume is normal (means that the coolant is circulating?) Could the radiator just be old? It doesn't appear to be new and could even be the original. I will also add that when I started it cold the day I replaced the thermostat the vehicle seemed to be misfiring for about 40 seconds or so and then went away. No check engine light, no codes. I don't really think it could be the head gasket as it doesn't have any typical symptoms.
Any info would be appreciated. Thanks!
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