Overheating

[Hawkdog21]

So long story short, I went wheeling this weekend, and at the very end of the trip i decided to dip into a rather large mud hole just for kicks, it was a mistake. (I remember why i hate mud)

The mud was super thick and sloppy, and it got pressed up into the front of my truck and covered up the radiator pretty good. I was worried then about overheating and sure enough it happened. On the highway it ran just alittle hot, but around time it only takes like 20 mins for the needle to go all the way up to H. I washed off the radiator with a hose pretty good not long after I went wheeling, and got prob 80% of the mud off. My question would be is there anything else besides maybe washing the radiator again that I should look at as to why my brand new truck is overheating so easily?

The fan does work just fine btw.

ALso, when it gets warm the AC no longer works...

 

[Okki]

If the mud was that thick, you could have broken or dislodged something... are all the probes still where they should be? any hoses pushed lose/out of place? lose connectors?

Not much of an answer, but hopefully it helps a bit.

Okki

 

[B'klyn_Mike]

Wash...wash...wash....and rewash again with a power washer, not just a hose! Make sure you get ALL of the mud out from the radiator/trans cooler area! And when you think you've got it clean, wash it again! This is a common malady on the FJ forum and some of those guys really knock the crap out of their vehicles. You may also want to check the pulleys because they're prone to problems after a good muddying up as well!

Mike:artist2:

 

[Fuzzylogic]

Here's the deal...The radiator rejects the heat from the engine to the atmosphere. If it is loaded with mud, it can't reject the heat. Air conditioners in homes and office buildings have the same issue. That's why you have to clean condenser and evaporator coils...to allow the heat to be rejected.

Radiators are simply heat exchangers. If they are clogged with mud/debris, their heat rejection efficiency is reduced. It is not a design flaw. It's simply a matter of thermodynamics. If the radiator cannot reject the heat because it is clogged, it returns the heat to the engine.

If you go mud bogging...make sure you have provisions to clean the radiator (I.e. Some source of clean water). Whether it's a Jeep, Ford, Chevy, Dodge or any other vehicle, this rule applies.

 

[USMC_4runner]

If you haven't done the scuba MOD on the rear diff breather, you might want to check out the rear diff fluid, depending on how thick the mud was. I took my last 4runner through some mud and ended up with water/mudd in the rear diff, front diff and transfer case (i should have slowed down a little...) as well as ruining some belts/pulleys under the hood. Haven't been in any deep mud since.....

 

[mgrande]

thick mud will overheat an engine fast. Thats why you'll see boggers running multiple fans and radiators along with mud shields to prevent the stuff from getting in the engine bay.

 

[2010TE4Runner]

Did you clear all the mud out of that vent on the front of the skid plate? Stupid place for a vent, but I am sure its there for a reason.

 

[harper7]

Hawkdog, the AC condensor sits in front of the radiator and mud and sh*t can get caught between them that you can't even see. If it continues after washing it out from the front and back you may have to take the radiator out to really clean it which is pretty easy on these. Nothing harder on an engine then overheating.

Watch you don't use too high a pressure wash as I've seen people bend the crap out of the cooling fins using home pressure washers .They are pretty delicate and that only compounded the problem.

I was in some pretty deep mud holes in Arizona but my temp always remained stable so it could be something else too. The outside temp was 106F so I was watching. I have a water temp gage and it never went over 190F,which is about the midway on the oem gage.Hard to find a place that's not coated with mud underneath my truck.