To-do list for improving cooling

[Stoned Hippy]

Recently my surf has been overheating on long hills (700-3500m climbs and high ambient temperatures - up to 50 degrees) and using a bit of coolant which tbh I can't really complain about, the car isn't super human. This doesn't stop me from wanting to improve the cooling system though.

I've been wading through the forum all day and have come up with various options and I was wondering if you all could do a bit of a "cost benefit analysis" for me on the options i've come up with or any others you may have.

1) Lock the viscous fan (which i'm not 100% confident is working properly and am confused how to test having read conflicting things)
2) add vents in the bonnet
3) add a 2" body lift to improve air flow
4) add an intercooler
5) add another electric fan

I'm also planning to change as many of the pipes in the cooling system as I can after hearing people talk about them getting bunged up and corroded.

For background I re did my cracked head and replaced the water pump about a year ago.

Any advice would be appreciated,
Thanks

[biosurf]

Others with more knowledge on your list will be along in a minute but have you cleaned the rad completely so water runs easily from one side to the other over its entire surface?

does the rad have any leaks or damage?

Has the cooling system been 'burped' properly.

Is you ATF all OK and unburnt (as the ATF cools using the bottom half of the rad. If theres a problem here then it can heat the entire cooling system from the bottom of the rad upwards.

[Stoned Hippy]

Thanks for the quick reply!

The rad is new from roughtrax about a year and a half ago and visually looking it over it doesn't seem to be leaking.

I flushed out the cooling system fully a few thousand kilometers ago and am fairly confident there's no airlocks in there.

Mine's a manual so no need to worry about the ATF.

[SoundsDigital]

The ATF doesn't so much cool the bottom half of the rad as the bottom half of the rad cools the ATF. I would be inclined to check the radiator out first.

As a word of advice, it the engine starts to over heat, put the heater on hot and the fans on full. It makes the interior uncomfortable, but will cool the engine rapidly and thus save you from doing your head again.

An intercooler is not intended to cool the engine, just the air going into the air intake to make it burn better thus it will have little effect on the engine cooling, possibly even making it hotter if it increases the combustion temperature.

Could be your viscous fan. Have you checked the electric fans are actually working when it gets hot? You could wire them to stay on permanently.

[Stoned Hippy]

I know the fan trick alright and put the heaters on whenever climbing a long hill as a preventative measure.

Ok, interesting about the intercooler. I put it on the list after reading on the Aussie site how one guys 2.4l ran cooler after he added it but it could have been due to the 2" body lift or the bonnet scoop he added at the same time I guess?

I remember reading some debate about whether wiring the electric fans on permanently was a good idea or not as they burn out very quickly as they're not rated for continuous use, has the general opinion on this changed?

I also forgot to put down one more option, paint the viscous fan bright blue, I hear it works wonders!

http://www.hiluxsurf.co.uk/forums/sh...=24232&page=43

[wishbone]

My 2.4 got hot in Spain on the long climbs.

The first thing I think would improve cooling the most is a larger / better radiator. Probably need to be custom made and cost a fortune though

Second thing would be putting in a totally seperate atf cooler (doesn't apply to you) I added a 2nd one that switched in via a thermostat but kept the original one in place. I'd like to just use 1 larger seperate unit in future.

Third thing would be a bigger electric fan as my truck would bog down to 35mph on the hills and then lose airflow through the rad, compounding the problem.

I think MattF has researched cooling fans a fair bit so maybe try asking him ?

Rob.

[mj1226]

I know the fan trick alright and put the heaters on whenever climbing a long hill as a preventative measure.

Ok, interesting about the intercooler. I put it on the list after reading on the Aussie site how one guys 2.4l ran cooler after he added it but it could have been due to the 2" body lift or the bonnet scoop he added at the same time I guess?

I remember reading some debate about whether wiring the electric fans on permanently was a good idea or not as they burn out very quickly as they're not rated for continuous use, has the general opinion on this changed?

I also forgot to put down one more option, paint the viscous fan bright blue, I hear it works wonders!

http://www.hiluxsurf.co.uk/forums/sh...=24232&page=43

I like the info being shared here. And I am curious what the color and painting of the viscous fan would do for the better cooling effect?

I am not against that process at all, I'm just inquisitive by nature, I just want to understand how it works because I would like to apply it to my Surf if the theory/application is really plausible.

Also the link you shared up-top? Does not work. shows a 404not found error.

[mj1226]

Recently my surf has been overheating on long hills (700-3500m climbs and high ambient temperatures - up to 50 degrees) and using a bit of coolant which tbh I can't really complain about, the car isn't super human. This doesn't stop me from wanting to improve the cooling system though.

I've been wading through the forum all day and have come up with various options and I was wondering if you all could do a bit of a "cost benefit analysis" for me on the options i've come up with or any others you may have.

