Heating question

[Broken_down?]

when I drive to chico about 30 miles from my house my trucks runs between 190 and 200 deg on the highway running 60-65 mph when it is hot outside. On the stock gauge it is half way between cold and hot. And pulling big hills like mountain type it gets over half way, maybe 220 to hottest 250. any higher then 250 I shut her down. I am not pulling anything. know i know you guys are pulling campers/trailers/other pickups etc.. and I never hear about you guy heating up. round town the truck hits 160 deg max. how can I cool it down running highways and hills? are you guys using huge radiators?

Rich

[Longhorn Man]

250 is starting to get up there, I would start with a good flush and new t-stat with a 180 degree rating, then see what happens.

[Broken_down?]

what do I use to flush the system with? anh how?

Rich

[grayw0lf]

IMO, don't bother with the "flush" kits. Here is my personal favorite that has worked for me several times w/ cars severly overheating.

Drain your radiator. Run waterfrom your faucet & rinse out your radiator.
Fill your radiator, run your engine for a few minutes to circulate water.
Repeat above steps.
Put in a bottle of heavy duty radiator cleaner (Not flush).
Drive 150 miles or so.
Repeat the whole process. This will typically help out even the scaliest raidators/cooling systems.

Should you run a little hot, slow down to 55, roll down teh windows, & turn on your heater to full blast, full fan.

[walker]

I agree, clean it out, refill it with good coolant plus a bottle of that water wetter stuff. Check you belt tension. Put in a new t-stat. Also, check you timing, as I recall too much advance can cause higher temps. You may want to verify your guage reading as well, just use a meat thermometer in the coolant filler, and run it till it gets hot. Heck, since you have the cooling system down just install a new sending unit, they are only a few bucks.

[neonlarry]

While your at it put on a new radiator cap.

[Truck Hippy]

Also, I have to say don't trust the original gauge. I have had bad oil pressure, gas, speedo, and temp gauges before. Not all in the same truck thank goodness. Wes.

[cdowns]

are you running a far schroud? you should be !!

[Broken_down?]

thx for info. Will try the new TS/Rad Cap and a good flushing.. lol what kinda shroud you mean?

Rich

[grayw0lf]

I believe that cdowns is referrring to a fan shroud. They help more than you might think to force the fan to pull air through the radiator & not just from around the front of the engine.

John O>.

[Stocker]

Great advice in all above posts. What kind of fan are you using? Years ago when my clutch fan failed, I tried a flex fan and the truck overheated, similar to your description. Went back to a clutch fan and no more problems, and this with a stock 2-core radiator.

One more thing - get an overflow tank if you don't already have one. Aside from not dumping coolant on the ground, your system will always be full, so it can cool better. And you'll need a cap designed for a closed system.

[kwmech]

If possible pull the block plugs, [the threaded ones] on the side when you flush, this will get most of the scale and crap inside the block, then replace them with brass so they will come out easier later.