A.Wilson013

I am not too worried about this, yet, but my thermostat usually shows I run at about 190 degrees. Goes up to MAYBE 195, then cools back down.

The past few days it's been going up to about 200-210ish before it cools back down. Any ideas?

Thanks in advance,

Alex

OutlawMike

Could be a few things. How old are the cooling components? Is it low on fluid?

Could be a blocked up radiator that has finally reached the limit of it's capacity. Could be a fan clutch going bad.

To check the fan clutch, drive it until it is warm in town. Stop, spin the fan. If it spins really easy after it is warmed up, probably the fan clutch.

TNRabbit

Have you driven differently? Different gas? Diff. location (hills, etc)?

A.Wilson013

The fluids are all fine. That was my first thought, so I topped it off.

What do you mean by "blocked up radiator"?

I will try to fan clutch thing here in a couple of minutes...

Thank you for your input,
Alex

I am driving exactly the same. Well, maybe taking it a little easier on it, really.

Same gas.

Last week I was up around 4k elevation with my father hunting. Tons of hills and all that goodness. Would that be affecting what is happening now, back home?

Alex

OutlawMike

The radiator can corrode or fill with gunk over time if the incorrect fluid is used.

If you mix your fluid with tap water, the minerals can deposit in the cooling system, clogging it up. If you run the fluid too long, it loses it's corrosion protection and the radiator starts to corrode, closing up the flow passages. If you look down through the radiator cap you should see brass, not corrosion or a rough surface.

The fluid should be mixed with distilled water to a 50/50 ratio. You can get away with a 70/30 ratio (more water, less coolant) in areas that do not hard freeze.

Good luck.

A.Wilson013

So if this were the case, how would I go about resolving this?


Also, I checked the fan after a little drive just now. It does spin rather easily. If I flip my wrist, it makes at least 1 rotation.

You think my problem would be the fan clutch then?

Thanks,
Alex

OutlawMike

One turn is not that bad, actually. When mine went out it would spin 3 or 4 rotations after a hot shut down, basicly free spinning. Also, mine would start to run warm in town traffic, but run cool at freeway speeds, flat, and run warm when climbing hills at freeways speeds (in 90 degree CA heat). This was due to the fan clutch not engaging when it should have.

I don't know if there is a test for the radiator, maybe someone else has some old school way of telling. The first place to start would be to replace the thermostat, as they are cheap and farily easy to replace. You may want to freshen the fluid anyway before winter.

If that does not prove to be the problem, then you can move on to the other components, water pump, fan clutch, or the radiator itself. Oh, and you want to make sure your sensor is actually correct, no sense in chasing your tail when it is just the reading that is wrong.

Good luck.

A.Wilson013

How would I check the sensor?

I am pretty sure that's the problem, really.

When it gets up to 210ish it drops back to 190 in literally less than 1 second. It seems fishy to me that a temperature of anything could change so rapidly.

Alex

TNRabbit

A properly working fan clutch should not let the fan turn more than 1/4-1/2 turn MAX when warmed up.

You may have an issue with the sensor wire (short) or the sensor. OEM wiring?

9o7yota

My truck before i blew my HG.. on the initial warm up would heat up to a higher than normal temp..prob around 200-210. then i would smell antifreeze and it would go back down to normal.

Sticky thermostat. It was bangin all of a sudden once the pressure built up enough from the heat.

This COULD be the case, but urs is intermitten. Run a gallon of Purple Power engine degreaser along with water/antifreeze. This will clean it up nice. Change it after a couple hundred miles.

could also be a sensor, or a faulty gauge. Regardless, get it fixed dude... its not something u should "not" be worried about. Mine costed me an engine rebuild

A.Wilson013

I have OEM wiring, yes. I will look more into the fan clutch though.

Thanks,
Alex

Thanks for the tips. I will try this when I get some time.

On a side note-- Do you like Astoria, OR? I swear I have seen your truck before... I know I have seen that EXACT paint job. I think it may have been on an older truck though... Hm...

Alex