OK, so I have a question. What is the operating temp for these vehicles, not what we would like to see or that high temps kill these engines.But what were they meant to run from the factory. Not trying to be rude. My temp on highway is 188.6-194.0, in city it's 195.8-199.4, and idle is 201.2-212.0, which is the highest it went to today with ambient temp being 86. The A/C was on the coldest setting with the fan on the highest setting. The temps didn't start to go above 204.8, until I was idling for 20 minutes, then it slowly started going up to 212.0. This is all referenced from my scan tool. Is this something I should be concerned with? I plan on towing my double axle trailer with my four-wheelers this weekend.

 

I would be concerned at those temps. I believe they were designed to run in the 195-205 area, but 212 is getting a little scary if you're going to add a load.

I've towed a lot of double axle trailers, including with a couple of 4 wheelers on occasion. Your temps will rise a little and would push you into what is generally considered an uncomfortable temperature.

 

If you are in a time crunch, flush and fill your system with green coolant. I recommend changing the thermostat to a 180*F one, however you will have a hard time finding one by tomorrow. I guarantee you that your temps will come down with a coolant flush. Mine came down about 6*C which is quite a bit.

 

I have a genuine 180*F thermostat, new pressure cap, new radiator, new hoses, new fan clutch, new water pump, basically entire new cooling system, less than 5,000 miles old. Would air in system make me run so hot at only idle? wouldn't it run hot all the time?

 

It is possible that there is air in your system. I would try adding coolant in the reservoir about a half inch past the seam. Open the bleeder valve until there is a steady stream of coolant coming out of it. If that diesn't work, add the same amount of coolant and deive it around. This will force air into the reservoir.

 

The original design had the temp as high as 220F, which was to burn off excess combustibles for cleaner emissions.

With the OEM 180 stat you should be about 10 degrees cooler than you say you are now.

Disco Cam's advice is good but do that with the vehicle stone cold. Also lift the reservoir out of its holder carefully above the level of the bleeder hole in the T.

An alternate to this method, also stone cold is to add coolant directly into the bleeder screw with a small funnel until it is filled.

A small amount of air will indeed cause these temps.

 

Thanks for the replies guys, will try bleeding tomorrow, and see what happens. Will let you guys know.

 

OK, So I bled the system, idles at 195.8-201.2 After idling for about an hour, with the a/c on, the temps went up to 212.0. Any idea what it could be? Highway and city temps are perfectly fine. It's only idling where it runs hot. doesn't that point to a fan? But I recently changed my fan clutch to hayden 2991 within the past month.

 

Is your electric condenser fan running the entire time your AC is on??

 

I'm not sure, I do know that when the temps hit 212.0, I came out to see if the fan was running and it was. I don't know what to do.