water temp.. how much is too much and how much is normal?

[dslbroncotom]

ok, sounds good,

hey, is the paper gasket necessary for the thermostat housing, can i get away with using black permetex rtv?

I have no way of testing the thermostats now. I really hope i dont have any serious cooling issues.

Mine never gets past the "N" in "Normal" on my gauge. If you wanna test the t stat put it in boiling water with a food thermometer and see if it opens at the correct temp.

 

[1994Diesel]

i litteraly have no way to test it, im doing the work in a hotel parking lot. My goal is to get my truck and camper home in one piece, once at home i can figure things out.

 

[The Warden]

Where are you at right now? ...maybe there's someone nearby who might be able to give you a hand?

 

[1994Diesel]

Im in Boulder, CO right now. I would really appreciate that, if someone lent me a hand.

 

[Agnem]

I would love to see someone with 7.3 cooling problems open up their heads and return the cooling passages to their original design as in the 6.9. I firmly believe this is why so many 7.3 guys have problems cooling. You rarely ever hear about a 6.9 cooling issue that isn't directly related to a plugged radiator (ala Michael Fowler), while 7.3 guys are the ones getting the Rodney Red 5 row all alluminum jobbies. My theory is the water coming out of a 7.3 block is much hotter than what comes out of a 6.9, due to the slow coolant flow through the 7.3 heads (and I don't suppose the 10 extra HP helps any). It would be interesting to equip two trucks (one a 6.9 and the other a 7.3) of equal weight and gearing with identical radiators, and upper radiator hose temperature probes and see what they look like on the same hills.

 

[icanfixall]

Mel... The Rodney Red all aluminum radiators are a two tow setup. They have a wide 1 inch or 1 1/4 inch tube. Not a 5 row tube setup. I think maybe I will buy a 6.9 head gasket and compare it to one of my 7.3 head gaskets. I will post any differances in the coolant passenges here.. We have a few members in the area so stand by for some nearby help...

 

[1994Diesel]

That sounds like a really cool project that i would be interested in, i might be getting my hands on an old work truck, from a friend, with a 7.3 in it that i can take apart and experiment with.

 

[1994Diesel]

hey, is the paper gasket necessary for the thermostat housing, can i get away with using black permetex rtv?

Disregard this.

 

[Agnem]

Mel... The Rodney Red all aluminum radiators are a two tow setup. They have a wide 1 inch or 1 1/4 inch tube. Not a 5 row tube setup. I think maybe I will buy a 6.9 head gasket and compare it to one of my 7.3 head gaskets. I will post any differances in the coolant passenges here.. We have a few members in the area so stand by for some nearby help...

I stand corrected. But I think I was really just aluding. I should have just said "Rodney Red's with a zillion rows" or something like that.

What you will see is that the 6.9 head gaskets have coolant passages in all 4 corners, where as the 7.3 has it in only the top two.

 

[1994Diesel]

Well, the rad IS plugged up, I'm having a radiator shop install a new 3 row one, it will be 470 installed and all. He says that cleaning the old one might not work. Soo huge lesson learned here. Don't take the truck on a road trip with out REALLY going through it, changing the coolant and flushing it isn't enough.

 

[subway]

ouch, at least you got it fixed now and can drie home without burning down the motor. migt want to re-check the clamps after it as been run a bit to make sure non backed off.

 

[icanfixall]

Always check the clamps at every refuel stop. Look under the truck for coolany puddles too. That way you wont get any surprises on the road....

 

[Black dawg]

Mel, thats interesting because Ive come to the conclusion that I need more coolant flow through and out of the motor.

 

[1994Diesel]

ok, will check the clamps.

The cooling difference is huge! It seems like no matter what grade it doesn't get any hotter than 200. This is great! My old rad must have been pretty damn plugged.

I asked the guy at the shop if I should put trans fluid in since I lost some during the rad change, he said no, it wasn't that much( this guy was the assistant) so later down the road I checked it because I was curious.... IT was about 2 quarts low!

I topped it off of course, but it kinda freked me out though. I know running these trans low on fluid is a big no no.

 

[Agnem]

Mel, thats interesting because Ive come to the conclusion that I need more coolant flow through and out of the motor.

I'm thinking all you will have to do is drill some holes. Just grab a free 7.3 head and a headgasket for a 6.9, compare, and go.