Engine overheating
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Joined: Jun 2005
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Engine overheating
I'm just wondering why might truck is overheating.. actually, i'm looking for something i might have overlooked. but anyway.
i was driving down the highway when i noticed that the engine was almost in the red, so i pulled off for about 5 minutes... after that, i opened up the hood, noticed that the coolant overflow resevoir lid was off and the bottle was empty.. so i topped it up at a nearby gas station and had no problems for the rest of the day. then yesterday it did the same thing (minus the overflow lid being off). so i replaced the thermostat and drove the hell out of it and everything appeared to work normally until this morning when again on a completely cold start, the temperature was back up there... i don't see any signs of leakage... and there's no white smoke... any ideas?
i've also thought about the pump bearings starting to go.
i was driving down the highway when i noticed that the engine was almost in the red, so i pulled off for about 5 minutes... after that, i opened up the hood, noticed that the coolant overflow resevoir lid was off and the bottle was empty.. so i topped it up at a nearby gas station and had no problems for the rest of the day. then yesterday it did the same thing (minus the overflow lid being off). so i replaced the thermostat and drove the hell out of it and everything appeared to work normally until this morning when again on a completely cold start, the temperature was back up there... i don't see any signs of leakage... and there's no white smoke... any ideas?
i've also thought about the pump bearings starting to go.
Post Fiend
Joined: Feb 2003
Posts: 6,940
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From: Eastern WA
Thoughts/items to inspect:
*Air in cooling system/not fully purged
*Radiator needs to be flushed
*Air flow restriction across radiator, could possibly be debris trapped between A/C condensor and radiator
*lower radiator hose collapsing.
*False reading on temp gauge
I've seen people experience overheating within minutes of starting the engine in cold weather......they had insufficient antifreeze in their system and froze it up.
Water pump bearings don't cause overheating unless the pump somehow seized. You'd hear ALL about that and have had plenty of warning.
*Air in cooling system/not fully purged
*Radiator needs to be flushed
*Air flow restriction across radiator, could possibly be debris trapped between A/C condensor and radiator
*lower radiator hose collapsing.
*False reading on temp gauge
I've seen people experience overheating within minutes of starting the engine in cold weather......they had insufficient antifreeze in their system and froze it up.
Water pump bearings don't cause overheating unless the pump somehow seized. You'd hear ALL about that and have had plenty of warning.
Last edited by CowboyBilly9Mile; Dec 15, 2005 at 04:15 PM.
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Joined: Apr 2005
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You don't say what year truck you have, or which engine.
I'm going to guess that you aren't getting circulation of the coolant for one of three reasons.
1. You don't have enough antifreeze in the system, and your coolant is freezing or getting slushy.
2. Your water pump has damaged impellers and they're not moving the water enough. I think I've heard that 3.0's are prone to this in some years.
3. Your radiator is stopped up.
I'm going to guess that you aren't getting circulation of the coolant for one of three reasons.
1. You don't have enough antifreeze in the system, and your coolant is freezing or getting slushy.
2. Your water pump has damaged impellers and they're not moving the water enough. I think I've heard that 3.0's are prone to this in some years.
3. Your radiator is stopped up.
