Cooling
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Joined: Jul 2003
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From: Adams TN
Cooling
My truck runs a little hot on the stock guage and i am doing the head gasket in about a week
In the fall it would warm to about M in normal then back off to between NandO now it warms up to A or L and runs at M?
Could my head gasket be causing this
I felt the top radiator hose when it said it was runnin at M and i could hold it for about 5 sec. before it got to hot to hold. Is it just my guage messed up or something? I know ford guages arn't the best
But the truck never acts like it is going to over heat.
It is a little moist around one of the head bolts so i'm going to put a new head gasket on it but would a bad head gasket cause it to warm up like that?
DT
In the fall it would warm to about M in normal then back off to between NandO now it warms up to A or L and runs at M?
Could my head gasket be causing this
I felt the top radiator hose when it said it was runnin at M and i could hold it for about 5 sec. before it got to hot to hold. Is it just my guage messed up or something? I know ford guages arn't the best
But the truck never acts like it is going to over heat.
It is a little moist around one of the head bolts so i'm going to put a new head gasket on it but would a bad head gasket cause it to warm up like that?
DT
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Joined: May 2002
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From: Broken Arrow, OK
Must be nice to have a heater that works. 
My truck struggles to get to operating temp. I have to block off almost half the radiator to get it off the peg on the cold side during the winter.
How old is the thermostat? When the temp goes way up and then drops down it often means the t-stat is starting to go. Could also be a restricted radiator or a water pump with a deteriorating impeller.
My truck struggles to get to operating temp. I have to block off almost half the radiator to get it off the peg on the cold side during the winter.How old is the thermostat? When the temp goes way up and then drops down it often means the t-stat is starting to go. Could also be a restricted radiator or a water pump with a deteriorating impeller.
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From: Adams TN
probally the t-stat is original
moron i bought it from had done alot of stupid things
i haven't checked it yet because i don't want to spill the coolant all over the place
but i guess a $10 thermostat is cheaper than a 2grand motor.
I just put in a new heater core and it works awsome
i sure hope its not the radiator
moron i bought it from had done alot of stupid things
i haven't checked it yet because i don't want to spill the coolant all over the place
but i guess a $10 thermostat is cheaper than a 2grand motor.
I just put in a new heater core and it works awsome
i sure hope its not the radiator
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Joined: Jul 2004
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From: Fairbanks
DT
Hate to say it but the radiator could be the problem too. Timing or carburation can cause an enging to run hot also.
Silver
I would check your thermostat it sounds like it is partially open or the wrong temp. I had porblems getting my engine to warm up when i was running a 160 put the 180 in and it worked a lot better.
Hate to say it but the radiator could be the problem too. Timing or carburation can cause an enging to run hot also.
Silver
I would check your thermostat it sounds like it is partially open or the wrong temp. I had porblems getting my engine to warm up when i was running a 160 put the 180 in and it worked a lot better.
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Joined: Dec 2002
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From: Quaker Hill ,CT U.S.A.
I would like to causion against running a t-stat the is colder then the OEM stat . Not only will it cause problems with the computer ( on EFI trucks) it will also cause excessive wear on the engine . This will cause the build up of sludge due to the fact that then engine doesnt get hot enough "burn off" the condensation and blowby gasses and the pcv system will get overwelmed .
Point is run the correct t-stat a 192* or 195* and you will not have any problems , provided that the rest of the cooling system is up to the task.
Point is run the correct t-stat a 192* or 195* and you will not have any problems , provided that the rest of the cooling system is up to the task.
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From: Adams TN
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From: Broken Arrow, OK
My t-stat is fine, the truck just doesn't generate much heat. I'm running a 180 right now and it works fine. I had a 160 in there before and it was a nightmare in cold weather. It's been said for years that a cold engine wears more, but that doesn't really make any sense. Everything can still burn off when the coolant is at 160 because the oil still probably gets to 250-300 degrees in the bearings. The biggest problem with a 160 is that the ECM may never get out of the warm up mode.
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From: Quaker Hill ,CT U.S.A.
The engine wears more due to the greater friction at the colder temps . you should run what works best for you . The Fact IS that ford uses a 195* from the factory and given that I am not an engineer (yet) that is what I choose to use . I think that ford did a study on engine wear based on operating temp at the study showed more wear at lower temps . A 180* would be as low as I would run and I would use it as a "bandaid" fix on a poor cooling system.
If anyone has a engine that is tore down I sugest this : measure the #1 cylinder for taper and then the #2 -#6 and I will bet almost willing to bet that the #1 has more wear then the rest . Why you may ask? simply because it is closer to the water pump ( cooler coolent) then the rest of the the cylinders.
I just want people to get the most life out of their engines and one way is the hotter t-stat.
If anyone has a engine that is tore down I sugest this : measure the #1 cylinder for taper and then the #2 -#6 and I will bet almost willing to bet that the #1 has more wear then the rest . Why you may ask? simply because it is closer to the water pump ( cooler coolent) then the rest of the the cylinders.
I just want people to get the most life out of their engines and one way is the hotter t-stat.
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Joined: May 2002
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From: Broken Arrow, OK
I am an engineer and an ASE Master Tech. Both of those certificates, used in conjunction with a token, will get me on a city bus. Neither have ever been useful for much of anything else. They use a hotter stat for lower emmissions. When they are talking about engine wear being higher at colder temps they are talking about fractions of a percent per degree, nothing that is going to make your engine last noticably less time. Also, a ten degree reduction in coolant temp is probably only about a 4-5 degree change in temp of anything else under the hood. There is a lot more involved with how cool the engine runs than the coolant temp. With EFI the rules of the game change because the coolant temp is used to determine which fuel and spark maps to use, but air temp also influences those.