Coolant Temperature?

03wr250f

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I just finished a radiator swap from my oem to a champion radiator 3 row
I also filled with fleetcharge sca pre filled coolant
I put a new motorcraft thermostat and gasket in as well as scraped all the forma gasket off the housing and cleaned out the slot for the little ball to move feely.
I also put on a new napa 4070 coolant filter on
I tested it all yesterday and it worked perfectly but after work I checked my coolant freeze point with a fractometer or whatever that fancy tool is called. I was at -10 below and I like running my stuff to at least -45 below since I live in montana.
I pulled coolant out and got it to about -40 below and called it good for the day. I headed home and it worked perfectly.
(I took it out and ran up a 5% grade yesterday that 2 miles long and the needle moved a needle width from where it had been running and that is the low end of the sweep of the gauge.)
I went out to get stuff out of my truck after about 45 min of sitting I noticed a small puddle of something that had dried recently from under my truck. It looked like coolant because in 45 min it just left a wet spot and I feel like any oil would have left more of a residue. I then checked and saw no leaks. I decided to take it on a drive and see how it was. I got about a mile from my house and then noticed the needle had moved to just under the n in normal and basically stayed there for the next 30-45 min of my driving to see if anything would change. A buddy of mine thinks there may be an air bubble under the coolant temp gauge sender but idk. and I have to drive 4 hours home tomorrow with it. Any help is much apreicated.
 

gandalf

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One thing which you must understand and always keep in mind about these trucks is that the coolant temp gauge is nothing more than a moving idiot light. Never rely on it to be totally accurate.

Your description doesn't sound, to me, to be terribly concerning. I may have missed something, but I don't think I'd be too worried. I'd watch it carefully on the drive home, of course, and not push the truck too hard. Once home I'd try to find that little leak. I'd stop periodically along the way to see whether it's leaking enough to be worried about.

The other thing I'd plan to do would be to buy some gauges I could rely on, some aftermarket gauges.
 

03wr250f

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Alright I have been religoiously checking it all of last night and today. I have not seen even a dribble. I am almost wondering if it wasn't even me who left the spot. Either way today on the way to work the gauge was moving just like the thermostat was working moved like a whole half of a neeld width and basically was glued right beneath the n in normal. I also have a isspro coolant temp gauge on the way. thanks
 

greenskeeper

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install the "real" gauge and see what temps you are running.
 

03wr250f

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alright it probably wont get here until next week but where is the best place to put it... do you guys have any links or good description as to an accurate location
 

Ruger_556

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At the N in the gauge is where my truck always ran. I wouldn't worry about it.
 

03wr250f

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I would agree with you there. And She did run perfectly fine all the way to my girlfriends house. It fluctrauted between the empty point where it says C and the start of the gauge and then it would work its way back up to being glued at N. I didn't see any problem with that since it ran fine and no leaks. At my girlfirends house it sat for almost 2 hours then I went to fire it up. It was about 60* out. I let it warm up and then turned the heater on while it was still idling. I got cold air. and my truck has no refrigerant in it to have ac.. the whole way home it stayed in bewtween where it has a C and the start of the gauge almost dead set in the middle(it did fluctuate a small amount but I don't know if that means anything at all). When I got home I put my hand on the radiator hoses top and bottom were both as they should be pretty warm. but one of the hoses to the heater core was hot and one was cold...did I lose my heater core
 

03wr250f

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out of curiosity should I take and move this over to the regular thread or just continue here since its not urgent now.
next question. I don't have exhaust gases flowing out of the radiator but right after I start it up with the radiator cap off the fluid level starts rising and in about 60 seconds I have to put the cap on or it will start overflowing.
Did I toast a headgasket? I sure hope not but if I did I need to know so I can get on fixing it. or is that the way it should be. it never did that before but I also had that little check ball valve clogged with formagasket? Sorry for all the questions. A lot of things I have never seen before have been happening and I don't like it when my truck is not correct. Thanks for all the help guys
 
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