Hi I have a 1990 Ford e350 RV which overheats in traffic but when just moving on freeways temp is fine. I've replaced the radiator the fan clutch and water pump and even removed the thermostat. Still issue persist. My mechanic did a test of engine block test and said no problem with head gasket leaks. I don't know if the radiator is big enough? The radiator shop said it is the same that I had which is a 4 core. Does anybody know the correct coolant capacity for these radiator? or any other suggestions to why the temp is going up on traffic only?

Ford econoline e 350 with 7.5 engine 8 cyclinder

Thanks,

 

Anybody have any ideas ?????

 

Retarded timing will cause a motor to run hotter and produce the symptoms you describe ..

 

I put 560 miles on an 89' this weekend and it ran on the "L" of normal the whole time. Is your cap releasing coolant into the overflow reservoir? Not sure about the coolant level, but it should be at least 5 gallons. With the temp sensor being on top of the manifold, the level needs to be full to get a good reading. You may have a bad sensor, or a blocked passage somewhere.

 

I just had the timing checked and everything is ok.

Did you check the real temp for "L" on your truck? My "L" shows 235 degrees and don't really know if that is safe for long drives.

To answer your question about the cap releasing coolant it does but I don't have an overflow reservoir since the RV did not come with one and it is too tight in there to put one so it just goes to the ground.

 

How are you checking the exact temp? Yes it seems a little high, but I don't know how high is too high. The one I drove was a Marine buddy's, but it held the same temp and never blew the cap and let any into the overflow. His didn't have a reservoir either, and I just assumed it was missing. He had the overflow hose leading to a 1 gallon coolant jug sitting right behind the left headlight.

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I bought a infrared temp. gun to measure the exact temperature. I was looking at a small bottle and maybe tuck it somewhere to use as an overflow but don't know if that would help.

 

had an 84 rockwood with a 460 adjusted timing got rid of the heating problems. completely off the o/h issue check your fuse box on ford rv's mine had a fuse in it for the module? yes that's right a fuse replaced it after quit running and drove home lol

 

An infrared temp gun isn't going to give you an accurate reading of the cooling water. Reference temp, yes. I would not assume it is the temp of your water, which is more important than any other place in the motor to check.

 

Put a thermostat back in it. It's a myth that removing the thermostat will make an engine cool better. If your coolant is moving fast it will keep running hot.

 

Can you tell me which part of the engine I need to point my infrared to get the correct temp?

I placed back the thermostat back when no one was responding. But still same thing

 

If you point the temp gun to the return hose it will get you closer to a realistic temp. The stock sensor is mounted atop the intake manifold in a water jacket, which according to ford, was the best place.

If you removed your thermostat and put it back in without seeing a change, you have a blockage somewhere or a bad sensor.

 

So I did put it on the return hose and temp there was 225. One thing I noticed is that the exhaust from the tail pipe is really hot . I don't know if this is normal.

 

If that thing runs a normal temp at highway speeds and gets hot in traffic, it sounds like you need to check your fan clutch. Did you do that?

 

I've already replaced the fan clutch so the only way that would happen is if the fan clutch is broken already or bad fan clutch when he replaced it. Is there a way I could test visually if it works?