Hey guys, I've got a fuel injected 302... its hot natured, and I've had quite a few problems overheating recently.. ok, when I got the truck, it had problems but I replaced the water pump, which was 6 months ago. So it can't be the water pump... so far I've replaced the thermostat with a 160 degree thermostat, I've replaced the radiator cap because it broke and wasn't holding pressure, I had a pinched bypass hose from the water pump to the thermostat I fixed, I added a transmission cooler for good measure, and I flushed my radiator a couple times.. so far no noticable leaks, all hoses were replaced as well.. well right now it warms up and stays a little bit over halfway towards H... after driving for over 15 minutes it will get hot and close to the H, sometimes it seems like a low speed only problem when I'm in stop and go traffic, sometimes it seems like it happens at random when I'm cruisin' easily at 55 mph... I've had to pull the truck over quite a bit recently, and its died three or four times when I couldnt find a place to pull over or it overheated so fast I didnt get a chance to stop until it was pegged on H... and the starter soaks up the heat and it wont start until I come back in an hour or two.. okay so thats my problem.. now for your help guys..

What do I do about it????

I'm thinking I might need to replace the radiator.. I have a feeling it had a small leak, but I used some radiator sealant that didnt help, and I dont see any leaks.. and I checked when cold and when warmed up.. so do you think my radiator might just be toooooo small? Its a single core radiator, but if its adequate I dont want to change over to a bigger more expensive one if I dont need to.. I've got a 302 FI and its pretty much bone stock except for the exhaust. Any ideas? Thanks so much guys.. I want to keep this truck, but its driving me crazy! I've always loved Fords, but with this damn overheating problem frustrating me, and the gas mileage Im getting and being in the city now in D.C. where traffic SUCKS... well.. I'll stick with my Ford, but sometimes I have to hold back from kicking it (and with my luck, breaking something else... well maybe if it was a Chevy) Thanks guys..

 

Dumb questions first. Is your temp gauge accurate? What kind of fan do you have on it? Is it working right? Fan shroud intact? is the fan in the correct position for the shroud? is the fan spinning the right way?
you did overheat and shut down. so gauge is prob. right. Is it a clutch fan or been replaced with flex? you need a fan shroud and the fan should be centered in the opening of shroud. make sure everything is spinning in right direction. sometimes you can get a W.P. or fan set up for for reverse rotation

 

Fixed the problem! Ran beautiful... the whole 100 mile trip I drove today.. wonderful! Barely broke a sweat, and I was ballin' down the interstate at about 85-90 the whole way (had to get home before the door got locked)... the radiator had a small crack in it.. yep.. and it was a single core radiator.. insanely small.. got a new heavy duty dual core radiator.. beautiful! Only thing now is.. I cant get my fan shroud back on, it doesnt fit the new radiator, so its off.. but it ran good without it.. what should I do now? Not worry about it? Thanks guys.

 

You'll need the shroud for in town stop and go traffic. You can drive it without one and see how it acts, but if it heats up while your not moving, you need to modify the shroud somehow and put it back on.

 

Yeah, I see what you mean.. what if I get a new fan, maybe a flex fan or something, and a fan spacer to get it closer to the radiator.. would that help out? My fan shroud isn't in good shape anyways.. well if I get another one, I'll modify it.. but only if I need it.. I idled the truck for awhile today and it didn't even get even a little warm.. 160 degree thermostat.. maybe I should get a new thermostat like the regular 195 degree or whatever because its running almost too cool?