I think we have an answer! It's been quite a journey and after countless hours and a good portion of my bank account drained I am fairly certain we have successfully tackled this issue. Again I want to thank you all and especially the few of you who stuck with me through every post. To those of you who have landed here because you are experiencing the same issues I am happy to report a solution. This started over ten months ago with my temperature spiking and immediately coming back down with the push of the gas pedal or If I turned the truck off and back on again. I've, quite literally, replaced almost every hose, sensor, and solenoid I could find. I replaced my factory temp gauge with a more accurate aftermarket gauge to find the temp jumping from 180°F to 240°F in the blink of an eye. I went through about ten different thermostats ranging from 165°F - 210°F but never went without a thermostat (FYI, that will do more harm than good and is a very bad idea). I ended up using a factory 192°F thermostat with the jiggle valve. (Purchased at O'Reilly Auto). I changed quite a few hoses out thinking maybe it was a collapsed hose or a clogged crossover hose. I flushed and cleaned the entire cooling system and back flushed my heater core more than once. After a while I was convinced that I had a head gasket issue. I searched the web, reading one thread after another of people who had the same issue but there was never a conclusion or solution, the threads would always break up toward the end and I was stuck, again! Finally I found www.Ford-Trucks.com and decided to start this thread. This community is great and I couldn't have done this with out everyone here sticking with me. OK so the conclusion,
My overheating issue got so bad to the point where I decided I couldn't drive it at all until I replaced the water pump. The pump was cheap, about $20 at Advanced Auto. I pick up a heater core at the same time since it was fairly inexpensive. The heater core is quite simple to replace, about a 45 minute job but the water pump is another story. If you are lucky enough to get the studs out of the pump and timing cover without breaking them it will be as simple as taking the old one off and installing the new one. I'm not going to get into all of that but for me that was not the case and all I'll say is heat is your friend! I took my time with everything I did and carefully marked everything that came off the truck as well as take as many pictures as I felt needed to possibly aid me in the future. I finally installed the new pump and heater core early Saturday morning and let it set over night. I put about 50 miles on the truck yesterday but wasn't confident enough to post a success story just yet. I had a small leak in the transmission oil cooler line coming off the radiator and my serpentine belt had a slight squeal. I fixed those issues and headed out bright and early this morning. Since yesterday I've driven about 100 miles and everything has been perfect. The truck feels great and the temp is sitting at 180°F. Its still a little to soon to break out in excitement but im very happy right now. The members of this forum are great and this has been a team effort, thank you! I will continue to post updates as I put more miles on the truck. Keeping my fingers crossed!
Until next time,
Jameson

 

Good to hear! I was convinced this was an electrical issue but it sounds like the water pump was the culprit. I'll keep that in mind if ever I encounter a similar issue again. Thanks for keeping this thread updated. Enjoy the truck!

 

Just checking in to let you all know that my truck is still behaving. I've put almost 550 miles on it since the waterpump change and it's been great. I drove through two major snow storms using mostly back roads but I would say it's been about 50% Highway and 50% back roads. Temp is sitting steady at 180°F. I will post more updates as miles pile up. Thanks again

 

Always good to hear that a project has been successful.