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My 300 is overheating. The rad though is cold. I ran the truck to the store and back and saw the temp needle max out. Needless to say fluid was all over the ground. I am unsure as to the block ? or mechanic part ? malfunctioning. The rad was ice cold. So I opened the cap. The filler opening on my 95 rad agles to the fire wall (good thing too) some fluid shot out. The fluid was ice cold too. Can I run a test to determine a blockage or mechanical failure of a part?
Sounds like you have the opposite problem that Caper has, probably a thermstat that is stuck shut, keeping the coolant from getting out of the block to the radiator. You could try taking it out and hooking the hose back up. Run the engine for a while and see if you can repeat the problem. If you can, you have a different problem. If not, install a new thermostat. What is the weather like where you are at? Was the coolant slushy or frozen? Sometimes if it gets too cold, the coolant in the hoses can freeze up if there is not enough low temp protection, and prevent coolant from circulating and the engine will overheat. I never could figure out why it doesn't thaw when everything gets warm under the hood, but it's common occurrence here in the northland when the temp dips enough.
I removed the thermostat and the motor ran hot. The rad was cold as well as both the upper and lower hoses. Our temps are
-18 and will hit -17F in a few days. A frozen area in the block would thaw when the motor heats up right?
The frozen areas are almost always in the hoses or the radiator, not the block so they don't thaw out even with the heat from the motor. I would (not necessarily in this order, either first will do.) A. test the antifreeze for strength of solution and ability to resist freezing. and B. Try to thaw out the radiator and hoses. Gently with warm air, not with fire. Maybe try to park it in a warm garage and use a heater.
EDIT: Maybe set a heater in front of the grille so it blows plenty of warm air through the radiator for quite a while, try to warm the coolant up good that is not in the engine block/water jacket. I've never had to do this myself. Everyone I know that has had it happen has had to bring the vehicle into a heated garage overnight or for a day to thaw them out.
Last edited by Buckarcher; Jan 23, 2003 at 09:11 PM.
I think you have just given me the best excuse to build a garage. I agree a warm place to thaw things out is the answer to this problem. In the mean time (while I'm convincing the wife that we do indeed require a new double garage) I'll construct something to heat the rad area and hoses. Maybe I should get my Siberian Huskies to sleep under the hood tonight ?
Mother nature came to the rescue today. Plus temperatures did the trick. I took a reading of the anti-freeze (-13F) I can't believe I didnt change the mixture to a lower rating for winter, dumb, dumb. I drained the contents of the rad and added a more confident mix. I replaced the thermostate while I was at it.
Thanks