Troubleshooting overheating on long tow
 

Hello,

I think I may have a bad fan clutch. I took my truck back to the dealer to checkout because 3 weeks after i bought it 2001 130k v10 F250 the warning light came on for the water temperature while towing.

It had been fine on 2 trips to the exact same location but this day was 85 and high humidity the highest its been (and it will get up much higher this summer)

It only happens on climbs of maybe 4 or 5 minutes and then after the peak it immediately starts to cool back down. It only hit the warning light once but still spikes up to right below the red line on the temp.

So i took it back to dealer they said it was fine and could not duplicate (obvious as they were not towing on a hot day) My load is currently 5k and this truck will need up to 8500 in the near future.

This week I towed it and it got right up to before the red line again but it was cooler and about 75 low humidity.

The truck works fine when not towing and never comes off its mid temp reading. I looked over the radiator and ran a hose through it from inside out looks pretty clean and not loaded up with junk....

someone told me to get it up to temp and shut engine off to see if fan still spins after ending off its may go a couple spins but it does not go on for a ton of revolutions maybe 3 or 4 at most.

I did see a bit of dirt collecting in the fan as it looks when oil gets dirty but not a ton sort of a tiny dusting...

i also dont hear this "roar" when the engine starts up, not sure my truck is suppose to have that "roar" when starting up with the fan cluch....

any thoughts on this this one? replace fan clutch? I have a 3k 3 month warranty on it yet but dealer seems they need a code or real issue...aside from burning it up and driving it there...not much they can do i guess....

dealer pressure tested said no loss, i did my own look around not bubbles out expansion tank or bubbles in the oil, no visible leaks

thank you for any info....

How "loose" is the fan clutch when the motor is cold? Are you able to freely spin it with little to no resistance? If so, that is generally a real good indication of a bad fan clutch. Another area to check, is the condition of your serpentine belt. It can start slipping on high loads if it is worn out.
I had a truck a few years ago, that the fan clutch was bad. On flat ground, with my camper, it was fine, soon as you went uphill, under load, it would start to overheat. Mine was so bad, that, with the engine warmed up, and running, you could grab the fan, and hold it while the engine was running. Should not be able to do that. Once I replaced the fan clutch, it was fine.

Fan Clutch or...
 

Thank you, you can spin it but not freely if you push it maybe it goes an extra 3 or 4 inches then stops its not like you can spin it and it keeps going so there is a bit of tension on it.

I never hear the fan in its "roar" mode so not sure if that is anything. You can take the blades of the fan and muscle it a bit back and forth and it will click a bit ...aka some mild play not on the plastic but the solid metal part you an see it move a tic....

I spoke with the dealer today they are leaning toward head gasket because it happens up hill under load and never at idle or standing still....although many truck owners I talk to say fan clutch....

I would highly doubt the head gaskets Typically when they fail you get water/oil mixing, or loss of coolant out the tailpipe,. When it overheats, then cools off, is the coolant level still reasonably close to where it was before?
Also, you stated there is a bit of dirt collecting in the fan. I am wondering if this is a loss of the viscous fluid in the clutch, collecting on the fan, and collecting dirt.
Although I don't know if the V-10 clutch is any different than previous fords I have owned, I would honestly say at this point if the coolant is not going out the tailpipe, or mixing with the oil, that it could be a marginal fan clutch. And for the price of that versus head gaskets, would replace the clutch to be safe if nothing else.

...
 

It hasn't lost much coolant since Ive been keeping a close eye on it...the first time i had to put a decent amount of coolant in it...but i got it from the dealer two weeks prior and "assumed" all levels were correct..but after I had to add to it I went over the rest of the levels...found low power steering level, very dirty air cleaner, and a leak in the front axle cover,and the exhaust leaned up agains the spare tire....I usually pickup salvage cars and go over everything but this was a first from a dealer (and a ford) so i thought everything would be taken care of as i got from a dealer and their 100 point check or whatever....any way...here we are...

I did check the oil no visible signs, same with coolant, there is some water that drips out the tail pipe on initial start up but i hear that is common and in 5 min its gone....I race stock cars so I have had my fair share of head gaskets, cracked heads, blocks ect so I'm just not sure how they would diagnose a head gasket without a leak down or compression test and how its only showing up under load on a hot day up a hill if head gasket seems like a pin hole to me....i also can do a block test to test the fumes from the coolant...havent gone there yet...the truck is under warranty and the dealer said the head gasket would be covered....I have some photos of my clutch fan best I could do with it on...

I just want this thing working...

Thank you for any help or guidance....



