Cooling.....or am I

[Goofyexponent]

Ok, I was just out workin on the truck. I adjusted the steering box and took it for a run. I ran it kinda hard trying to warm it up.

My temperature gauge was reading 180*F. The sender is in teh head where the over temperature switch SHOULD be...so all readings will be a little warmer as this is directly over an exhaust valve IIRC.

With the gauge reading 180* the upper tank was warm...almost too warm to touch. I crawled under the truck to tighten down all the bolts that I played with and noticed the lower radiator tank was ICE cold.

I popped the cap and was greeted with HOT coolant spraying out (not a lot, jsut a dribble) and I thought this was odd. So I took it for a quick run, and got it upto 205* and brought it home to check it. Top tank was hot, lower tank was ICE cold. Even the whole rad was ice cold....excpet for the top tank.

Do I need a radiator? Or has my water pump taken a sh**?

Whichever is the most expensive is what's wrong with my truck....that is just my luck.

 

[FORDF250HDXLT]

funny someone else was just saying this.
the radiator is a water cooler.
hot coolant in - cold coolant out.
that's the "cooler" doing its job properly.
hot coolant in - hot coolant out would result in a overheated engine.

the radiator is so massive on the diesel,because it needs to cool in very hot weather while working hard.naturally it's going to be overkill for a truck not working in low temps.
thus why electric engine fans should not be quickly dismissed by the masses like they are.especially by people just driving around empty most of the time.there's $ in fuel to be saved here,and power to be freed.
at the very least,an e-fan for winter and stock locking fan for summer.

 

[Goofyexponent]

funny someone else was just saying this.
the radiator is a water cooler.
hot coolant in - cold coolant out.
that's the "cooler" doing its job properly.
hot coolant in - hot coolant out would result in a overheated engine.

the radiator is so massive on the diesel,because it needs to cool in very hot weather while working hard.naturally it's going to be overkill for a truck not working in low temps.
thus why electric engine fans should not be quickly dismissed by the masses like they are.especially by people just driving around empty most of the time.there's $ in fuel to be saved here,and power to be freed.
at the very least,an e-fan for winter and stock locking fan for summer.

That does make sense to me, but shouldn't eh lower radiator hose be warm at all? There wasn't even a HINT of warmish coolant flowing through it.

When I squeeze the little piece of lower hose without the steel coil in it, the coolant level goes up and down in the rad, so I don't think it's plugged.

But the temperature never comes up to what I think is above normal, so you very well might be right!!

 

[94turboidi]

I wonder if it just didn't get warm enough for the thermostat to open?

 

[Goofyexponent]

I wonder if it just didn't get warm enough for the thermostat to open?

205 on the aftermarket gauge is normal running temperature for her. I am going to take it on a little run to the village tomorrow...10 minutes away and see what it does. If it is screwed up, it's been like that for a while...it's always acted normal.

I am just paranoid as it' lay off season AND Christmas eve tomorrow.

 

[dsltech83]

I wonder if it just didn't get warm enough for the thermostat to open?

If the upper tank was warm/hot to the touch the t-stat would have been open. Coolant circulates through the block, bypass, and heater hoses until the t-stat opens IIRC.

 

[94turboidi]

When my thermostat stuck this summer it was doing that. The bottom hose was cold and the top just getting hotter and hotter. I tried to take it on a test drive but it got way got way fast. I just have a factory gauge. Not sure what I would think though if it was doing that and it was running a normal temp on a aftermarket gauge. Maybe it was cold enough out to keep it from overheating but the thermostat is stuck shut?

 

[94turboidi]

Maybe I am just thinking about this wrong then.

 

[Goofyexponent]

I hope not. I kow it don't mean anything, but I JUST put all new coolant, SCA's and a new thermostat and gasket (Ford Parts!!). I pulled the block drains as well, ALL coolant was drained and replaced.

The rad didn't looked plugged, but it might be on it's way out.

What are the alum. rads like? Any good?

 

[MR.T]

How about this test:

Drain the coolant until it's about at the tube sheet in the radiator. Leave the rad cap off, the exata space will keep the coolant from over-flowing and let you see the flow.

Start the engine and wait until the t-stat should open. You should see flow, and it should flow down the tubes. If the flow backs up, rad is plugged. No flow means t-stat never opens, maybe the water pump isn't making pressure, etc.

On mine, at idle rpm the coolant will not overflow the hole for the cap, but revving the engine high can if the t-stat is open enough to get the flow high. Move the throttle slowly to minimize the chance of a surge of coolant overflowing the hole for the cap.

BTW- I've an AL radiator and heater core. Only a year old, but so far I'm very happy with both.

 

[FORDF250HDXLT]

Goofy,if your not going to trust the actual temps the aftermarket gauge is showing.......then why did you buy it?
MR.T feel your bottom rad hose tomorrow after she's up to operating temp so goofy can feel better.

 

[MR.T]

Goofy,if your not going to trust the actual temps the aftermarket gauge is showing.......then why did you buy it?
MR.T feel your bottom rad hose tomorrow after she's up to operating temp so goofy can feel better.

Good point. The outside temp up North is probably very cold, so it's not going to take much coolant flow, and has a long time to get cold traveling down the radiator. I've felt the bottom tank while idling for a while in freezing weather and remember it feeling cold.

 

[OLDBULL8]

Here's how the coolant flows.

You must be registered for see images