80 series engine temp?

Hi Jeff, I have one in my 80 HD-FT with camper & all the extra weight but it only reaches 82 c in the wost situations.

I would suggest you have other problems. I have fitted a bigger 3 core radiator , new thermostat & waterpump which was not worn out though.

Then there is the possibility of a lazy fan clutch - check out Frank's post on 80's Offroad.com for exact details.

BTW under which stud or nut have you placed the sensor wire?

Cheers John

Jeff
I also run a watchdog on an 80LC 1HZ no turbo. I've fitted the sensor to the housing where the top rad. hose goes into the head as I think this would be the hottest point of the engine. The thermostat housing is on the bottom hose on this engine as you will be aware. I've set the temp at 95 degrees and it has only gone off once, that was towing the camper over the Toowoomba range on a very hot day. You can easily tell by watching the gauge if the thermo fan hub is working ok. Mine will usually get up to about 90 degrees and then drop to about 78 after the fan has cut in before slowly creeping up again. If the thermo fan is ok I would remove the radiator and get it professionally cleaned out they do become partially blocked over time.
Regards Jon

No point comparing factory temp. gauges to actual temps. as they have an inbuilt "dead" spot from somewhere like 50deg c to 90 odd deg c.This is inbuilt to keep owners happy.It can be made to work to show real time temps. and you will find the mod on LCOOL.
We run a watch dog on our 1HZ(DTS turbo and I/C), the hottest we have ever got it up to was 93deg c, towing our camper up a real steep, slow hill in 40 deg c heat.Normally it runs around 70-80 deg c.I have our watchdog set at 90deg c.
What was the outside temp?

Thanks all, looks like I definitely have some cooling issues :( Time to spend some more money!

Gday Jeff,
My daughter has the same vehicle (97 model) as yours with the probe from the Engine Watchdog in the same position as yours. She also had times when it read over 100 degrees. So we went through the cooling system and this is what we found:
- Thermostat removed and tested - it was opening at 81 degrees, (supposed to open at 76 degrees) and it would fully open at 95degrees (supposed to be 90). Replaced it with a new genuine thermostat (only $30).
- Radiator top tank removed and rodded - it was 60% blocked, and plastic top tank replaced because it had discoloured.
- grass, seeds and other garbage was removed from lower 1/3rd of radiator fins
- viscous fan removed, disassembled and found to have correct amount of viscous fluid.
- All new hoses and belts and a new genuine water pump ($180) while we were there. New genuine red coolant.

The temp readings are now always between 76 and 82 degrees. When pushed really hard it can get up to about 92 before the thermostat opens a bit further and it comes down.

At the very least, your thermostat needs replacing, if your temps are reading 85-90.

Cheers
Phil

Things to look at are.

External blockages to your rad, and ac condensor, and between them can house alot of leaves etc that can block the rad.
No large spotties or other things blocking the air flow?

Is the fan shroud fitted correctly, no leaks between the shroud and the rad core.
Is the viscous hub working correctly on the fan?

If your on the open road, and it heats up at speed, this is usually signs of internal blockages in the rad core itself if the rest of the system is in good condition.

With presurised cooling systems, you can go over 100 C and up to the rated temp/ pressure on the cap.
If it was regularly over 100, with little load, and at highway speeds, I would be looking at getting the core rodded, and a flush if the other things are ok.

Trains

Ps, I did this mod to my hilux gauge and it was well worth it.

http://www.toyotasurf.asn.au/techsite/tempgauge.htm

Link to the lcool cruiser mod at the bottom of page.
or here
http://forum.ih8mud.com/showthread.php?t=64252