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Sounds like you are taking the right path. I am still leaning towards a possible bad fan clutch. However, if the dealer is really willing to replace the head gaskets, and do the job right, by all means, have them do it. Then, if it still overheats, they can do the fan clutch also. However, all the symptoms you are stating, are the exact same ones I had with a bad fan clutch on a few different vehicles.

Well over a decade old with 130k+ on the clock. I would replace the water pump, coolant and thermostat. Inspect the pulleys(slop), accessories and fan/clutch. Your water pump could be bad shape, erosion from caviation, broken or corroded impeller and etc. Some people neglect coolant changes and with a used vehicle you never know what are going to get. With a vehicle of this age it is to be expected. I know I threw $900+ just in parts at my 04' thus far this year, plus the $300 on synthetic ATF for the trans.

I would also get something better to monitor the coolant temp. A separate temp gauge and sender is best but a Scangauge II which plugs into the OBDII port will do fine. The stock gauge is not anything to use to get a good indication where the coolant temp is at.

Pulled Trigger..
 

Ive had my eye on the Scangauge II, so I pulled the trigger on it today. I agree on the rest of the items I was hoping to get through the summer till the fall to do those items but maybe not.

On the coolant some told me about a flush kit and a garden hose, ever use?

You should like the Scangauge II. I have mine mounted above the rear view mirror on my truck with a mount called the Blendmount. There is an "X gauge" feature where you enter the x gauge codes into the scangauge to monitor more vehicle functions.

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I made a flushing doojigger out of an old coolant tank cap, a hose fitting and some epoxy. Take the plastic nut out on the radiator drain, turn the hose on full, start the truck up with the heater on full and let flush with water for a while. This will flush the radiator, block and heater core. A piece of cardboard helps to keep the water from spraying into the engine compartment.

MOV00826.mp4 Video by SDV10 | Photobucket

Your truck probably came with the green coolant in it. After the flush I would run the Ford Premium Gold coolant. It is under $20 a gallon at the Ford dealership and lasts a long time.

I have to change the water pump on my dads 03' next month before he goes on a long trip. He changed the belt on the truck last year and noticed some play in the bearing of the water pump. His truck has 120k miles on it so it is probably due. I figure I'll pick up a new AC Delco from Rock Auto.

Next Steps
 

Ill continue to update on this one maybe it helps someone down the line:

I got the parts in the mail today, fan clutch (main plan), thermostat, coolant cap (secondary cheap why not replace items), and the scan gauge II to keep on top of everything.

At first glance the fan clutch is much more stiff than what i have on the truck.

So tonight I had a friend over and showed him the new clutch vs what was on the truck and i went one step further to show him a bit of a rock in the fan, not completely noticeable but a tic is there.

So i did it when it was cold and realized it didnt click/rock as much or evean at all...but when i started up the truck the "roar" happened for the first time....i think i may have tweaked something to get it going (i also had put some penetrating oil in the front of the clutch for the past few days saw a youtube video on fixing them) in any case that was short lived but gave me hope i was on the right track because i finally heard the fan roar not doubt a roar...i then noticed a squeaking sound not a belt but something suspicions from the fan area...

Ill be changing out the fan clutch tomorrow....will see. :-drink

7racecar7- Sounds like you are on the right track with the replacement parts and scangauge. Not sure which brand on the thermostat, coolant cap and fan clutch you went with but I recommend motorcraft. Its all warrantied for 2 years, purchasable at most autoparts stores and made by Ford. Some have had issues with off brands.

Yes all motorcraft

Strike 1
 

Well Strike one on the fan clutch replacement I ordered a OEM YB-3082 and the bolt holes are way smaller than whats on the truck. I did find smaller bolts I believe they were metric 5MM may have been 7MM but they were small to the point the lock washer was just barely bigger than the holes in the fan.

so in the mean time i was also attempting to do this with my old one, I found this clip on youtube


I ended up sending the fan clutch back because the setup with the smaller bolts and the fan were sketchy....not sure where to go from here maybe order the fan and clutch together.

So I put the other one back after i followed that you tube method and when i started it up ROAR....yep the fan kicked in like an airplane...but then when off in about 2 min.

so im going to see what it does tomorrow if it ROARs again maybe its fixed but I still want to replace the fan clutch after taking the existing one off the resistance was about the same but i need something reliable...

I also got the ScanGuage II so far its great amazing how low gas milage you get when you juice it up more than it needs, i like the temp so far without towing its at 185-195

YB3082 is listed for trucks with A/C. The YB3025 is for trucks without A/C. Why the bolt size would different is beyond me. However you sometimes run across odd stuff that does not come up on the parts counter computer.

Interesting, I have never noticed the roar either. I wonder is this normal on a cold start up? I have not had any overheat issues, but, have never taken the trailer over any big hills yet. Now I am getting concerned.