getting hot while hauling uphill
 

I have an F350 diesel dually 7.3 liter w/turbo. Lately it's seemed to struggle up hills while hauling and the temperature gauge goes up and then slowly back down on the other side. The turbo doesn't seem to kick on or something. All maintenence is kept regular any thoughts?

Welcome again. :)

Have you flushed the coolant with a good antifreeze lately? What does your coolant look like? Does your fan roar when it starts getting hot? Sorry for the questions, but we need more info to start looking into this. What year truck?

a few months ago. coolant is topped off and green/blue. yes sometimes the fan roars. 1999. thanks.

I take it you have checked for a coolant leak coming from the water pump. Have you changed the thermostat lately.

Yes I've had the pump looked at and it was replaced about 2 years ago as well. I have not replaced the thermostat. I will try that thanks.

Any other suggestions?

The stat on our truck are the long shaft. Some parts houses will sell you a short shaft that will cause the truck to over heat. Be sure you get the right one.

As far as the turbo problem, check all the rubber boots for cracks and tightness. There are 4 of them on the IC tubes and 2 orange ones below the spider leading to the intake manifold. These boots can leak and cause a drop in the boost.

Others will chime in to give you some more help, I need to close the store. I will check back in the morning. Good luck.

have you ever pulled the radiator and cleaned it? I mean pressure washed the fins and removed all the bugs and weeds and dirt. this cannot be done in the truck. if its never been done I guaranty that its 50% plugged with sh-stuff. The debris seems to make through the intercooler and stops at the radiator. Air flow is the key. do the above procedure and I'll bet you temps come down.

Barney

Doesn't the pressure washer tend to bend over your fins?

on the a/c condensor yes but the radiator you can pressure wash as long as you move over it quickly and dont hold the pressure washer in the same place too long........

That's why if I pressure wash the front I do NOT get close to the radiator. Stay at a big distance and don't hit the radiators hard with the pressure washer. Let the mist hit it, that's it. If they are bent then you have air restriction through the coolers and they need to be combed out otherwise all 3 radiators will be starved of cooling air.

The process is real simple. remove the radiator from the truck. lay it face down on a couple of 2x4s or something similar. keep pressure washer at a 12 in distance and wash all the bug guts, weed seeds, and dirt back out the front the way they came in. once you THINK its clean flip it over and do it again. then flip it BACK over and do it again. I have removed as much as 20 lbs of sh-tuff from a single rad. when I did my personal truck. the lower 3 inches were plugged with mud. makes a whole lot of difference. well worth the effort. the AC will even work better. the fan won't come on as often also.
just basic maintenance.


Barney