I have a '93 4R 4x4 5 speed. I was towing my empty 6x10 utility trailer that weighs about 500 lbs. Weather was about 95 degrees. Normally my temp gauge, when warmed up, is dead center, maybe a c-hair to the left. Besides severely lacking power & constantly having to go from 4th to 5th, the temp. gauge would go to about the 3/4 on the temp gauge. Then I put an empty deer feeder inside & 5 cattle panels on the trailer(no more than 200 more lbs.). This made the temp gauge get VERY close to the red(about the width of the needle from red). When it did this I'd take the next exit & let it get back to normal temps. Is this normal? I recently flush & changed my coolant & did it properly. Water pump & head gasket replaced <20K miles ago. How can I make it run cooler? Thanks.

 

I bet a new radiator from http://radiator.com will fix it. As your truck gets the miles on it, the radiator tends to form a thicker and thicker calcium coating on the inside....crud and sediment in the cores. The result is the heat cannot transfer from the water as efficiently. The cooling system becomes marginal perhaps after 150 k miles or so. The problem rears its head on the hottest day of the year or when a load is added in. If it overheats on the highway with 60 mph winds blowing thru the radiator then 80% chance it's the radiator.

PS---Here in Arizona, last week we hit 115 degrees....by coincidence, my buddies 1998 Montero sport (160k miles)then decided to almost touch the red line on the highway. Never a problem until this super hot day showed up. I had him immediately order a radiator from the above mentioned place and problem gone now. With the radiator out, we also opted to replace the 3 belts with the super easy access we had

psps---I just got off the phone with the Montero guy....I didn't realize that he had that Montero since it was brand new in 98....and that he never changed out the radiator fluid.....14 year old fluid.....jeez, no wonder the fluid was so funky looking when he drained it on Saturday. Can't really blame him....he's an IT geek genius and knows zero about this kind of thing.

 

Check to make sure your fan is working properly and your shroud is intact.
Should be able to tow fine with that.

 

X2 on the radiator. I just did a water pump on my '03 Tahoe. It had 97k on it. I couldn't believe the gunk inside the pump and thermostat.

 

mud covering the outside even a little bit will take away alot of the cooling capabilities also

 

Fan and shroud both good. What radiator is the best bang for the buck w/out spending $300? Does anybody add electric fans to help the motor mounted 1? If so, which fan? Also, there's an electric fan in front of the A/C cooler so where would I mount an aftermarket electric fan?

 

Should I get a 2 row Performance Radiators or a 3 row CSF? Thanks.

***EDIT*** I just purchased the 2 row Performance Radiators for $157 delivered!

 

I bet they both work just fine for your application. you have a choice of 4 reasonably priced ones from this place alone
http://www.radiator.com/radiator/toy...C+184ci%2C+V-6

 

I've been running the 3 row CSF for a couple of years now; works like a charm.

 

Also check your ignition timing.