An overheating diesel engine is the last thing any Toyota diesel owner wants to experience. Not only does it mean your engine is working much harder than it should be, but it can also lead to more serious problems down the track if left untreated.
In this blog post, we’ll discuss the top three reasons why a diesel engine might overheat, as well as some common signs that your engine might be in trouble. We’ll also take a look at what happens to your Toyota’s engine when it overheats and what you can do to prevent this from happening. Keep reading to protect your engine!
#1: Your Engine Can Overheat from Coolant Leaks or Faulty Parts
One of the most common reasons for an overheating engine is a coolant leak. A coolant leak can come from a number of places, but most often it’s due to a faulty radiator cap or water pump. If you notice that your coolant level is low or that there’s coolant leaking from your engine, it’s important to get it checked out as soon as possible.
Faulty parts can also lead to an overheating engine. Worn-out hoses, clogged radiators, and thermostats that are stuck open are all examples of parts that can cause your engine to overheat. If you notice any of these issues, be sure to have them fixed as soon as possible by a qualified mechanic.
Read More: 5 Common Myths About Diesel Engines, Busted!
#2: Your Engine Can Overheat from a Lack of Airflow
Another common cause of an overheating engine is a lack of airflow. This can be due to a number of things, but the most common culprit is a dirty or clogged air filter. A dirty air filter restricts the amount of air that can flow into your engine, which in turn makes your engine work harder and causes it to overheat.
If you suspect that your engine is overheating due to a lack of airflow, the first thing you should do is check your air filter. You should also make sure that there’s nothing blocking the path of airflow to your radiator, such as leaves or debris. If your air filter is clean and there’s nothing blocking the path of airflow to your radiator, you might need to replace your radiator fan. A faulty radiator fan can also cause your engine to overheat by preventing proper airflow.
Replacing a faulty radiator fan is a fairly simple process, but it’s best to leave it to a qualified mechanic if you’re not confident in doing it yourself.
Toyota’s Air Boxes are Known to be Vulnerable to ‘Dusting’
If you often drive your diesel off-road, it’s important to be extra vigilant about checking your air filter. This is because Toyota’s airboxes are known to be vulnerable to what’s called “dusting.” Dusting is when dirt and dust build up on the surface of your air filter, restricting airflow, often causing dangerous particles to enter the engine, and causing your engine to overheat.
When conducting performance upgrades on Toyota diesels like Land Cruisers or HiLuxs, we always opt to retain the factory-fitted filter. This is because servicing aftermarket filters can be tricky, and not doing a thorough job means a risk to your engine.
Read More: Advantages of Aftermarket Airboxes for Toyota Diesels
#03: Poorly Implemented ECU Remaps Can Cause Overheating
One of the biggest issues the Just Autos team has encountered that cause poor engine performance and engine overheating is a poorly or incorrectly remapped ECU. As the ‘brain’ of your engine, your ECU (engine control unit) should be remapped with proper care and consideration for the other existing components – whether they are factory standard or aftermarket – in order to see improvement and to ensure your engine functions properly and healthily after the remap is complete.
As Australia’s top Toyota diesel ECU remapping specialists, we know that there are a lot of misconceptions about what ECU remapping is and what it is for – and especially about what it can accomplish. Many diesel owners will use slave tuners who go about tuning their ECU like a bull in a china shop: their goal is to achieve a certain power output figure and very little consideration is given to the car’s use or to what the owner should think about before having a remap done. This includes the existing setup and additional performance components being added to your vehicle. As a result, we tend to fix and retune the ECUs of a number of Toyotas that have been tuned elsewhere, incorrectly.
Read More: 5 Common Myths About ECU Remapping, Busted!
We ensure that any customer that wants to bring their Toyota into our workshop is not only completely transparent about their vehicle use and performance goals but is also made aware of what is achievable through ECU remapping; how the tuning process can or will work with their current setup. Our team aims to ensure that all components added or tuning solutions carried out can meet their requirements and expectations without reducing the reliability or health of their engine.
Look After Your Engine and it Will Look After You!
The Just Autos team is a big advocate of a healthy diesel engine. We aim to ensure the satisfaction of every customer and client that walks through our workshop doors, but before we can help you tap into the true power potential lying under your Toyota’s hood, it’s vital that you ensure your engine is operating well and healthily.
Contact the friendly team at Just Autos to find out more about maximising the power that your Toyota diesel outlays, and be sure to check out other helpful blogs on proper diesel engine maintenance and care.
