[FJ40Rob]

OK I thought I would come out hear to find out if any one could help me. I think my cruiser runs to hot .Today I drove it to RB and it run at 160 to 180 good right.. NO. I did'nt have a thermostat in it and I was running a electric fan but when I got to town it shot to 220 so I stoped at a buddys house and we changed the water pump and it ran a little cooler but soon ran up to 200 with out a thermostat so we put in a 195 stat and took off the electric fan and put on a clutch fan it sat at a idle 160 and then when the stat opened at 195 it idled at 197 to 200 so we drove home and it ran at 200.. I think it should run lower I'm going to put on a shroud in the morning oh I put on a new 16# cap too. What do you guys think....

[Predator]

just my experience, but if you have a 195 t stat in then once the vehicle warms up anything from 195 to maybe 205 or so would be exceptable.

[FJ40Rob]

Predator, on Jan 22 2009, 07:33 PM, said:

just my experience, but if you have a 195 t stat in then once the vehicle warms up anything from 195 to maybe 205 or so would be exceptable.

Ok but what about summer time if it runs at 200 now then summer time will be 250 no??

[FJ40Rob]

FJ40Rob, on Jan 22 2009, 07:37 PM, said:

Ok but what about summer time if it runs at 200 now then summer time will be 250 no??

So if I put in a 180 stat then it should run about 180 to 190...

[sage's son]

How are you getting the temp readings?I have a infrared laser thermometer to help pin point and watch temp readings.Want to use it?

[mwilley]

Everyone with land cruisers seems to either run a flex fan or an electric fan from a Ford Taurus. We went wheeling with RSC71 the first time and he was having heating issues with his electric fan and an aluminum radiator; he changed to a Ford Taurus electric fan and it is no longer an issue. Storm was the same way, only he had a 3 Core Radiator and a flex fan. It seemed to run really hot before, until he switched to the Ford Taurus electric fan.

The red land cruiser and the new one I am driving have flex fans and 4-core radiators; the only heating issues I have is in the summer time, and it might get up to 210 driving down the Freeway at 65mph.

[FJ40Rob]

sage's son, on Jan 22 2009, 08:01 PM, said:

How are you getting the temp readings?I have a infrared laser thermometer to help pin point and watch temp readings.Want to use it?

Thanks I have one too I thought of that too, If the shroud does'nt work I'll go to the Taurus fans, Mike your cruiser runs at 210 at 65, see I think thats to hot maybe I need to rethink my thinking....210 at 65 man thats hot I dont know. My buddy said I was thinking to much about straight line stuff... Not about street stuff 4x4 with 36's th400 trans

[mwilley]

that is 210 without an overdrive and it being over 100 degrees. I think that is pretty good. Although I think mine might run a little cooler now that it is all tuned up and everything.

[tfpets]

My opinion would be the same as predator...mine all have 195 t-stats and normally run from the 195-210 range...this is a normal reading as far as Im concerned...Mwilley and I were just discussing this issue a while ago and I think we concluded that his is 100% safe as it is, although I would feel better about his running at 210 with a 195 t-stat than a 180...that is just to far beyond the control of a 180...also with fuel injection it is more important to have a stable reading than a cooler reading...

[FJ40Rob]

tfpets, on Jan 22 2009, 09:20 PM, said:

My opinion would be the same as predator...mine all have 195 t-stats and normally run from the 195-210 range...this is a normal reading as far as Im concerned...Mwilley and I were just discussing this issue a while ago and I think we concluded that his is 100% safe as it is, although I would feel better about his running at 210 with a 195 t-stat than a 180...that is just to far beyond the control of a 180...also with fuel injection it is more important to have a stable reading than a cooler reading...

I agree a stable temp whould be great but I dont know were that is, as for the 180 t-stat I dont have one in yet I thought about putting it in to see if I could keep it cooler. that said I'm just thinking whould my idle being high say 1000 make it run hotter? I went down to 600 but it does'nt seem to want to run very well, and could too hot of a plug make it run hotter......

[tfpets]

FJ40Rob, on Jan 22 2009, 10:42 PM, said:

I agree a stable temp whould be great but I dont know were that is, as for the 180 t-stat I dont have one in yet I thought about putting it in to see if I could keep it cooler. that said I'm just thinking whould my idle being high say 1000 make it run hotter? I went down to 600 but it does'nt seem to want to run very well, and could too hot of a plug make it run hotter......

I say keep the 195 in there, make sure it doesnt go over 210, and just drive it, there is nothing wrong with 200, there is nothing wrong with 210, just drive it! If it goes over 210 you could have another issue but it is NOT the t-stat...if it is going to run hot, a cooler t-stat isnt going to help it and it could make it worse! I know it sounds weird but trust me! In your original post you said you put in the 195 and the clutch fan and it was staying at 200? Sounds to me like you fixed it...and if you put a shroud on it, it will be that much better for cooling it in the warmer weather, but dont expect it to run any cooler now! The higher idle wont make it run hotter, as a matter of fact it could help to spin the fan faster and keep it cooler...and out of curiosity, what engine are you running and what kind of fuel system? Is it EFI or carb?

[Storm]

Rob has a 5.7 and carb

I run hot going down the road at 65/70 for long periods especially uphill. The taurus fan/shroud combo helped. I need to go to a 4 core radiator. A jaunt out to Los Molinos would put me at around 210 -215. A run up to Mineral puts me at 230 peeks with pretty fast drops as I hit more level spots. That's too hot. Hence the need for a 4 core radiator. If I could keep my temp at a max 210 I'd be a happy camper.

