Once again as in the past i cant drive down the road with the plow attatched at more that 15 miles MPH because my truck gets too hot. My truck is an 89 f150 with with the 300-6. I have tried the plow in all positions, back flushed the radiator, and checked the fluid. It only overheats when im going down the road with the plow attatched, its never ever overheats in the mud or idling.
What can i do??????

thanks nick

 

Do you have a fan shroud and is your fan clutch good?

 

The fan top fo the fan shroud is busted because the motor mounts were broken. But the rest is there i suppose all of the air pulled in goes through that hole. Also how do you tell if the fan clutch is bad?

 

If it's leaking oil that is a very good indicator. When the truck is warmed up, it should be pulling enough air through the radiator that if you threw a shop rag up on the front of the radiator it would stick.

 

I fixed my fan shroud and it helps a little but it still wants to get warm. The fan pulls in air but not enough to make a shop rag stick. I know they put a bigger radiator in the f150 with the 300 so mabye its time to find the bigger radiator.

 

If a shop towel will not stick you need to focus your attention on the fan clutch.

I bet it is toast.

 

Ya i figure that thats the problem, whats the purpose of the fan clutch. Because all of the older engines has solid fans.

 

The purpose of the fan clutch is to reduce fan drag when it's not needed. This cuts down noise and increases fuel mileage. If your fan clutch is more than about 8 years old, it's bad. You would normally only notice running hot at idle because of the ram air effect when moving. Your plow is diverting most of the forced air so you need the fan to cool the engine even when moving.
Also, the engine works harder with the plow up there, so it will naturally run a bit warmer. If your radiator isn't like new internally, it will run much warmer and can overheat. When you stick a huge air dam on the fromt of your truck, the cooling system needs to be 100%.

 

Ya its also its only a single row radiator so it doesnt hold much water. Well if I already cleaned the radiator and fixed the shroud, now its time for the fan clutch. If not bigger radiator.


Does anyone plow with the single row radiator if so does it cause you problems?

 

A new single row radiator should be ok for plowing a few driveways and such, but not for heavy (commercial?) plowing. The old radiator is probably coated on the inside and can't dissipate heat as well as a new one. Obviously, if you're going to replace it go with a 2 row.

You've basically got a tired single row rad, a weak fan clutch, a damaged shroud, and a large air diverter that also makes the truck work harder to move through the air along with the added weight... All of these things add up to an overheating situation. Repairing one single part isn't going to cure the problem. Do the radiator and fan clutch, and replace the shroud with an undamaged one. They all work together for good cooling. If you just band-aid it, you'll feep fighting with it.

 

Well im going to buy a new fan clutch since its shot anyway. If that does the trick then good, but ill prabley end up finding a 2 or 3 row radiator.

Thanks for all of the Help
NICK