I do an excessive amount of idle time in my truck. I live in South Florida and with the high temps this summer the truck has had some problems with this. I have been thinking of replacing the radiator with a larger one. Any ideas?
Thanks
Dan

 

whn was the last time you serviced your cooling system you might just need a good flushing and new coolant,,,,to test the flow in the radiator ,,,remove the anti-frez and take the lower hose off and have some one hold their hand over the hose connection on rthe radiator,,, fill it with water ,remove the hand and see how long it takes the water to run oht ,,it should come pretty fast if its slow then you need to clean the radiator,,,,,,,I had radiator problems with a jeep chero. I had and after all the test ,,new radiator ,new hoses,, new thermo, it still run hot soo I decided to replace the pump even tho it wasnt leaking,,when I removed the pump I discovered it had only piece of a blade remaning on the pump ,,,now as for where the other blades went I have no idea the water was real muddy when I drained it out and I guess the blades rusted away and turned in to rust in the system..,,,,

 

Ok so it sounds like these water pumps can go bad without any external physical evidence and the only way is to pull it off to check correct?
I am going to have to change out the alternator on it this week so i might as well pull the water pump also. I guess I should not complain, it has over 180K and i just made a round trip from Miami to NYC last week pulling a loaded U-haul on the way back.

 

With that many miles on it, you are due for a new pump. Since you are already working on it, changing out the pump is the way to go. I also wouldn't be shy about changing out the stat.

 

Ok I'll change the thermostat at the same time.

 

This is a great place for help, i'd be lost without it.
Thanks
Dan

 

You might even pull the radiator and take it to a shop to get it tanked and rodded out. It usually only costs about $50.

 

Thanks
Dan

 

Some times I feel like i am starting to rebuild this one part at a time.

 

As long as your going to all this trouble, you may as well cover all your bases. I am just about done going through the same thing. I started out to replace my water pump, and now I have a new radiator, new hoses, new fan clutch, and 8 gallons of coolant.

 

check around you might find a larger radiator cheaper than the one you currently have if you go the route of getting new. Mine couldnt be repaired and they wanted $6 more for the standard 2 core over the heavy duty 3 core. But replace all that you think needs to be replaced though such as hoses and radiator cap and all that.