2006 Sequoia - 150k miles - Over Heating Issue

Been dealing with this problem for a month or so now. Here is a little background. Radiator was replaced about 15-20k miles or so ago. Waterpump was replaced about 10k miles ago. Thermostat and fan clutch were both replaced in the last month. Still having the same issue. I live in Texas and the summers are hot. I feel like this issue reared its head right before it got cool last fall/winter. But then it went away and I didn't even think anything of it. Once it started warming up this year (and I relied on the AC to cool down the cabin), it surfaced again. I can drive around for a little while and the thermostat reads right in the middle where it should be. But then it will slowly heat up to the point where I have to turn off the AC and blast the heat to regulate the engine temp. I have tried only turning off the AC and not switching temp to heat and it does very little to help. But once the heat is on full blast, it usually backs it off quite a bit and will eventually settle back down to the middle on the engine thermostat. I have spoken to several people and have a couple of ideas but I would rather not keep spending money on repairs that don't solve the problem. So, one idea was that it could be the condenser. Another is that it could be a head gasket. Pressures were all good last time it was checked (fan clutch replacement). Any thoughts on the 2 options would be great. Any new ideas would be most appreciated as well. Thank you!

 

This same thing happened on my wife’s 07 sequoia. We didn’t get us lucky and lost the head gasket. Up to that point we had done a full coolant flush, new water pump, thermostat, radiator, upper and lower hoses. Man I’d get a compression test done ASAP just for piece of mind.

*hers had 227k on the clock. All work was done inside of 5,000 miles when we bought it

 

Thanks. How much was that head gasket repair?

 

I know you got a new radiator- but how about the cap? I would pressure the cap, pressure test the radiator, and do a check for hydrocarbons in the coolant.

If that is all good I would be looking at coolant sensor. This is all inexpensive, can be a diy, and should be the minimum done before head gasket repairs are even contemplated.

 

Dumb question, is there a fan shroud on your new radiator?

 

X2 on compression test

 

Not dumb.

Also, is the lower shroud in place? On the 4wd Tundra there is a lower shroud which Goofy Mechanic didn’t put back on after my Timing Belt in 2014. Makes a big difference in air pull across the Radiator. The little foam sealer strip at the top of Radiator helps seal the Engine Heat from recirculating back to the front of Radiator, as well.

 

The skid plate? shroud is one piece as I recall.

 

You mentioned the fan clutch, but is the fan actually kicking on?

 

That’s a good thought. Maybe they didn’t plug something back in when they were doing the work.

 

Not the skid plate, the shroud that surrounds the fan. It's plastic and it wraps around the fan on the back of the radiator. Without it, the fan is useless.

 

shroud is one piece, I was guessing what was being called a lower shroud.........

 

Shroud is 2 pieces on mine, upper and lower. Held together with clips.

 

Wow trip my 2000 is one

 

Correct. I lost a clip while driving which put the shroud into the fan and it made a hell of a noise. For some reason, I knew instantly it had to be that. The dealer has them in their ‘junk box’ so I got them for free.

There is a really cheap and easy way to test if you have a blown head gasket. I worked
at a shop and this kit was so handy. It made us a ton of money but also saved a lot of engines. We had a 4.0L 4Runner that had a weird misfire on one cylinder. It had been to multiple and no one figure it out. This told us exactly what it was in five minutes, blown head gasket.
Block Tester BT-500 Combustion Leak Test Kit - Made in USA

$38 Block Tester BT-500 Head Gasket Combustion Leak Test Kit - Made in USA

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B06VVBSFTF/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_glt_fabc_WBKC6ZAFP7D5ARC52FRZ

 

Check to see if your cats are plugged up.

 

Thanks guys for the response here. Really appreciate it. I put some pics below. Radiator cap is new as of last month. Last pressure test was done with this cap in place. I believe there might be a coolant leak somewhere as there is an ashy residue building up around on the side where the coolant overflow reservoir is. Wouldn’t that show on a pressure test though? I wiped those areas down a month or so ago and the residue is back. Thoughts?

 

What brand of water pump did they use? To me, looks like your water pump is leaking and hitting the fan, thus throwing coolant everywhere.

 

Are you losing or using water/coolant? How does the exhaust look? White smoke is often an indicator of a blown head gasket. If not that, it sounds like either the radiator isn't effective enough (fan, clutch, etc.) or you don't have enough water flow (pump, thermostat, etc.). You could have a restriction somewhere in the coolant loop, including inside the engine block.

 

Not sure the brand but I don't have any coolant leaking in the driveway or street when I park so it's hard to tell exactly where its coming from.

 

I will check the coolant level from a cold start to verify the level. I have not put new coolant in there since this all started happening. I thought at first it was the coolant as the reservoir was not at "full" but I had checked it after driving. I put coolant in not knowing and when I checked it the next morning, while the engine was cool, I was overfilled.

 

Lower fan shroud is not attached.

 

Nailed it

 

Appreciate it. Would that cause the symptoms I am having? My mechanic friend (who is not a Toyota specialist) said we should fix that but that is likely not causing my issue. I certainly hope he is wrong.

 

Not saying that is the root cause of your issue. But all the little things add up to a properly working system.

 

Yeah. Two Piece with Bottom Missing.