Overheating w/ AC on in PHX

T

tomato_racing

New member
Hi Guys,

I'm relatively new to the forum and while I have searched for my topic I was hoping you might be able to shed some light on my specific problem.

2001 4Runner w/ 233,XXX on the clock.
*Last year she fell ill w/ a strawberry milkshake
*Trans was rebuilt and external trans cooler installed while bypassing the radiator. Also a new radiator was installed.
*Truck now overheats when outside temp gets above 100 degrees and I try to run the A/C.

Is there something wrong with my truck or is that just a hazard of living in Phoenix? The temp will come back down to normal if I circulate more coolant and turn on the heater. Would adding another fan on the outside of the radiator help?

Thanks,

-Justin
 
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Water pump? Thermostat? Type of coolant and how much is used? might be a couple of things to check

I was running mine today for quite a while in 98 degree heat idling for a long time at a gas station in line and also while adding R1234a to the AC and the temp stayed right where it supposed to, never got hot at all.
 
Whatever coolant Aamco put in when they did the radiator last year. I have noticed that on occassion when I check the coolant it is just a hair low in the radiator. I've added water to it twice that I can remember each time adding about the size of a bottled water.

When it overheats I can smell coolant but it goes away when I turn off the A/C. I would think if I had a pinhole leak in the headgasket or something it would overheat all the time.
 
Are you using the Yota Red Coolant? I need to do a rad flush on mine, just bought 2 jugs of the Red for $32 each. My truck is running a high of 208.8 - about 20 degrees hotter than recommended by the techs at the dealer, I have to keep my dial turned to the hot position just to be safe and it really sucks that it has been over 90 degrees the last week.
 
Is it OK on the highway but overheats in traffic or going slowly off road? If so, you want to check your fan clutch. We had a bunch go bad on here last summer.
 
TheDurk said:
Is it OK on the highway but overheats in traffic or going slowly off road? If so, you want to check your fan clutch. We had a bunch go bad on here last summer.
Click to expand...

I think I pinpointed the fan clutch today. I stopped after idleing in traffic for a minute when the truck started to get hot, low and behold the fan just squeeked and spun freely.

I also just got quoted $1100 to do the fan clutch which seems astronomically high to install a $100 part.
 
tomato_racing said:
I think I pinpointed the fan clutch today. I stopped after idleing in traffic for a minute when the truck started to get hot, low and behold the fan just squeeked and spun freely.

I also just got quoted $1100 to do the fan clutch which seems astronomically high to install a $100 part.
Click to expand...

Especially since it took me less than 30 minutes to do it myself. Here's a thread with all you need to know:

1998 3.4 Auto 4Runner, Overheating Issue, Suggestions? - Page 3 - YotaTech Forums

Does the fan roar on cold startup for several seconds? If not, FC is dead.
 
tomato_racing said:
Whatever coolant Aamco put in when they did the radiator last year. I have noticed that on occassion when I check the coolant it is just a hair low in the radiator. I've added water to it twice that I can remember each time adding about the size of a bottled water.

When it overheats I can smell coolant but it goes away when I turn off the A/C. I would think if I had a pinhole leak in the headgasket or something it would overheat all the time.
Click to expand...

A hair low in the radiator or the reservoir? You should keep enough in the reservoir so that it doesn't suck dry when the engine is cold. That way the radiator stays liquid full. Once you fix the overheating problem, add enough DI water so the reservoir is at the max mark when the engine is up to temperature. Check the level everytime you fill the tank. Once all the air is purged from the radiator it should stay at that level.
 
$1100 dollars! I wonder what the going rate is for a fan clutch change during the winter months out in PHX?
Either OEM Aisin for ~$110 or Hayden for $66 from Amazon with free shipping.
Durk's write up for this is the best IMHO so it should not take too long.
 
