broken wire
Thread Starter
|
New User
Joined: Oct 2002
Posts: 18
Likes: 0
broken wire
1990 E-150 van 4.9L EFI
I was being stupid yesterday and broke off the connector that attaches to the temp sender. The rubber was completely petrified and just snapped off right at the L in the boot. My question is; can I get another of these connectors? I pliced in a temporary fix and just crimped a fastener onto the sender and it seems to work okay but I'd like to fix it right.
My other question is how hot should the bottom radiator hose be? I'm pretty sure my radiator is mostly clogged since after a long highway-speed drive the top is scorching and the bottom is dead-cold to barely warm. and to top it off, the gauge used to read in the middle of normal, but after I replaced the old connector and some of the wire (the old wire was frayed too) the temp goes way toward L in normal. Anyone know about this stuff?
Oh and the other thing is that the heat goes through the roof if I turn the heat ON, what do you think of that? Can my water pump be inadequate? It's like in can only pump through the radiator OR the heater not both! I can't figure this thing out at all! Thanks for any help you guys can offer.
I was being stupid yesterday and broke off the connector that attaches to the temp sender. The rubber was completely petrified and just snapped off right at the L in the boot. My question is; can I get another of these connectors? I pliced in a temporary fix and just crimped a fastener onto the sender and it seems to work okay but I'd like to fix it right.
My other question is how hot should the bottom radiator hose be? I'm pretty sure my radiator is mostly clogged since after a long highway-speed drive the top is scorching and the bottom is dead-cold to barely warm. and to top it off, the gauge used to read in the middle of normal, but after I replaced the old connector and some of the wire (the old wire was frayed too) the temp goes way toward L in normal. Anyone know about this stuff?
Oh and the other thing is that the heat goes through the roof if I turn the heat ON, what do you think of that? Can my water pump be inadequate? It's like in can only pump through the radiator OR the heater not both! I can't figure this thing out at all! Thanks for any help you guys can offer.
Posting Guru
Joined: Oct 2002
Posts: 1,301
Likes: 1
From: Dededo, Guam
broken wire
What does the coolant look like? Green = OK, reddish brown = 
. Hot top hose and cold bottom one means no suction. Either your thermostat is stuck shut, or your water pump is shot. Since you are getting heat in the cab your pump sounds like it is fine. My cooling system was in bad shape when I first bought the truck. The thermostat rusted itself shut, and the water pump's bearings went out. Thats why I asked about the coolant color. Rusty lookin water let me know in a glance the condition of my system. The thermostat is easy to replace. Cheap too. Check to make sure your radiator isn't plugged full of dirt and mud like mine was last week. I will end this post now with this trick. If your temps get high (past the M in normal) then crank down the windows and crank the heater on full blast. This has help me from overheating several times now. Good luck to you and let me know how it turns out.
. Hot top hose and cold bottom one means no suction. Either your thermostat is stuck shut, or your water pump is shot. Since you are getting heat in the cab your pump sounds like it is fine. My cooling system was in bad shape when I first bought the truck. The thermostat rusted itself shut, and the water pump's bearings went out. Thats why I asked about the coolant color. Rusty lookin water let me know in a glance the condition of my system. The thermostat is easy to replace. Cheap too. Check to make sure your radiator isn't plugged full of dirt and mud like mine was last week. I will end this post now with this trick. If your temps get high (past the M in normal) then crank down the windows and crank the heater on full blast. This has help me from overheating several times now. Good luck to you and let me know how it turns out.
Thread Starter
|
New User
Joined: Oct 2002
Posts: 18
Likes: 0
broken wire
That's just my problem, I do get heat in the cab but when I turn on the heat the temp gauge will start to climb all the way to hot! and then about 50% of the time it will return to normal if I turn it off, the rest of the time it stays hot.
My coolant is perfect green no rust or oil, I went through two bottles of stuff that said it could unclog cooling systems and it seemed to work but then it returned to the way it was. On visual inspection my radiator core has lots of deposits but the holes are still 50% open. Is that still too much crud? The outside fins are completely free of any dirt/bugs (the AC thing in front of it is too). I also replaced my thermostat when all this began and no change. I'm stumped! I thought I'd try replacing the rad. but if that doesn't work I don't know what to do (might do the pump at the same time). The pump doesn't make any noise or leaks. ??
My coolant is perfect green no rust or oil, I went through two bottles of stuff that said it could unclog cooling systems and it seemed to work but then it returned to the way it was. On visual inspection my radiator core has lots of deposits but the holes are still 50% open. Is that still too much crud? The outside fins are completely free of any dirt/bugs (the AC thing in front of it is too). I also replaced my thermostat when all this began and no change. I'm stumped! I thought I'd try replacing the rad. but if that doesn't work I don't know what to do (might do the pump at the same time). The pump doesn't make any noise or leaks. ??
Hotshot
Joined: Oct 2002
Posts: 18,488
Likes: 22
From: The Big, Oregon
broken wire
Is you temp sensor on the side of the block, or on the water neck? If it is in the water neck, when you turn the heat on, you are actually reading the correct temp of the engine. With a/c, when the heat is to "cold", or you turn it to off, it stops water flow with a valve, so actual engine temp water doesn't flow past the sensor. The first thing I would do is to flush the system out with the old radiator in place, then replace the radiator. While that is out, use a garden hose on low pressure to push all the crap out of the condensor, working from the engine side. Once you install the new radiator, I would also recomend a coolant filter, placed in one of the heater lines. Get one from Fleetpride, or whoever your local big truck parts supplier is. Get a spin-on filter type, the head unit is about $20, and the filters are $9 each. Cheap insurance.
Thread Starter
|
New User
Joined: Oct 2002
Posts: 18
Likes: 0
broken wire
I have a sensor in both places, the one on the side of the head is the one for the gauge. The other is up on the heater outlet on the water neck, I couldn't figure out what it was a while ago so I removed the connector and ran the engine, it made the CEL come on and the engine ran like crap, when I plugged it back in it ran fine.
This is so frustrating!
The sensor in the waterneck is needed by the computer, so what does the computer do with the info? I was wondering if the computer alters something to help warm up the engine faster, and if it does then if the sensor is bad, maybe the computer keeps doing whatever it does and starts to overheat itself? I'm fresh out of ideas! Thanks for everbody's tips so far!
This is so frustrating!
The sensor in the waterneck is needed by the computer, so what does the computer do with the info? I was wondering if the computer alters something to help warm up the engine faster, and if it does then if the sensor is bad, maybe the computer keeps doing whatever it does and starts to overheat itself? I'm fresh out of ideas! Thanks for everbody's tips so far!
Thread
Thread Starter
Forum
Replies
Last Post
Montync
Small Block V8 (221, 260, 289, 5.0/302, 5.8/351W)
3
Jan 22, 2017 08:30 PM
Fixnstuff
Pre-Power Stroke Diesel (7.3L IDI & 6.9L)
1
Sep 26, 2016 09:56 PM
dlb.motorman
1948 - 1956 F1, F100 & Larger F-Series Trucks
3
Apr 19, 2015 06:32 PM
