My 1995 F150 seems not to like the heat so much. The other day I was pulling my friends boat with overdrive turned off and the a/c turned off and the temp guage stayed on the R almost the entire time. Usually it runs just below the N. Sometimes with the a/c on it will run on the N, but thats only if it is really hot outside. I didn't go over 60 mph. It was about 100 degrees here, so maybe that was the main issue. Also, my truck is black. That doesn't help with the heat either. I've pulled tandem axle flat bed trailers numerous times with no problems. Anyway, here is my question. Is this fairly normal or could something be wrong? I don't want to damage anything.

 

With the overdrive off and towing you would be running higher RPMs. And it is hot out so going up a bit on the temperature gauge is not a big deal.

You can do a test to make sure you temperature gauge actually works. Find the wire that hooks onto your temperature gauge on the engine. Disconnect it. Get someone in the cab to turn the key forward and watch the gauge. Now, you get the wire and ground it to the engine (just touch it against the block). The temperature gauge should sweep up to HOT. If it does you know it works. If not you may have a problem with your gauge.

Good luck!

-Matt

P.S. Don't ground the wire for too long. It is not good for the gauge (but you should be fine if you do it for 10 seconds or so).

 

First of all, I think your gauge or temp-sender may be indicating the wrong temperature. Or you may have a bed t-stat. I have a 97 (early body style, like yours) F250 4x4 5.8L auto. My gauge runs right in the middle all the time, winter or summer. I have towed tandams over the mountains and not had the gauge move from the center. I live in Houston, so I know the heat your are talking about. If your t-stat is stuck open, it will cause the engine to run cooler than normal. But if you put a load on the engine, causing more heat, and the stat is wide open all the time, you will see a rise in the gauge. This is because the water is not spending enough time in the radiator to give off the amount of heat it should. Check the gauge movement as suggested above. If you get full swing on the gauge, I would replace the sender first, then the stat. Good luck. And lets hope for a little rain around here.

 

Thermostat or fan clutch. Fan clutch is easy to diagnose. Do you ever hear it roaring? When it's hot out, you should hear the fan roaring for 30 seconds to a minute when starting out from a standstil. You can also let the truck idle and feel/listen for the fan to kick in and move more air. If you determine that the fan is not changing to higher speed when it's hot and it should be, replace the fan clutch. I'd eliminate the fan clutch before tearing into the cooling system. Also, after you've run the truck and it is hot, shut it off and let it sit with the hood down. AFter about 5 minutes, open the hood and move the fan blade with your hand, do you feel resistance, if so, the clutch is in the higher speed range and when you start the engine, you'll hear the fan roar more and then back off after it pulls some 'cooler' air in.