What do you do when your truck starts to overheat and begins to stall a bit when starting?

-confirm you have the right thermostat.....probably 182 degree (should change it every 2 years)
-check coolant level
-check coolant mix with portable tester
-check that your fan(s) run when you hit temp.

You should not be overheating....unless....are you towing anything ?

I never had that problem with my Tundra. How old is the truck and like the previous person posted, have you changed your thermostate in the last few years? Also, are you driving in the mountains? I know some people had trouble with driving mountains and not checking their gears during the summer, but I've never had that trouble.

Yup, check thermostat. THat is the number one cause of overheated engines, and it is cheap and simple to change.

Don't forget your radiator cap, if it is leaking you will overheat. Might just have to get a new and better radiator cap.

Yup, the radiator cap is such a simple solution, and I've had it happen! I felt stupid later when I'd taken the car to a mechanic to see what was wrong lol.

With my last car I had to change the thermostat every couple of years. It would just quit working. I wasn't overheating, thankfully.

I hadn't though of the radiator cap either. So simple and quick....

Have you flushed out the coolant system and replaced the coolant? Might also check to make sure the radiator has no debries on the front of it. I don't think the fan would be an issue since you are moving at 55mph which should cause enough air movement to keep the engine cool. Check the water pump too it might be going out or the belt is slipping causing the water to not be moved fast enough through the system. Other than that you might have a bad radiator cap thats not holding the pressure causing the boiling point of the coolant to lower. Your thermostat shouldn't be the problem as the car temp goes back down when you start going down a hill. Now your A/T temp light coming on is something different. Have you ever had the tranny flushed. That would be a good thing to do as the tranny fluid breakes down. Seems to me that the torque converter is having excess slippage causing the fluid to heat up. Especailly since you say it hapens in low gear while off roading. Also you could add a tranny cooler to help it out, but that shouldn't be necessary. Let us know how it goes. Ryan

Swap in a 5mge and you will be fine. Cheep and easy. Sean Rauch 85 Supra 5M (7M soon) Cone Filter, Exhaust, Cold Air Scoop 86 4Runner Stock (for now that is) Winnipeg, Canada

Thanks for the input guys. Not sure what it could be. I got a new water pump about 10-15k ago, and they flushed the radiator when they did that. The fluid in there is topped off and a nice green. Looks clean. I also had the tranny flushed about 15-20k ago. But in fact, the radiator has been weird. I overheated about 2 years ago in the desert and it turns out I was really low on coolant, so I took it to the local garage and he said I had a leak in the radiator. Not really trusting them, I took it to a radiator guy and he said the radiator didn't need replacing - but my water pump was bad, and that's when I had that repalced. Since then, I don't really seem to be losing coolant. Maybe a touch here and there. There isn't much of a telltale sign that there is leaking, but a little discoloration near the top of the radiator. Maybe the pressure is causing my problem, but no one says I need a new radiator. Quoting Dr. Hibbard, "it's got me buffaloed." What do you mean "Swap in a 5mge and you will be fine."? Thanks, Mark

Mark, Did you try turning on the heater, to add extra cooling, when the temp started to rise? If so, did it have much effect? Ed

I did not. I have used that trick in the past when thermostats have gone on me. But I knew this was incline-related (and I was going up and down, so it only gave me sporatic trouble). I think I just need to crawl in my engine and poke around. I have a feeling my radiator is at the root of this. Thanks.

Could be airlock in the system. Was the problem there before head- gasket renewal and head skimmed, or after?

are you losing any coolant? is your oil level ok? sounds like it could be a dodgy water pump or your thermostat is sticking, is the hot air coming up as quickly as usual?

Could be airlock in the system. Was the problem there before head- gasket renewal and head skimmed, or after?

are you losing any coolant? is your oil level ok? sounds like it could be a dodgy water pump or your thermostat is sticking, is the hot air coming up as quickly as usual?