Every time you overheat it, you run a risk of warping/cracking the heads as well other damage. And it doesn't take a long time for damage to occur - a minute or 2 is enough, sometimes less. Short of running it dry on oil, overheating is the worst thing that can happen to an engine.

It sounds like the fan clutch is the cause, but if you've spent some time in the red you may have some issues in the future. I take it your plastic coolant overflow reservoir was empty when you topped the radiator off those couple times? So you're either loosing coolant or the system purged some serious air out. Fix the fan clutch and keep an eye on that coolant for the next several weeks. It should always stay between the L and H mark on the overflow res.
 
brian2sun said:
Every time you overheat it, you run a risk of warping/cracking the heads as well other damage. And it doesn't take a long time for damage to occur - a minute or 2 is enough, sometimes less. Short of running it dry on oil, overheating is the worst thing that can happen to an engine.

It sounds like the fan clutch is the cause, but if you've spent some time in the red you may have some issues in the future. I take it your plastic coolant overflow reservoir was empty when you topped the radiator off those couple times? So you're either loosing coolant or the system purged some serious air out. Fix the fan clutch and keep an eye on that coolant for the next several weeks. It should always stay between the L and H mark on the overflow res.
Click to expand...


No No No it's never actually overheated... I do have SOME grey matter in between my ears. When the temp starts to even hint at going over normal I kill the A/C and crank the heater to get as much coolant flowing as I can. Again it has never actually overheated. I guess a good question is: Does the stock temp sensor actually read 'slightly hot' or is it on a switch to throw the needle into the red as soon as it reads a certain temp?

Also I couldn't figure out why the quote was so high... low and behold he quoted me for a transmission clutch NOT a FAN clutch. $300 sounds better but after reading the job sounds super easy.
 
tomato_racing said:
No No No it's never actually overheated... I do have SOME grey matter in between my ears. When the temp starts to even hint at going over normal I kill the A/C and crank the heater to get as much coolant flowing as I can. Again it has never actually overheated. I guess a good question is: Does the stock temp sensor actually read 'slightly hot' or is it on a switch to throw the needle into the red as soon as it reads a certain temp?

Also I couldn't figure out why the quote was so high... low and behold he quoted me for a transmission clutch NOT a FAN clutch. $300 sounds better but after reading the job sounds super easy.
Click to expand...

Oh that's good. Reading your post it sounded like you may have got it into the red several times. You should be ok since the gauge does move slowly up to the red, not a sudden jump. You probably only got a few degrees hotter than normal op temp.

The tranny clutch makes a lot more since for that kind of $$. $300 sounds more like it. If the temp needle never got too far past normal, I wouldn't worry about it after you fix the fan. You should be ok. GL!
 
I'm down here in Tucson and I just got around to charging my ac. I usually keep it on medium and never have a problem but for some reason I never can get really ice cold air unless I hit the freeway. Anyone else have this problem. I know the temp outside plays a factor but my old 94 s10 never had a problem.
 
Same exact for me!!
And I'm also in Tucson. Decided today that an auxiliary fan and cab mounted switch is a necessity.. Especially when it was 118 street level, stop and go traffic, and temp gauge creeping into red!!
 
sonoranrunner said:
Same exact for me!!
And I'm also in Tucson. Decided today that an auxiliary fan and cab mounted switch is a necessity.. Especially when it was 118 street level, stop and go traffic, and temp gauge creeping into red!!
Click to expand...

whats the price on a setup like that? i was thinking about adding a fan but it would only be for piece of mind because my temp gauge has never gone past dead center
 
Tucson4runner said:
whats the price on a setup like that? i was thinking about adding a fan but it would only be for piece of mind because my temp gauge has never gone past dead center
Click to expand...

My temp guage never moved past center either but when I hooked up my scan guage it told another story or what the temps were really doing. I don't trust the factory guage.
 
Scan Guage II or Ultra Guage are both guages that plug into the OBD port and can provide real time data like Engine Temp and others. If you search for either of those two names you will have a few threads pop up.
 
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