ok, here is my deal. i have a 97 f-350 XLT. 5.8l 4wd standard cab 8ft bed yada yada yada, i burned a hole in cylinder 1 a while back. rebuilt the motor myself. had the block cleaned, machined. bored .030 over. had the machinist re-do the rods the crank, all that jazz. had the heads done. 3 angle cut. whatever. did a good job. anyway. i put a trick flow stage 1 cam in it. I'm sure you're all familiar with that cam. ford racing headers, new GMB water pump, stant thermostat. think it's a 195. pro form 1.7 ratio roller rocker arms, comp cams timing chain and sprockets, lunati lifters*i know don't start* trick flow chromolly push rods, had to put comp cam valve lash caps on because i wasn't getting all of the cam, ANYWAY again, i got the truck running. driving it, not even getting on it, at all, the temp jumps all the way up past fords "normal" temp setting almost to the red, so i pull over, check for leaks, i notice the radiator cap isn't even hot, so i think there's air in there, take it back to my garage, get a wild hair up there, decide to pull the thermostat out, and just run it without a thermo, no heat, it's September, whatever, dealt with it since, burped the system one night for like an hour, didn't try to bleed it, just let it idle, and kept squeezing the upper hose, and watched the bubbles come out, no biggie, never over heated without a thermo, go and put a thermo in it 3 days ago, and bam, it starts over heating, i think it might the sending unit, replace that, napa=never any parts available, still doesn't fix it, get a mechanical sunpro gauge from farm n fleet, still running really hot, it'll go all the way up to 220 in like no time once the engine is warmed up, maybe even a little hotter, then it'll drop down to 190, then back up and it stays, for a while, especially when i'm driving. so me and my friend tried bleeding the system tonight, after alot of ow that's hot, kept getting air out, then it started to be a solid stream. but still didn't fix it, still running way hot. could it be possible that my radiator is plugged? because the upper hose gets super hard, and i mean really hard. but when i was bleeding it, it was really hot and super soft, but still the cap was cold. i have no idea, it's going to be the death of me. any help would be grateful. oh and the timing is set to 13 atdc. sorry it's so long. i like in depth descriptions

 

Hey buddy Im no spell master or anything, but I think it might be a little easyer to read if you put it in paragraphs or something. Just thought id let ya know.

 

"com-on man" spelling and proper engish in not the issue we are experts at, the guy needs truck advice, not a english course!

 

Haha I didnt mean it like that. I was havin trouble readin it because it was so tight together.

 

Well to start with set your timing at 10 -12 deg BTDC with the spout out , not 13 atdc , then see what it does , check your thermostate & radiator flow ....Lew

 

Head gasket flipped???
Had a buddy that did that years ago.

 

would it over heat without a thermo in it if the gaskets are flipped?

 

by checking radiator flow you mean check back flow? pull both hoses off and see if it comes out just as fast as i'm pouring it in? and with the spout out?

 

my bad boss

 

The spout im talking about is a conector that needs to be removed before you set your base timing , The timing needs to be set BTDC not ATDC , mabee that was a mistake in your post ?? What is the timing set at ?? ..The radiator flow was just making sure the water is circulating good thru the radiator , you said the cap wasn't getting hot like the water wasn't circulating ... Lew

 

oh yeah, the little gray connector up by the firewall on the drivers side, yeah i pulled that out when i timed it. and the timing is set at 13 degrees atdc. and yes the cap isn't getting hot at all

me and my mechanic friend are going to take a look at it tonight. what should the timing be set at? i'll keep you all posted on what's happening. i appreciate everyones input.

 

Your base timing with the spout out should be set at 10 degress before top dead center , doe's it run OK ??? If you are setting it at 13 degess after top dead center , thats way off and should run like sh--t and will make it run hot to ....If the cap never gets hot then its not circulating , make sure you have the belt on the right way and your not turning your water pump backwards .... Lew

 

Is there any chance you are putting your thermostat in backwards? I had "a friend" that did that once.....with similar results.

 

110% positive i have it in the right way. pretty sure there is still a bunch of air in the system. going to flush the system and refill. see where it goes from there.

 

Air is not going to *appear* in the cooling system. Either you have a head gasket leak or the coolant is boiling in the engine.
Does your new Stant thermostat have a small bypass hole in it? This helps when filling the system and keeps the coolant from being stagnant around the spring and wax pellet.