Bad Thermostat? Bad Mechanical Temp Gage?
Thread Starter
|
Senior User
Joined: Oct 2009
Posts: 210
Likes: 0
From: Springfield
Bad Thermostat? Bad Mechanical Temp Gage?
So I have a mechanical temperature gauge in my truck and yesterday it stopped working...
I popped my radiator cap and let the motor run for a good 20-25 minutes, looked down into the radiator and it didn't appear to be circulating the water. Also the upper radiator hose was hot, but it didn't feel like there was any water in it. I did not check the bottom hose.
I did check both heater hoses and they were hot to the touch.
I'm planning on testing the water temp sensor to make sure that's working correctly. In the event that it is functioning, could I be looking at a thermostat issue? water pump possibly?
I popped my radiator cap and let the motor run for a good 20-25 minutes, looked down into the radiator and it didn't appear to be circulating the water. Also the upper radiator hose was hot, but it didn't feel like there was any water in it. I did not check the bottom hose.
I did check both heater hoses and they were hot to the touch.
I'm planning on testing the water temp sensor to make sure that's working correctly. In the event that it is functioning, could I be looking at a thermostat issue? water pump possibly?
Senior User
Joined: Mar 2004
Posts: 280
Likes: 2
From: Alabama
If your temp guage isn't working then either the sending unit or guage is bad or something is amiss between the guage and the sending unit. I would suspect the sending unit.
If the truck is cold, squeeze the top radiator hose and it should be hard (thermostat closed). When it's hot, it should be somewhat soft which indicates the coolant is able to pass through the thermostat (open). I'm not saying it isn't possible, but I've never looked in a radiator while the vehicle was running and observed "circulation". If the water pump isn't working you can reach down grab the fan blade and feel slop (but it should be very noisy if it's at this point) or it's leaking out the seep hole.
If the truck is cold, squeeze the top radiator hose and it should be hard (thermostat closed). When it's hot, it should be somewhat soft which indicates the coolant is able to pass through the thermostat (open). I'm not saying it isn't possible, but I've never looked in a radiator while the vehicle was running and observed "circulation". If the water pump isn't working you can reach down grab the fan blade and feel slop (but it should be very noisy if it's at this point) or it's leaking out the seep hole.
Thread Starter
|
Senior User
Joined: Oct 2009
Posts: 210
Likes: 0
From: Springfield
The radiator is full. That was the first thing I checked. This issue started out of the blue. I noticed on Wednesday night, 7/17 that it wasn't working so i checked my radiator Thursday morning after I got off work and it was full. I'll check the temp sensor today when i get off work
Thread
Thread Starter
Forum
Replies
Last Post
G Guess
1973 - 1979 F-100 & Larger F-Series Trucks
10
Dec 12, 2006 05:39 PM
Kodabear999
1973 - 1979 F-100 & Larger F-Series Trucks
5
Jul 30, 2001 02:10 PM
