Hi all...New to the forum. I have 2016 Ford F-350 DWD. Towed my 2014 39 Ft Montana up to Flagstaff from Las Vegas a few weeks ago. Outside air was around 100 to 108. Truck started to overheat on a very lazy 3+ grade. EOT was at 246. Coolant needle starting taking off to the red. Had to back off and downshift. Took it into Ford.....Said my Fan clutch was bad and replaced it. Took for a spin this past Friday over the same grade. Truck is still overheating. Clutch is engaging. It's like a freight train. Took it back to Ford this morning. Haven't heard back yet. This is extremely frustrating considering the trailer is 13K dry. Should not have this issue with a dually. My old 06 Ford 6.0 never overheated. By the way, the fan clutch was replaced last year almost to the day. Truck was overheating without a load on it. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

 

Just because the needle moves to the right does not mean it will overheat. Mine will move to what I would say is 3/4 but no more than that. So did you just back off or did it actually go in the red?

 

I did not let it go to the red....It was on its way for sure. I am just baffled that on such a small grade that it was heat up that fast. Seems like when the EOT reaches 230 the ECT starts moving. Just picked up an edge so I can monitor everything including EGT. I don't what to do if Ford comes back and says everything checks out okay??? There must be a issue!

 

I am not so sure you have an issue. I tow 16K and will tow in the rockies and out in Arizona. I have towed just recently through all of Arizona in that same heat down to Tucson. Seems to me like you are backing off trying to prevent an over heat, which I do understand but I would doubt it would have gotten there,

I do understand that you were not traveling up that much of a grade but a gentle grade over a long distance can be just as hard on the generation of heat.

 

I think what Scott is trying to tell you is that your truck is not overheating. Both my ‘15 and my ‘16 would see oil temps 246-248 when pulling grades in that heat. Yes, there were times that the engine temp guage would get over toward the red zone, but the fan would ramp up and the gauge would come back down. Hell, it may have even gotten over into the red zone a time or two before the fan got fully ramped up, but once the fan was running full speed the temps always came right back down.
With the late model big rigs I drove, the fan did not even start to ramp up until the temp gauge showed 220! That was back in ‘05 and ‘06.

 

I think you must type faster than me! LOL

 

Thanks for the feedback guys! Perhaps I am being overly concerned and should push it to see where it goes. I have trip planned this weekend to Utah. Will keep an eye on things with the Edge! Will also update upon word from Ford.....

 

Doesn't hurt to check a few points around the engine (like the thermostat housing) with an infrared heat gun to verify the temps seen on your truck gauges. Sometimes temp sending units fail and/or give wrong info.

 

Remember also the gauge on the dash is typically not calibrated so can be off significantly, it's really more of a let's see if there is major changes going on. I've had several trucks show 0 for oil pressure yet put a mechanical gauge on it and 25 lbs at idle. A mechanical capilary tube is the most accurate but if you don't have that any of the programs that allow you to ready from the computer will be almost as good and you'll be much happier.

Get yourself a good IR gun and do a check of your radiator when it's running hot, had a guy I worked with his radiator had developed partial clogging and that's how the found it. These are cross flow style radiators so the passenger side should be hotter than the driver side but each side should be within a few degrees top to bottom. First, ensure the AC is off before you start the test, run the truck to temperature and with it still running check several lines, at least 5, top to bottom, far left, 1/4, middle, 3/4, far right (facing the radiator from in front). The change should be consistent going left to right and be sure and leave the hood closed during this test as opening the hood changes the air flow and gives a false cooling effect.

 

The truck will derate at 250F EOT in my experience - the fan really starts screaming at 246EOT - this is on my 2017. Its a entirely different animal then the 6.0 ( which i also had to to tow a 5th wheel). I see high ~240's EOTs routinely towing up grade here in Utah ( high ambient, big mountains). My lame XLT cluster only lets me see trans, eot, OR ect, so I usually just have it on EOT - but the trans runs pretty hot too on the 2017+...