4agze temperature issues

[Dimmy]

The missus told me today that while stuck in traffic her temp. gauge was sitting about 5mm below 'H'. Understandably it was a stinker today, but I was wanting to know what is the best way to bring down temps on such hot days?

The car is a 4agze with SC14 with no ABV so it does heat up fairly quickly, and there is no bonnet scoop on the car. I did a coolant change not long ago with Nulon concentrate and kept whatever thermostat was in there.

I would like to put some sort of 'measures' in place before we hit summer - would a wiring in a 2nd fan work has anyone done it? Are there thermostat's that open sooner (86C rings a bell for the current one). Any other ideas?

Thanks in advance

[MR22ZZ]

you and Vito should sit down together...

[trdee]

I lol'd

Try pulling the plug off of the thermo switch so that the fans stay always on, see if it makes a difference.

After that, things start getting harder...... much harder

[Dimmy]

The thermo fans work well and the temperature is stable on your normal 25C days even in traffic. But today with 30+C and stuck in traffic it didn't seem to do the car any good. As soon as she started getting through traffic the temp came down...same thing happens on my ae82 so I gave her some pointers to avoid start/stop drivng in 1st but leave a large enough gap to shift into 2nd or even 3rd and get the airflow going.

What have you tried Vito?

[X kyle X]

Do the dodgey and drive round with the heater on full

[Hen]

Afraid I can't help with remedies, but rest assured it takes alot of heat to damage a 4AGZE. I drifted mine well into the red zone of the temp guage (110+ deg according to the ECU) far too many times (when I got carried away) and the thing didn't show any ill effects after 3 years.

Hen

[trdee]

The thermo fans work well and the temperature is stable on your normal 25C days even in traffic. But today with 30+C and stuck in traffic it didn't seem to do the car any good. As soon as she started getting through traffic the temp came down...same thing happens on my ae82 so I gave her some pointers to avoid start/stop drivng in 1st but leave a large enough gap to shift into 2nd or even 3rd and get the airflow going.

What have you tried Vito?

recoed radiator, drilled out thermostat, flushed and bled coolant too many times to remember, heater on full all the time, thermos on all the time. if all of that doesnt fix it... then you have serious issues.

[Dimmy]

wow...you really have tried alot I don't think it's having "issues" as such since EVERY single 4ac, 4age, 4agze i have ever driven has heated up if stuck in traffic on a hot day, but I don't want her to get stuck somewhere some time just because the car overheats

I can imagine running the heater on a 35C day haha. As i said, on 25C or so days even in traffic it doesn't have a problem. Coolant is fresh, thermostat is good and no radiator issues that I am aware of.

[pandaah]

tried using a radiator cap over 1.1bar and a bigger more efficient set of thermo fans that come with a temperature controller....

also id recommend installing a water temperature gauge on the inside of the car so you can gauge it accurately instead of saying hmm its 5mm off red lol

[trdee]

oh i forgot to mention testing the thermatic switch in hot water, as well as testing the thermostat in hot water. done them too.

if you dont mind being a bit dodgy, drill three little holes in the thermostat, and see if the car still overheats. the holes mean you always have some coolant flowing through the radiator before the car gets hot enough for the thermo to open up. it is dodgy though as it means the car takes heaps long to warm up especially on cold days, which is not good. but for troubleshooting it can be useful to find the bottleneck in your cooling system.

you should then replace the thermostat for a non-drilled one once you have finished troubleshooting

[pandaah]

and if that IS your problem vito wants to buy that thermostat off your for his car LOL =P

you could always try looking around for a lower temperature thermostat?

[trdee]

test and then drill the thermo first to see if it helps. if it isnt buggered, and the extra holes help, get a lower temp thermo. if it doesnt help, a lower temp thermo aint gonna do much for you is it.

and shaddup

[30psi 4agte]

You dont have a partially blocked radiator do you?
It can be fine on cooler days and show no signs of a problem but when the temp gets up there on hotter days issues can arise with the system unable to cope.

Might be worth a look in...... have seen it many times before

Unfortunatley..... the only way to tell is to take the radiator to a specialist to check it. just looking down into the fins wont tell you shit.

[trdee]

One of my many problems was a partially blocked radiator Car is still being gay though

As I said Dimmy, after you do the simple shit with the fans and the thermostat it gets harder.... next step would be the radiator as 30psi4agte said

edit; heres a checklist I prepared earlier

Coolant leaks/Airlocks
Check the thermostat housing for leaks (I've had 2 brand new o-rings fail) Check heater hoses and radiator hoses etc. Bleed coolant

Dead water pump
Check coolant is flowing, check waterpump isnt leaking from the drip hole

Thermostat not working properly
Check thermostat operation according to BGB

Thermofans not working properly
Check thermatic switch for resistance according to BGB

Timing retarded
Check with timing light. (dont really need to, unless you can tell by seat of pants that it doesnt feel right, then check timing)

Blocked radiator
Check heat of hoses in/out of radiator. Pull it out and take it to a radiator shop. Flush block and lines.

BHG
You are now fucked

[Dimmy]

hmmm...thanks for the input guys. I know there are no leaks, the water pump is working well and so is the thermostat. I may have to get the radiator checked, because I'm not 100% sure on that one.

Has anyone every put in a 2nd 4age style fan and spliced the connection into the existing fan for power? Tight arse way of having "better fan" cooling, but it will tell me if I can fix the issue that way

[senn]

if every 4a you've had heats up on a hot day, i would suggest you have only ever driven tired and poorly maintained 4a's. I've had a couple now, and neither has had a dummy spit, except when the thermostat jammed shut, but that is easily fixed by gutting it, and making it into a restrictor plate.

[Dimmy]

My current one was rebuilt and since I've had it from new it has done 43000km over ~3years and has done it. People that know me know I'm religious about maintaining engines well so it's not as though I service them every 20k km and never change coolant. I've done it every 10k km just for coolant and every 4-5000 for oil etc. It is better with the thermo fan now working, but if I'm stuck for 20-30min in gridlock it does get up there.

I've even been giving my gf shit for not covering the car up at night with the $100 waterproof car cover i got her. I don't think she likes me very much

[MR22ZZ]

have you thought about a larger radiator Dimmy? I'm not sure how much room you have to play with though, I didn't get a good look at it at Toyotafest

[Cuzzo]

Im banking on a blocked or frucked radiator.

Get a new one or go bigger / better?

After that try a larger thermo fan or two.

Interwarmer shouldnt matter because ur not flogging it in traffic.

[IAN20V]

dimmy new radiators are only just over $200 from tim mate, i'd just grab one if u dont know of its condition, they can look the goods but be fuxored on the inside, throw a new thermostat in too theyre cheap enough, u have all the symptoms of vitoitis