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Put the thermostat back in. Contrary to popular belief, the thermostat actually helps to keep the truck cooler by keeping the coolant in the radiator longer.
Do you have a fan shroud in place? They help a lot, too
Retarded ignition timing can cause the engine to run hot
Welcome to FTE. Did you flush out the block and heater core while you were at it? Do you have a fan shroud? Do you have a new one wire threaded into the block temp sensor unit?
Interesting with my 195 stat, that needle position is where it opens up at and then comes down to half way point............All the info provided above is about what I would come up with......... Did you mean 'new' thermostat, or 'no' thermostat ? And how new are these components, like last weekend and this is the first long test drive?
There is no shroud in those photos. Ditch the solid fan and get a clutch fan. Solid and flex fans Rob more power than a clutch type. Check out the MotorTrend channel on YouTube for the Engine Masters dyno comparison. Make sure you have the right sized fan. Most of those flex fans are way too small to be effective on anything but a Honda.
New stuff ! that will help in diagnosing your problem... Now are you basing your 'overheating' claim solely on the gauge in the truck ? Or do you have coolant purging out of the cap ? I know running out and getting a clutch fan setup is not as simple for everyone, so working with your OEM fan setup to start with aint gonna hurt for now... Answer a few more questions and we can start narrowing this down.....
1. Did you flush the block before the work was done ?
2. Was it overheating before all these new parts ?
3. Have you tried hooking up a real temp gauge of any sorts to get a #reading?
4. Whats the theory on the 'no' thermostat?
5. What did the coolant look like prior to this work being done, good, bad or ugly?
Going to bed, but with some more info we can get ya close to the actual problem, if there is an actual problem, lost of experienced fellas around here that can help ya out...............
BTW Im diggin those valve covers, sweet setup....
No thermostat actually is detrimental to the efficiency of the engine. You want your cooling system to reach operating temperature as quickly as possible because that is where you will have the most complete combustion. Unless you have other problems or live in a desert, you may never reach normal temps. If you live where it gets cold you will never have heat.
IF it is a 400/351m which it looks to be, the thermostat plugs the internal bypass, so it is a required part, without it coolant just circulates inside block and keeps getting hotter, without being directed to radiator, only a littler bit goes into radiator, so PUT THE RIGHT THERMOSTAT IN the one with the internal bypass blocker or the "hat" on the bottom. Next check the radiator cap, no mention of that.
Now are you basing your 'overheating' claim solely on the gauge in the truck ? Or do you have coolant purging out of the cap ? I know running out and getting a clutch fan setup is not as simple for everyone, so working with your OEM fan setup to start with aint gonna hurt for now... Answer a few more questions and we can start narrowing this down.....
