Hot motor/ Help

SJC

SJC

New member
My 4runner has 210,000 miles and the stock radiator. My temp gauge reads normal but whenever I get done driving (15mins) My motor/rad is so damn hot and takes a long time to cool down. Iv been driving with the heater on and windows down for a while hoping that will help cool it down. Should I get a tranny cooler just to be safe? Any advice would be legit. Thanks

I just cleaned the TB and MAF. No CEL. Temp gauge reads just below the half line, but it has always read that.
 
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My hood is to hot to touch. When I open the hood everything is really hot. I know it is normal for the hood to be warm, but my mom drives 100+ miles all day long and when she comes home her motor/hood is not even as hot as mine after driving for 20 mins
 
Buy or borrow a Scangauge II or any portable live scanner that can read the temps from the ECM. That will give you a much better picture of what's going on. That dash gauge is pretty lame.

Your mom's car may just have better hood insulation. 4Runners don't have much, especially compared to high-end passenger cars that are designed to control engine noise.
 
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I dont know, Iv been driving 4runner for about 4 months. Havnt noticed it until a few weeks ago. Would it be a good idea to get a trans cooler?
 
SJC said:
I dont know, Iv been driving 4runner for about 4 months. Havnt noticed it until a few weeks ago. Would it be a good idea to get a trans cooler?
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Scan gauge or atleast an ultragauge would be a better idea. Ultragauge doesn't read tyranny temps but if you don't have a 99–02 neither will a scangauge. They both read coolant temps among many other things.
 
I've never found a vehicle that I won't burn my fingers on if I touch the radiator after 20-25 min of driving.
 
SJC said:
My hood is to hot to touch. When I open the hood everything is really hot. I know it is normal for the hood to be warm, but my mom drives 100+ miles all day long and when she comes home her motor/hood is not even as hot as mine after driving for 20 mins
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This actually sounds as though the thermostat may be stuck closed. I'm not sure where the temp sensor is physically located. Could also be a bad water pump for sure. See if your upper and lower rad hoses are running / feeling about the same temp. Your hood shouldn't be too hot to touch. If it isn't fixed very soon you could warp the head.

Good luck:cool:
 
JohnsD90 said:
I've never found a vehicle that I won't burn my fingers on if I touch the radiator after 20-25 min of driving.
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Its not just he rad that will burn my fingers after driving.

My friend owns his own shop, i definitely need valve cover gaskets. Got oil dripping from both sides of the motor. When I have the money to fix whats wrong he said that he will take some time and help me go through everything. I am super happy to have someone reliable and experienced to help with this thing. But right now its sitting in the garage with cardboard under it until I can fix it. Driving my sisters car to work in the meantime
 
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With the car cool / cold take off the radiator cap off. You can actually see the coolant begin to flow (move anyways) when the thermostat opens. You may even notice it suck down momentarily when the thermostat first opens. As heat rises, the upper rad hose will become much warmer much faster when the thermostat is closed .

The radiator should first be filled sufficiently to observe this phenomenon. It should only take a few minutes to test this out; way before the hood begins to get too hot anyways.

Again, good luck.
 
Your stock gauge will start rising at around 230*....so don't have a hissy fit before you start to see it rise above the normal position.


Everything under my hood always seems pretty hot, as you describe, but my coolant temps are sitting at 188* consistently.


Since no one else has mentioned it, verify that your fan clutch is in proper working order. After you get home from one of your spirited 20 minute drives, leave the sucker running, pop the hood. Grab an old magazine or newspaper and stick it into the fan blades slowly. If the fan stops easily, then you need a new fan clutch. If it takes a lot of resistance to stop you are all set in that department
 
Dous said:
Since no one else has mentioned it, verify that your fan clutch is in proper working order. After you get home from one of your spirited 20 minute drives, leave the sucker running, pop the hood. Grab an old magazine or newspaper and stick it into the fan blades slowly. If the fan stops easily, then you need a new fan clutch. If it takes a lot of resistance to stop you are all set in that department
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x2 on this.

I still recommend getting an ultragauge so you can see exactly what temp you are getting to and if you have a problem.
 
SJC said:
I am all good in that department
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Good, buy an UltraGauge, it's like 80 bucks. I waited forever before I bought one, but I wish it was the first thing I had bought. It tells you so much information that you would be ignorant of without it.

Then you can see exactly what your temps are and troubleshoot from there
 
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