So today was my first big trip in my 89 f350 I drove from Texarkana to Dallas about a 3 hour trip. About half way I overheated upon purchasing the truck I did check the antifreeze in the reservoir and all was good howerver I made the mistake of not checking the radiator come to find out it's full of rusty water witch overflowed when I piped the relief valve on the cap. So I proceeded to add water to get me by and take it easy and the temp held fine no problem I stopped to get more water and top it of about 15 miles in and fill it up the rest of the way and I realized I didn't put the cap on the all the way so I topped it off and made sure to tighten it completely and with in a few miles it over heated again. I'm going to start with flushing the radiator and I'll buy a new cap and thermostat does anyone have any input just to be safe I've never encountered a rusty radiator.
And then next up there was an accident ahead of me and I put the breaks on hard and after that while rolling slow in traffic it almost felt as though I had a flat tire but I didn't and there was no sign of this at all before And aster about to mph it was down to just a rubbing sound and at about 60 it wasn't even noticible but after I got up to an exit I checked it in a parking lot and it made a rubbing noise with no poping sound or noticible effects to the ride of the truck could it possibly be a stuck break or wheel bearing the problem is still there just not nearly as bad? Thanks for any input guys I need all the help I can get

 

hi ..

the thermostat opens and closes .. and since it ran 1.5 hrs and seems intermittent ..

i would guess that rust flakes are interfering with this operation and it's sticking partially closed .. replacing the thermostat is good insurance .. use the ford dealership motorcraft thermo if you do ..

i would flush it out .. and add sca's from napa .. i like carquest green full strength coolant from advance auto ...

that noise in the wheel - sounds like a sticking rotor or drum .. i would drive awhile and then use an infared temp gun or your hand (careful hot) to see if one side/spot is hotter than the other ..

about a month before my caliper seized up it did some noise like this and a little bit of pulsing from an imperfect old rotor ..

i ignored it but finally it fully locked up and slightly heat warped my rotor + uncomfortable drive home .. i was able to repair the warped rotor though and a new caliper/pads fixed it ..

check also to see if the rubber boots are intact over the caliper piston seals .. dirt and water causing rust can get in there .. that's what happened to mine on one side and the pad started wearing sideways until it finally crept to far askew int the piston bore and it seized up .. at least that's my guess why it failed ..

at least i would put new pads up front and check out the condition and rebuild the drums too .. brakes are always wore out if it's not been given attention in along while ..

 

Flush the system with a good cleaner. +1 on the motorcraft thermostat, which can be had via rockauto or O'Riellys for much cheaper than a stealership. Personally, i would refill with fleetcharge. Its safe for the older systems, is precharged with SCA's that dont have to be replenished unlike others, as long as you change it as recommended. Which is 50k i think, like all the other old green stuff. Which also, is probably why you have a rusty radiator, the coolant wasnt kept up. THe rust isnt from the radiator, its from the engine. Fair chance there wasnt enough coolant in the water.

As for the other part, no guess. Just keep an eye on it, and inspect the brakes / tires on the offending corner / side.

 

I had a problem with my 91 overheating on long trips or high speeds, tried a new thermostat and flushed the system at the same time which didnt help a thing, replaced the radiator and added a coolant filter and it did real good for about 2 months then started to randomly overheat again at this point I also started to smell coolant which was coming from the weep hole in the pump so I wound up changing the pump too. Probably should have changed it all at the same time. Go with fleet charge or final charge antifreeze, the green stuff just doesnt cut it on an IDI

 

Once you fix everything else, if you still have overheating issues... try advancing the timing a hair. I've found that retarded timing = less power and more heat, at least when you are pushing the rig. Probably the simple fact of having to give it more fuel, which creates more heat.


Also, while I know others don't recommend this, I believe in Zerex HD ELC coolant. No test strips, no SCAs to monitor, and should be good for 5 years, and is diesel-rated coolant.
I pick it up at Napa(may be a special order item) for $20/gallon for concentrate($12/gal on sale). P/N ZXED1.

 

Well guys I went ahead and changed the thermostat and cap at well as flushed it for a couple hours if I'm correct if the thermostat was working properly when I flushed the system I wouldn't have been able to take the top hose off and put a hose in my radiator and get water coming out the other side on account of the temp of the cold water flowing through it. But note that it wasn't a lot of water but a fair amount of flow I believe it should have flowed better if it was open but it did not it was fairly steady I waited til it was warmed up to take the top hose off and I expected it to decrease flow when I introduced the cold water but it was slow and steady the whole time. I could be reading into this too much but I'm anxious I limped it to a brake shop last night so I won't even know anything until it gets out of there

 

Intermitant overheating could be the fan clutch. did you hear it engage at all on your trip?

 

it is not, recommended to use OAT coolant in IDI's Organic Acid Technology, as it can eat solder out of radiator, you should use ready to use coolants, not the mix with water types as minerals in your tap water are not your friend.. ready to use coolants have demineralized water already in them.. and SCA's are special coolant additives for diesel engine to prevent damage to engine blocks, yes you need to add them every year test strips are used to help determine the dosage. good luck

 

I'm personally of the opinion that the modern diesel-rated HOAT(Hybrid Organic Acid Technology) coolants are just fine however*, and that's what I'm running in all my rigs: Zerex HD ELC.

(* Don't believe me? Go read the datasheet - There is test information on a variety of metals in there, and the various specs it is approved to call out their own requirements).