Nearly cooked it... Now what?

[-Nemesis-]

Ok, so i mucked around putting my 16" thermo on the inside of the radiator in order to reinstall the A/C condensor (1UZFE in a 1994 Toyota 4Runner)

I flipped the blades, but not knowing you had to reverse the polarity, my first drive at speed got the motor very hot. It almost touched the red on my factory temp guage.

That problems solved, but now i'm just wondering about side effects. Everything seems fine, but i'm wondering what effect it would have had on things like oil etc? And whether I should replace it? I'm running Havoline Full Synthetic oil in it.



Another thing. With it set up as is now, loading up the motor really well the temperature stays controlled, but it does rise a little. Has anyone got any ideas on keeping it just that little bit cooler (note - testing it today it's almost 40 deg C outside)

It's pretty tight, but I had a few ideas. Like the little thermo thats on the outside of the A/C compressor... Can you make that so it's always on? Or add another little thermo on the otherside blowing in.....?

 

[Cobber]

A full synthetic (PAO) motor oil will be only mildly affected by temperatures of upto around 120 deg c.

Be carfull with the branding of synthetic oils.
Group 4 hydatreated mineral oils are leagaly allowed to be classed as synthetic, or synthetic fortified or synthetic technology.
True designer synthetics are derived from a gas, ethelene in the case of PAO (poly alfal olifin) base stocks.

You pay more for these and get what you pay for.

Smell it, if it smells burnt change it.

I don't think you would have cooked the oil without distroying the engine.

 

[Zuffen]

The red sector on the factory gauge is well below the point where you will damage the engine.

The factory sets it lower so "Fred average" does something when it gets into the red but the engine is still fine.

The biggest problem of overheating an engine is how you cool it back down. You need to cool it slowly usually by driving slowly with good airflow. Don't stop and hose it down.

The solution to the overheating gremlin lies in the amount of water in the cooling system You simply need more water to cool the engine.

If you think about it the 1UZ is about twice the capacity of the original engine so it stands to reason it will need a larger radiator to cool it.

I think a larger radiator would solve most of your problem.

 

[-Nemesis-]

Actually it's only 1000cc bigger than the original V6

But yeah, bigger would be better. However funds don't permit just yet. With the other setup on the outside the temp never budged.

I lowered the switch for the thermo etc last night so we'll see how it goes. I towed a fully loaded trailer (read 2 tonnes) up Lapstone hill last night, the temp needle only moved a fraction once I was up the top already, was suprised. Having said that the ambient temperature was quite cool last night compared to lately....