Overheating?!
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Mountain Pass
Joined: Sep 2010
Posts: 237
Likes: 1
From: Wyoming
Overheating?!
My buddy has a 2001 F350 DRW it's his welding truck and he pulls his very large "house" fifth wheel. He was coming back from North Dakota a few weeks ago and his truck overheated blew all the coolant out. He figured thermostat so he replaced it and got to Wyoming no problem. Been here for two weeks and blew all his coolant out of the overflow twice. Cap is good thought maybe he got a bad thermostat so he got another and headed to Northern Wyoming and apparently is still having the issue. Any ideas why he would keep overheating and loosing al his coolant? Would a bad water pump cause this? Thanks!
Hotshot
Joined: Dec 2005
Posts: 10,241
Likes: 7,649
From: Chino Valley, Arizona
has it ever over heated before? I mean to just start overheating in December in Wyoming and North Dakota is a sign of a real problem! an Iced over radiator will overheat as will not enough antifreeze, where the radiator freezes and there is no coolant flow.
Thread Starter
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Mountain Pass
Joined: Sep 2010
Posts: 237
Likes: 1
From: Wyoming
Just decided to start doing it. The top hose was hot and bottom one seemed to pretty much be empty. Said hes spent a few hundred bucks in antifreeze lately because it keeps overheating and blowing it out of the reservoir. Should check to see if the radiator is plugged maybe somehow?
Lead Driver
Joined: Sep 2005
Posts: 9,399
Likes: 188
From: Norco,CA
Like to here what he finds. Need to put a pressure gauge on the cooling system and run it to see if its building excess pressure. Could be just the wrong mix that started this problem, but I would get it fixed before u keep driving it for sure. Cracked degas bottle can make it over heat by not holding pressure also.
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Mountain Pass
Joined: Sep 2010
Posts: 237
Likes: 1
From: Wyoming
His degas bottle is black but that's from a previous problem with a different engine a long time ago. Not sure if there is any new stuff in it or all just old residue from before.
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Lead Driver
Joined: Sep 2005
Posts: 9,399
Likes: 188
From: Norco,CA
We're just trying to save his head gaskets. They aren't known to blow but if he keeps doing this they can.
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Hotshot
Joined: Jan 2011
Posts: 18,849
Likes: 179
From: Puget Sound
Again, I stress it's most likely a thermostat... I'm just sharing something to look for if it turns out the thermostat wasn't it.
There's also a possibility it's a water pump issue. I have been told by an expert (plus I've seen it on the forums and I've experienced it myself) that the water pump is good for about 140,000 to 160,000 miles.
Post Fiend
Joined: Sep 2003
Posts: 6,096
Likes: 26
From: Mesa AZ
Yes. That is the easiest and most likely thing to check. Don't guess, take it to a shop that can pop the tanks and check out the core.
More Turbo
Joined: May 2005
Posts: 704
Likes: 2
From: Thousand Oaks, CA
I Had an overheating issue while towing years ago. Thought it was a water pump so went to change the water pump and while I was in there I noticed some dried up mud in the radiator fins.. Pulled the radiator out and it was covered in dirt. So I hosed the fins out reinstalled the radiator and no more over heating problems.
Might be a long shot but worth checking esp if he is out in the dirt a lot with the truck.
Might be a long shot but worth checking esp if he is out in the dirt a lot with the truck.
Lead Driver
Joined: Jun 2007
Posts: 7,760
Likes: 27
From: Hampton, Maryland.
If he replaced the radiator, I doubt it's a plugged radiator. If he replaced the thermostat, I doubt it's the hermostat, but it possibly could be that he got a bad one, so Pikachu's suggestion to throw it in boiling water to make sure it's working, isn't a bad idea. That being said, something else is going on here. Bad water pump, bad degas bottle losing pressure, bad injector cup, plugged coolant passage. Something like that.