Ultimate Adventure 2001 Toyota Tacoma Engine Overheating

Imagine my surprise when I was told by the staff that my new company trail rig was a leftover Ultimate Adventure machine. I could barely contain myself when I heard "Toyota Tacoma" uttered in the same sentence! After all, I had seen photos and posters of the '01 Taco Supreme conquering mountains and huge rock piles. What more could a guy like me want? It's supercharged and has a 4.70:1 low-range gears, Bilstein coilovers front and rear, and a fully functional custom suspension.

Little did I know, the once proud UA vehicle has been well used-actually, beaten almost beyond recognition-and was nearly left for dead. But I love a challenge, and I know this vehicle is still fully functional, so I am taking on the job of getting it back on the trail. The first thing on the agenda is to make the battered rig run dependably. When the truck was dropped off it had a blown-out radiator, so cooling was on top of the priority list. I have a tendency to like quality components, so I gave Flex-a-lite a call and ordered up a cross-flow aluminum radiator. I've had nothing but good experiences with these radiators, and I especially like the way the radiator can be custom-mounted due to its external fins. The radiator core support and body on the old Taco weren't as sound as they used to be, so there was some fabrication in the installation of the radiator, but it was well worth it.