hilux surf 2.4 where do i go from here !!

[unclefewst]

HI all, have a 2.4 LN130 1993 surf, on two occasions now whilst returning with caravan the vehicle has overheated, which required stopping for about an hour and topping up the coolling system and then carrying on with the journey got safely home no problems

here is the sympton, and here is what i have done

the whole water system has been flushed, the rad taken off and chemically/electronically cleaned at a firm in norwich, the water pump removed and checked it is fine, the viscous fan removed and a small tube of toyota viscous oil added, sniffer test has been done with read cap off , no hydrocarbons showing all hoses ok, heater in vehicle nice and hot, as is the back one to the rear seats, radiator cap and stat both changed toyota fluid (red only ) added, it doesnt happen all the while, but it tends to when i am towing, i have to check the fluid everyday, i am not losing any, it is ending up in the overflow bottle, so i just syphon it back manually with a pipe, the pipe that goes to the bottom of the overflow tank is clear no obstructions the vehicle has no loss of power, also i had a transmission radiator fitted in line to the bottom of the radiator, after stripping out the air conditioning unit to help with keeping the transmission cooler the surf is great for towing, i was thinking of getting a one car does all, but after an incident the other day at work where a caravan blew over and the mondeo was left 3ft off the ground i have decided against it,

i am going to run it some more, and then check the levels and more importantly where the anti freeze is ending up

any idea's guys,

i love it to bits and dont want to get rid of it
it tows my shed on wheels brilliantly so much so i got a speeding ticket towing the caravan
lol

[Bogus]

If the head has not gone yet, it will if you keep overheating it. Id suggest that you fit a transmission cooler. This should help with temps while towing the tin snail.

[unclefewst]

re transmission cooler

yep got one of them bought it from the USA done away with the aircondiition unit, it sits nicely in where the air conditioning unit was and is all plumbed in but thanks for the advice

[Bogus]

yep got one of them bought it from the USA done away with the aircondiition unit, it sits nicely in where the air conditioning unit was and is all plumbed in but thanks for the advice

Oops, thats what I get for speed reading

[wishbone]

If it's expanding into the overflow tank but not siphoning back when cold I'd suspect the radiator cap. Try fitting a new Toyota one.

[imapetrolhead]

i had similar on my old hilux, i put a new cap on and still had the problem untill i bought a genuine toyota cap, which cured it right away

[NiftyNev]

Check bottom of housing where cap seals.

Nev

[Spoggle]

You sure that the rad is ok? I had the same sort of problem when towing with my 2.4. ATF cooler fitted first and that helped a lot then I fitted a new rad and had no probs at all since. Having just said that I'm off to the lakes in about an hour, so perhaps I should have kept my gob shut it's pretty warm out there today

Spoggle

[big tom]

new cap mended mine too , the new one is a blue print one i think



the old , new one was leaking from the rivet at the top , also not syphoning back...... bottom seal like nev said .....

[Bazza52]

Hi, assuming that you can find no fault with the truck and that it's ok solo, what size tin shed and what terrain are you towing over. There is a reason for asking this, we all jump into our auto's with the blind faith that it will change gear as it should, however the manufacturer designs his software to suit average operating conditions (parameters), is it possible you are staying only just within these, e.g. at 55mph on Mway conditions and solo a Surf is doing 2450rpm (example), towing on same road you're doing 50mph at 2300 rpm, still within the parameters but the engine is beginning to labour, under these conditions exhaust gas temps (egt) would climb quickly over a short period causing high coolant temps. Try towing with the O/D out under certain conditions, keep rpm mid range and see what happens, better spend more on fuel than new head.

[unclefewst]

well it's finally happened !

hi all despite spending a fortune on a new radiator thermostat genuine rad cap and vast quantities of toyota red, its finally happened, though all along it was a water problem did all the sniffer checks, no loss of power, nothing in the water, and yesterday on our second trip away towing the caravan got some 6 miles from home, gauge went into the red, steam, had to limp home (did that safely, caravan re storred,) though i think the 2.4 ln130 with lots of new extras is buggered, so i shall be putting it on the forum for sale site, must be lots of bits people want, nothwithstanding just bough a recon motor for tailgate window as well, i despair, cannot mess with it any longer will have to buy something else