1) Lock the viscous fan (which i'm not 100% confident is working properly and am confused how to test having read conflicting things)
2) add vents in the bonnet
3) add a 2" body lift to improve air flow
4) add an intercooler
5) add another electric fan

I'm also planning to change as many of the pipes in the cooling system as I can after hearing people talk about them getting bunged up and corroded.

For background I re did my cracked head and replaced the water pump about a year ago.

Any advice would be appreciated,
Thanks

Wonderful COOLING LIST! and yes I have been scratching my head whether to have the viscous fan locked?
How did it fair for you? I hope locking it works wonders in adding more cooling.
Let me know, yeah?

I hear using a hilux 3L radiator works better for our 2.4 2LTE's also the 3L Head fits right directly to our 2LTE engine. I hear the 3L head has better and bigger water chambers in it. Correct me if I heard wrong, yeah?

I attempted to order from roughtrax but unfortunately they cannot ship internationally. tsk. I was ready to purchase some goods from them.
I have to scour in the Aussie territory probably since it's closest to where I have my surf.


In your list I like to do em on my surf too.

1) Lock the viscous fan - what conflicting things have u heard? would love to hear about em.


2) add vents in the bonnet - you mean vents on the hood? sounds good. I am still going to look for portions where I will punch those holes.
I might also punch rectangular circles up front of the hood very much like how the nissan terrano has it on.
Also some friends of mine have lifted an inch of the hood area, the area closest to the firewall/windshield wipers etc. So air would vacuum or back-flow in to the engine bay.


3) add a 2" body lift to improve air flow - really, it does? then I must do a body lift on mine then.


4) add an intercooler - i have no source for this yet. but is one of my sure projects to do on my surf.


5) add another electric fan - Definitely! great idea!


6) Add to the list: Use an aftermarket ATF cooler and not use the one inside the radiator.


7) Use the right kind of Coolant. in hot environments make sure not to use anti-freeze. For hot environments, better use anti-boil. Better yet use the OEM Toyota radiator fluid. guide from roughtrax.


--- probably the most important---
8) Good Quality Engine Oil (either mineral or synth). Synthetic Oils are great! if youre not into synthetics then when using mineral oil dont use semi synthetic. use mineral. And make sure you do regular oil change intervals.

[NiftyNev]

These engines are not air cooled you know. Just check radiator, viscous fan, water pump, thermostat are all working well. Intercooler is not a bad idea. Locking the fan will just increase load on engine and create more heat. Body lift and vents do nothing in my opinion. An extra electric fan on radiator my help a little in certain situations, like slow hill climbs.

Nev

[BUSHWHACKER]

vents do nothing in my opinion.

Nev

Really Nev??

Whats the first thing most people do after stepping into a car on a roasting hot day?

Before starting the engine and waiting for the A/C to work.

[andycook]

dont bother locking the viscous fan

I topped up the fluid in the fan clutch before my Alps trip in June/July
and I put too much in and the fan was engaging all the time and it really robbed power from the engine and acceleration was much reduced.
In Alps I removed some fluid to get it working properly again.

I also got ATF overheating, so have since cleaned the transmission filter in the autobox and will be fitting a Kenlowe auto oil cooler inline and before the radiator cooler. Many say that it is good to continue to use the in-rad cooler, as it also helps to bring the transmission fluid to correct temperature quicker from cold.

I am also fitting coolant temperature sensor and ATF oil temp sensors and gauges to monitor the temperature more accurately. using VDO senders and guages

[Bogus]

Andy, I fitted a tranny cooler, a stat , a temp transmitter and gauge and find that on normal running, that is motoring along on A roads on a normal Scottish day at normal scottish air temps my ATF is consistently below the stat opening temp. ( 60ish )That means there is sufficient cooling just from the airflow across the pan, when the transmission is in lock up and a good airflow going on, so maybe keeping it going through the rad is the right idea.

[NiftyNev]

Really Nev??

Whats the first thing most people do after stepping into a car on a roasting hot day?

Before starting the engine and waiting for the A/C to work.

They say FARK it's hot in here and get back out again. What has that got to do with engine cooling?

Nev

[mj1226]

I understand that the viscous fan or clutch fan being intentionally locked is not a very sound idea, thanks people!
And same goes for putting in too much silicone oil for the viscous fan or clutch fan which almost ends up with negative results.

with these in mind.. It got me thinking.. and been contemplating on this for some time now.

How about, removing the whole viscous fan or clutch fan AND placing a twin/large single electric-motored fan/s for cooling the radiator.

How beneficial would that be? Would it be a better idea? Would it give all the power back to the engine instead of that viscous/clutch fan robbing engine power?

[NiftyNev]

How about, removing the whole viscous fan or clutch fan AND placing a twin/large single electric-motored fan/s for cooling the radiator.

Been done before and most go back to the original viscous fan.

Nev