weird overheating problem

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Aug 19, 2004 | 09:08 PM

matt77F2504x4

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weird overheating problem

my truck has pretty new parts in it. water pump(8000)miles.
radiator rodded(8000), new thermostat(tested in water) my problem is, the truck will begin to overheat and i cant pin down why. i live in las vegas and have been driving in the 110* heat and it will sit squarely between T and E (normal) then on a cool day(89*) it will creep up to the line, and turning the heat on doesnt seem to help(sure is hot in the truck though)
i have a flex fan on my 351M that was on there when i bought it.(the truck)
eventually the temp will creep back down. when i get back in the truck after say going into a 7-11 the temp gauge will be on the hot line(scary)

please help! i dont want to replace components i dont need to.

Aug 23, 2004 | 09:26 PM

matt77F2504x4

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im hoping that someone has gone through the same thing, and can tell me if it was the water pump or the radiator or what. these are expensive guesses.

Aug 23, 2004 | 11:29 PM

Pikachu

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From: Amarillo, TEXAS!

If you can verify the coolant temperature with a heat gun or thermometer, you can at least rule out a bad sending unit/guage. Other than that, it sure sounds like water pump to me.

Aug 24, 2004 | 02:53 PM

matt77F2504x4

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hey pikachu, thanks for replying. would a bad sending unit( i think you mean that little screw in plug lookin' thingy near the water pump) cause the gauge to rise and fall intermittantly? sure would be cool if it was 'cause that's only $10.

Aug 24, 2004 | 02:56 PM

Pikachu

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From: Amarillo, TEXAS!

It could cause that to happen. When I have to diagnose something like that and I end up with more than one possible cause, I usually start with the cheapest/easiest possible solution first and go from there if I can't definitively rule things out.