Cooling system woes.............

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Feb 17, 2001 | 10:11 AM

bigmack460

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Cooling system woes.............

My truck has been running hot for the last two weeks and I have no idea what to do next. What the truck is doing is the temp gauge is cycling from the O of normal to between the M and the A and back to O. Before two weeks ago the truck never rose above the O.

I have replaced the fan clutch which was in need of replacement, installed a new thermostat yesterday, and had the cooling system flushed this morning. None of this has helped, the gauge is still cycling.

After driving the for a while I came home and checked to see of the radiator was warm at all and it was cold to the touch. This isn't normal is it??? The tranny cooler is quite warm. I am beginning to wonder if maybe the water pump is going bad or maybe it was damaged due to the fan clutch not working?? Could something in the system be plugged???? I am completely befuddled.
Thanks for any help!!!!

93 F-150 4x4 XLT CC SB, 5.8L, E4OD, Off-Road, Super Cooling, Trailer, and Payload packages, Bucket seats, Pioneer CD, and the most beautiful factory paint scheme ever put on a truck: Light blue and silver!!!

Feb 17, 2001 | 11:24 AM

PAUL_2

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Cooling system woes.............

Asssuming the coolant is flowing it may be the radiator is clogged . You should be able to look down inside the radiator & get some idea if the tubes show signs of buildup on the ends where they empty into the tank . Is the upper rad hose hot after the thermostat opens ?

Feb 17, 2001 | 12:08 PM

bigmack460

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Cooling system woes.............

I'll check the upper hose when I go out this afternoon. Yesterday while I had the fluid drained when changing the thermostat I flushed out the radiator hoping it would clean it out. I'll check also where I'm getting heat in the system.

93 F-150 4x4 XLT CC SB, 5.8L, E4OD, Off-Road, Super Cooling, Trailer, and Payload packages, Bucket seats, Pioneer CD, and the most beautiful factory paint scheme ever put on a truck: Light blue and silver!!!

Feb 17, 2001 | 05:00 PM

jakegypsum

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From: Linwood, N.J. USA!

Cooling system woes.............

Bigmack, Also check the outside of the radiator. The fins of the core could have dirt caked in them. You may need to blow air through or pressure wash the fins to clear the dirt out. If the air cannot get through the radiator well enough, it can make the truck run hotter than normal. Good luck.

Jakegypsum // Ford fleet, soup to nuts.

Feb 17, 2001 | 08:46 PM

slikness

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Joined: Jun 1999

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From: Durham

Cooling system woes.............

Better check your sending unit and gauge first. You could be getting some false signals.

'82 F150 2WD w/351W (orig 300 I6)
Slik

Feb 17, 2001 | 09:18 PM

bigmack460

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Cooling system woes.............

I ran the truck this afternoon and checked the inlet hose on the radiator and it was fairly hot. I tried to squeeze the inlet hose to see if I could feel water flowing through it and really had a heck if a time squeezing it, I wonder if the radiator is plugged in some way because of the pressure in the hose.

I also wanna pressure test the radiator cap when I go to class on monday, it is 7 years old after all. I guess I'm just scratching for easy fixes now.

93 F-150 4x4 XLT CC SB, 5.8L, E4OD, Off-Road, Super Cooling, Trailer, and Payload packages, Bucket seats, Pioneer CD, and the most beautiful factory paint scheme ever put on a truck: Light blue and silver!!!