Just replaced the thermostat because it was running hot. Ended up being a 3 hour job because Ford can't make little things like that simple. Well now the truck runs even hotter but you can still see the gauge move when the thermostat opens. Before it would fluctuate from the L in normal down to the O and back and forth. Now it slowly goes up above the L and stays there. Sometimes moves up and down. Anybody got any idea of whats going on? I spent the better part of the day messing with this dumb thing and I'm about sick of looking at it!

 

When I was replacing the radiator on my 83 I found that my clutch fan was inoperative and had been the main cause of overheating while driving around town. The radiator had over 150k miles on it and was leaking which was why I was replacing it. The clutch fan I left out and mounted two electric fans from the junkyard.
If your truck is overheating it could be a clogged radiator, bad clutch fan, bad water pump, pressure cap, or even air in the system. The strangest one I had was a lower hose that would collapse from the suction of the water pump and cause the temp to rise.
regards
rikard

 

I'm in the same boat 93......Rikard my suction is coming from the upper hose......Unfortunately mine is most likely the head gasket......May i ask why it took 3 hours to pull the Tstat?If you do so again....whenever I buy a new one...I put it in a pot of boiling water to test it and I hold it with pliars so I can feel it click open and shut.I hope you figure it out as I hope I'll figure mine out...that retention pond across the street is lookin mighty good.Good Luck to ya....

JR

 

I guess the first thing I'll check (again) is for air in the system. My next thought it going to be a clogged radiator. I actually think the fan is good because i heard it for the first time tonight actually. Probably will end up replacing radiator sooner or later anyways.

It took 3 hours because i was changing the oil while i was at it. But I kept having issues with that little hose that runs to the water pump. I just hope it'll end up being an easy and quick fix.

 

Flareside, I'll gladly take the truck and it's issues off your hands.. ha. Did you end up looking to see about the dowels?

 

Ha!Ryan....don't even go there.....ya.....my stupidass left em in the old heads...might help if I had em eh?Gawd, and I felt like I was forgettin somethin....oh well such is life.Hey 93....TheRoadVirus is Ryan...I'm Junior and Rikard is self explanatory...what's ur name?And a trick to that little hose (at least for me) when you're puttin it back on...put it onto the Tstat housing first then to the water pump....1/2 inch wrench.Luck

JR

 

Well I replaced the radiator today. Know a guy that got me a good deal at Carquest for one... $118 I got it for and the regular price was around $189. Its a heavy duty 3 core compared to the old one. Cleaned everything out and I was ready to go. Problem is the gauge still likes to fluctuate between the M and L on the gauge. Is that normal or anything I should be worried about? I didn't put the fan shroud on it since it wouldn't fit. Would that be the problem?

I'm Cody. I live in the rustbelt in the middle of Illinois. Boring place I know haha. This is the first big project I have done on this truck since I got it in November of '06, so it's nice to have this forum here.

 

i would say the fan shroud could be your problem but was it on it when it started doing this if so i would say no, i replaced a water pump on my wife's jeep and well it was a pain in the @ss to get off. so i left it off when i putter back together and it run hot until i had a fight with it and got it back on. it came off as one piece and went back on as a two piece lol. i used the sawzall on it cut it in half and was much easier to get back on with out taking every thing apart.

 

I'm going to have to do a lot of modifying to it for it to go back on now that I got the bigger radiator. The bottom half has no way to connect and it will hit the fan. Might see if I can cut it to work or maybe just use the top half, maybe some electric fans would be even better

 

You really need the shroud on it, the fan only works when sitting still at a light and such. The shroud helps the fan suck air through the radiator. So it really only gets good air flow when moving.
Does the needle go up when sitting still then go down once you get moving again? That will answer the question for ya.
Electric fans are a good way to go, as long as you don't have a lot of pull on the electric system already. Like a electric snow plow unit.

 

Well the truck seems to stay at the same temp when its moving and staying still. I'll rig it up somehow this week, just a little tired of messing with it these past 2 days!

 

See if you can get to a junk yard and get a shroud off a truck like yours that had the 3 core rad as original equip or go electric fans. There are after market shrouds available, mostly for the hot rod crowd. I fabbed one out of sheet metal on one of my vehicles. Matter of fact thats when I decided to go electric (dual fans on grille side) after that.
regards
rikard

 

did ya do any thing with the sendin unit? a cheap mechanical gauge is a no fail way to see what your temp realy is. never trust factory gauges as they have minds of there own

 

Would replacing the sending unit help in this situation? It warms up slow but once its warm it stays in the L and sometimes past (like when I'm stopped which I assume is from the shroud missing at the moment). I'll hook up a gauge soon just to monitor this since it scares me being in the L so much.

 

Just a thought but did you replace the radiator cap?
If you didn't, get one with a pressure relieving lever (Stant) It takes some of the excitement and danger of opening the radiator cap by releasing pressure when you lift the lever. I agree that Ford and many others really make things tough for the DIY. I had a carbed 302 and it was much easier to work on than the EFIs. When I work on my trucks cooling system I point it "uphill" so the radiator is higher than the rest of the system. This will allow more of the air to bleed out.
regards
rikard aka Rick