My 2005 KJ Limited has developed a weird intermittent overheating problem. The temp gauge usually sits smack in the middle no matter what, but over the last month or so, roughly once a week it'll start to climb after a period spent idling or moving slowly in traffic if you have the AC on. You know it's about to happen because the AC suddenly starts blowing warm air.
Turn the AC off and it goes away, and it'll then be fine for another week or so - you can have the AC on full while idling for long periods and the air stays cool and the gauge will stay rock-solid in the middle. And then one day it'll happen again.
Water pump, belt tensioner and belt are all less than a year old. Coolant level is normal, nothing's leaking anywhere.
Could it possibly be the AC pulley or clutch starting to clam up and causing some kind of drag (and thus extra heat) in the system? Or could it be the tensioner or belt? I had to pull away up a small hill earlier today, and I think I might have heard the belt slipping when I hit the gas. Would a loose or slipping belt be consistent with the AC going warm at the same time as the coolant starts to heat up?
Turn the AC off and it goes away, and it'll then be fine for another week or so - you can have the AC on full while idling for long periods and the air stays cool and the gauge will stay rock-solid in the middle. And then one day it'll happen again.
Water pump, belt tensioner and belt are all less than a year old. Coolant level is normal, nothing's leaking anywhere.
Could it possibly be the AC pulley or clutch starting to clam up and causing some kind of drag (and thus extra heat) in the system? Or could it be the tensioner or belt? I had to pull away up a small hill earlier today, and I think I might have heard the belt slipping when I hit the gas. Would a loose or slipping belt be consistent with the AC going warm at the same time as the coolant starts to heat up?