lower radiator hose cooler than top

[SDHNTR]

I just put in a new 22re motor and want to protect it. New water pump, new t stat, and the radiator which seemed to work fine on the old motor is about 2-3 yrs old. Th truck is not overheating, but I did notice the other day that the lower hose was cooler than the top, while at warm operating temp. I could grab the lower hose and it was luke warm. Is this indicative of a failing or clogged radiator? Or does it just mean that it is doing it's job cooling the water before it goes back into the motor?


Also, if I need to swap out the radiator, it seems pretty simple. I have a manual tranny so there is no oil cooler attached or anything similar right? Just drain it, remove the shroud, detach the top and bottom hose, remove mounting bolts and lift out right?

 

[RpzInc]

I just put in a new 22re motor and want to protect it. New water pump, new t stat, and the radiator which seemed to work fine on the old motor is about 2-3 yrs old. Th truck is not overheating, but I did notice the other day that the lower hose was cooler than the top, while at warm operating temp. I could grab the lower hose and it was luke warm. Is this indicative of a failing or clogged radiator? Or does it just mean that it is doing it's job cooling the water before it goes back into the motor?

if it has that much temp change between the two its your t-stat.

 

[SDHNTR]

Tstat is a brand new OEM from Toyota. I tested it before installation and it worked fine.

 

[RpzInc]

I had the same problem lower hose was cooler and i clipped my t-stat and it fixed all. btw my t-stat was new as well. just keep an eye on your temp gauge, as long as you dont run hot your ok.

 

[SDHNTR]

What do you mean by clipped your T stat? The problem is I don't tust this temp guage at all. Need to install a real one one of these days.

 

[RpzInc]

What do you mean by clipped your T stat? The problem is I don't tust this temp guage at all. Need to install a real one one of these days.

i felt the same way but seeing how i just rebuilt my top end i didnt want to take a chance. i clipped the two metal peices attached to the main disk. the entire spring comes off when you do this. its better than removing your tstat because the fluid will flow to fast if you remove it. its like having a stuck open tstat. now she runs just below the middle in the temp gauge. some times cooler if im driving fast. and it will never over heat with an open/clipped tstat unless something else is wrong.

 

[RpzInc]

if you clip it here is a pic

 

[Kmvreter]

if you clip it here is a pic...

Clipping it takes out the guts which defeats the whole purpose in the first place. Not a good thing, especially in anything above desert climates.

To the OP, I think your first observation is a good one. It "just mean that it is doing it's job cooling the water before it goes back into the motor" I don't see an issue. Maybe others can chime in.

 

[fourwd1]

Well yeah, if the coolant temp going into the radiator was the same as the temp of the coolant coming out of it, the rad wouldn't be doing it's job.

Hot water go into rad, cool water come out to go into engine to cool it, hot water leave engine go into rad. That's the circle.

 

[RpzInc]

i agree but the lower hose is going into the radiator. not from the radiator. and yes clipping the tstat does gut it but it also keeps the water flowing at its maximum rate with out the risk of over heating. The best solution would be another tstat. one last thing a radiator is not designed to cool the engine or water but to keep the water at a maintained safe temp. the radiator disperses heat through the air flow. one last thing he might want to do is make sure his motor is at full running temp when he checks the hoses. it could of been due to the tstat not opening because the motor might not of been at operating temp. last i will say clipping the tstat should only be done for a quick fix until you can fix the problem, in your case its the tstat its self or the water pump isnt doing its job.

 

[Kmvreter]

i agree but the lower hose is going into the radiator. not from the radiator. and yes clipping the tstat does gut it but it also keeps the water flowing at its maximum rate with out the risk of over heating. The best solution would be another tstat. one last thing a radiator is not designed to cool the engine or water but to keep the water at a maintained safe temp. the radiator disperses heat through the air flow. one last thing he might want to do is make sure his motor is at full running temp when he checks the hoses. it could of been due to the tstat not opening because the motor might not of been at operating temp. last i will say clipping the tstat should only be done for a quick fix until you can fix the problem, in your case its the tstat its self or the water pump isnt doing its job.

Not trying to flame this but I see at least 2, possibly 3 errors, with this post.
The rad is designed to cool the water, not maintain the temp, by "disperse(ing) heat through the air flow". Maintaining the temp is exactly what the thermostat does by regulating the flow. You don't always want maximum flow which means maximum cooling.
Your statement "the lower hose is going into the radiator. not from the radiator" may be right but that would be an abnormal configuration. The hose with the thermostat usually has the flow out of the engine going into the rad. Not sure about the 22re but this is usually the top hose on every vehicle I've worked on.

 

[DougieFresh]

I agree with the above posters that everything seems to be working properly as long as your temp isn't running too high. The water coming out of the rad at the bottom should be cooler than at the top where the hot water is going in.

If your temp is getting above normal and the lower rad hose is still cool, then there's something wrong.

 

[fourwd1]

The hose with the thermostat usually has the flow out of the engine going into the rad. Not sure about the 22re but this is usually the top hose on every vehicle I've worked on.

Yes, on the 22R the t-stat goes to the top hose, and the flow is into the rad.

On the 3.slo the t-stat is at the bottom, but the coolant flow is still from the top into the rad.