Deuce overheating help.

[taylordc15]

Let me start this by saying that I have no experience with big trucks and very little mechanical experience. That being said I have spent days reading through old posts and following the steps in the TM's.

I bought my truck in New Orleans from a private seller and drove it to Corpus Christi with no issues, shortly after getting here it overheated. I flushed the system and in the process discovered that the thermostat had been removed. Flushing did not help the problem so I put a new radiator in, installed a new thermostat and installed a coolant filter. The truck still overheats, the upper and lower radiator hoses have been replaced, I tried swapping water pumps but it is still running way too hot. Is there anything I am missing or should try?
thanks.

 

[Massm35a2]

What are the symptoms? These trucks usually run on the cold side. 180 or so, Maybe the Gauge or sender is bad and giving you false info.

 

[gimpyrobb]

NEW radiator or a different one? Any radiator I put in a truck I have hot tanked and ultra sounded. If you have a new radiator, I would think it would have to be the water pump.

 

[taylordc15]

It is a new radiator, the pump was a takeoff.
The first time it overheated, it really overheated, I was leaking fluid/steam. everywhere, everytime since I have based it on the gauge going up above 200.

 

[Racky]

I agree with massm35a2 and gimpyrobb. Does steam come out of radiator cap?
If not get a meat thermometer and stick it in the radiator fill to check against gauge in truck or you could use a laser thermometer and check the thermostat housing, engine block etc.


Racky

 

[gimpyrobb]

Yup, get a thermometer on the coolant.

 

[taylordc15]

No steam from the cap, I have been pulling over and shutting down when it gets to around 220. Ill start looking for a thermometer.

thanks for the suggestions.

 

[vtach]

How quickly does it start to over heat from when you first start it? Is the radiator hot too? Sounds like the coolant is not circulating. The coolant filter is set up as a bypass only? They can get really plugged up the first time.
Is there any funny smoke or smell coming from the stack i.e. burning coolant? We need a little more onfo to help you.

 

[poppop]

Are you sure you got the thermostat in correctly?? They can be installed upside down or can in most applications. I have also heard of new thermostats being bad. If you pull it back out you could check it in boiling water to see if it is opening at the correct temperture.

 

[cranetruck]

If it overheated with the t-stat removed, I would go along with the above post suggesting that the water pump is bad.......

 

[taylordc15]

The thermostat is in it now and I could have put it in wrong but I had the same problem before I put it in. The coolant filter is set up as a bypass, I copied it from a thread on here, I think it was cranetrucks, but I got a filter and will go ahead and change it. Is there a way to test the water pump? I keep throwing parts at it and don't want to buy another one unless that really is the problem.
I ordered a laser thermometer so Ill check to see if the gauge is bad when I get it in.

I have not been able to find anyone to work on the truck so this forum has been invaluable. I installed the radiator because all the shops I got quotes from wanted almost as much to repair the old one as the new one cost. I just spent the weekend putting new wheel cylinders on the front, the truck place I took it too quoted me $1500 and wanted me to provide the parts, took me 2hrs to do it. If they can really charge $750 an hour for labor maybe I need to start training as a truck mechanic. I also pulled my hardtop and put a soft top on and installed the gunring, that took all weekend, I have a couple of friends that won't answer the phone when I call for a while, holding that ring overhead while trying to get everything to lineup was no fun.

 

[poppop]

Bjorn, I was thinking since he put in a new Radator and changed the water pump maybe he fixed the problem but created another one by installing the thermostst wrong.

 

[drgreg]

Is your filter piping below the coolant level? You may want to get the filter out of the system until you isolate the problem.

 

[YankeeDuece]

How much fluid do you loose when it overheats? Have you checked the oil?

 

[taylordc15]

Westfolk-Not the fan or belts, everything is turning with no slipping. No coolant in the oil, no bubbling in the radiator

Vtach- The gauge gets over 200 in about 10 min of driving at full throttle.
no unusual smoke or funny smell from the stack.

Yankee deuce - it has not boiled over since I put the new radiator in and replaced the hoses, when I say it is overheating I mean the temp gauge is showing it running hot.

Just ran it again and the radiator is not getting hot which would lead me to believe I got a bad water pump, is there anyway to test it and be sure?

 

[poppop]

You should be able to take the top radiator hose off and it should gush water when running. Take it loose at the tank and raise it up so water does not run out. It will have to be at operating temperture or the thermostat will have it blocked. Then again, if the thermostat is in backwards it will always be blocked. Did you change each componant one at a time and still had the problem or do them all at once??

 

[poppop]

My 98 Chevy K30 Dually does the same thing. Reads 240 on the guage and the check guages light comes on. I have stoped by the Radiator shop three times and they put a thermometer in the radiator. Each time it read 180 degrees, so either the sender is bad or the guage.

 

[BEASTMASTER]

if coolant is disappearing sounds like a cracked head to me?

 

[kc5mzd]

I have an infrared thermometer I use to check mine. I got it at Pep Boys for around $15.00 on sale. The top tank will usually read around 180. The bottom tank will read around 120 or less. The cooling fins almost always seem cold. I have a oil pressure gauge that will sometimes read 120 psi. I flip the on/off switch a couple of times and it starts working correctly again. I would recommend waiting till your laser thermometer comes in before turning more wrenches.
Having said that, I have seen old head bolts that "stretch" and will allow the head to lift under load. The head gasket will be fine and there will not be any combustion gasses in the water at idle / no load. The head will "lift" while under heavy load and make the engine overheat. The driver will swear the truck runs hot or over heats and the mechanic will swear the truck runs fine and does not overheat.

 

[randyscycle]

If the radiator isn't getting hot and the gauge says the temp is around 200, you have one of a couple issues:

The thermostat is not opening. I don't think it will physically fit backward because the spring end won't fit into the seal.

The coolant isn't circulating. Even if the pump isn't turning though, the thermostat would eventually open by convection and the radiator top tank should get hot.

There is a blockage in the system somewhere. Rust is a known issue in the multifuel cooling system.

I vote for a real thermometer in the system as well to see what the temp truly is before going any further. When the truck actually did overheat, it may have overcooked the temperature sender rendering it inaccurate.