[FJ40Rob]

Storm, on Jan 23 2009, 07:55 AM, said:

Rob has a 5.7 and carb

I run hot going down the road at 65/70 for long periods especially uphill. The taurus fan/shroud combo helped. I need to go to a 4 core radiator. A jaunt out to Los Molinos would put me at around 210 -215. A run up to Mineral puts me at 230 peeks with pretty fast drops as I hit more level spots. That's too hot. Hence the need for a 4 core radiator. If I could keep my temp at a max 210 I'd be a happy camper.

Thanks for the input guys this is what I'm looking for I know 200 is'nt bad but for some reason in my mind it is, I'm going to put the shroud on and run it. What do think about running the electric fan in front of the radiator pushing air if the shroud does't work..

[rsc71]

i would 2nd on the taurus fan.you are doing good when you are at freeway speeds and more airflo through the radiator and haveing problems when you are going slower(trail speeds and in town driveing)you would be amazed at how much air they can pull and are a perfect fit for a cruiser radiator.if you do go that route i would run heavy wire and large relays

[FJ40Rob]

rsc71, on Jan 23 2009, 08:40 AM, said:

i would 2nd on the taurus fan.you are doing good when you are at freeway speeds and more airflo through the radiator and haveing problems when you are going slower(trail speeds and in town driveing)you would be amazed at how much air they can pull and are a perfect fit for a cruiser radiator.if you do go that route i would run heavy wire and large relays

Sounds like you guys like the taurus fans I'll go get one if this doesn't work

[76 Patriot]

FJ40Rob, on Jan 22 2009, 07:49 PM, said:

So if I put in a 180 stat then it should run about 180 to 190...

This will only make your t-stat open sooner, not allowing coolant to stay in the radiator long enough to 'cool'. Eventually, when the temp of your coolant gets high enough, the t-stat will stay open and your coolant will constantly cycle through causing overheating, just like not having a t-stat. Like tfpets stated, this will only make it worse.

I had a similar problem in my Scout. I swapped in a 392 in place of the 345 and I couldn't keep it cool at lower rpms and idle. I had the stock radiator, clutch fan w/ shroud, and similar to your thinking a lower temp t-stat, and a higher pressure radiator cap. Not only would my rig run hot at idle, but the pressure in the 30 year old radiator was too high, causing leaks. The clutch fan worked fine as long as I was running around 1500 rpm and higher, but at stop lights and off road the temp would shoot up.

I changed to a higher temp t-stat, a lower pressure rad cap. This helped a little, but didn't cure the high temps at low rpm. Then I added an electric pusher fan (push or pull doesn't matter, it all depends on where you can mount it). Now, at speed with the clutch fan it runs at normal operating temp which is around 205-210 (I think; idiot gage at half way = normal operating temp). When I am in traffic or on the trail (low rpm = clutch fan not working) and the gauge starts to creep above half way, I switch on the electric fan. Problem solved.

[FJ40Rob]

76 Patriot, on Jan 23 2009, 09:26 AM, said:

This will only make your t-stat open sooner, not allowing coolant to stay in the radiator long enough to 'cool'. Eventually, when the temp of your coolant gets high enough, the t-stat will stay open and your coolant will constantly cycle through causing overheating, just like not having a t-stat. Like tfpets stated, this will only make it worse.

I had a similar problem in my Scout. I swapped in a 392 in place of the 345 and I couldn't keep it cool at lower rpms and idle. I had the stock radiator, clutch fan w/ shroud, and similar to your thinking a lower temp t-stat, and a higher pressure radiator cap. Not only would my rig run hot at idle, but the pressure in the 30 year old radiator was too high, causing leaks. The clutch fan worked fine as long as I was running around 1500 rpm and higher, but at stop lights and off road the temp would shoot up.

I changed to a higher temp t-stat, a lower pressure rad cap. This helped a little, but didn't cure the high temps at low rpm. Then I added an electric pusher fan (push or pull doesn't matter, it all depends on where you can mount it). Now, at speed with the clutch fan it runs at normal operating temp which is around 205-210 (I think; idiot gage at half way = normal operating temp). When I am in traffic or on the trail (low rpm = clutch fan not working) and the gauge starts to creep above half way, I switch on the electric fan. Problem solved.

I understand the t-stat theory now and if the shroud doesn't work I'm putting the e-fan up front pushing..

[FJ40Rob]

I drove it again today and it runs fine,So I thought I would clean the shop after 11/2 years things can get way out of hand, I'll up date you guys at the end of the week thank every one...

[Billy D.]

I wouldnt worry about anything under 220* I used to race stock cars and cooling was always an issue I would come off the track at 260* after every race and once at 280* with no damage but you can Double check your Ignition timming make sure it's not too far in retard it's better to have more advance than factory but not retard.
Also you may want to underdrive your water pump to slow the coolent flow down. Onk was having a bad over heating problem and we closed off some of the flow with a nickle size washer he still has a cooling problem but it's not as bad he also has a high flow water pump I have suguested to him to put a stocker back in.

[FJ40Rob]

Billy D., on Jan 23 2009, 09:06 PM, said:

I wouldnt worry about anything under 220* I used to race stock cars and cooling was always an issue I would come off the track at 260* after every race and once at 280* with no damage but you can Double check your Ignition timming make sure it's not too far in retard it's better to have more advance than factory but not retard.
Also you may want to underdrive your water pump to slow the coolent flow down. Onk was having a bad over heating problem and we closed off some of the flow with a nickle size washer he still has a cooling problem but it's not as bad he also has a high flow water pump I have suguested to him to put a stocker back in.

Billy good to see your still out there are you on the road now? any way Ithink the over heating problem is over I'll let every one know thur or fri...