Heating up under load - -Need advice

[poolguy]

Guys, I need some advice. My 94 F350 CC is having a problem AGAIN & I'm at a loss. I've just had a Ford Re-Man trans installed. The old one fried under a load 2 weeks ago. I pulled a load (backhoe) and the temp guage went almost all the way across. Had to drive at 35 on level road to keep the temp in the normal range. I took it back to Ford & the said they checked the clutch fan & it's OK, but the radiator would'nt pass a flow test. They put in a NEW one. Then I had to replace the turbo, but I don,t believe that any thing to do with the fact that I pulled the same load yesterday (just to try it) and the temp guage went almost all the way to hot in 5 miles at 55mph on level road & when I dropped back to 35 it came back down.
I have ordered guages, (pryo, trans temp, boost) but they are not here yet, so I can,t give any exhaust temps, but there is little to no black smoke under acceleration. I need to pull the same load 110 miles on Tues. morn.. The Ford shop said to bring it in Monday morning & I,mm losing faith in them.
The truck runs at low temps (at or below the letter N in "normal" on the guage) when empty no matter how I drive it or how hot it is outside.
I'm at a loss. The factory coolers are whats on the trans, & the Ford tech maintains that should be adequate. I had asked that a larger cooler be installed at the time the trans was.
I read about some of you who dont have any temp change when under load, and of course some do. I have spent a lot on the truck lately & now I need it to do it's job. PUULLLLL!!!!!
Please shed some light on this.
Thanks,
Chuck

 

[Michael Fowler]

Bad news.
I know you said the Ford tech saifd the fan clutch was OK. I am not sure I would believe him. When the engine got hot, did you ever hear the fan "roar"?

According to my literature there are several tests for the fan clutch:
1)Cold Engine, engine OFF----rotate the fan by hand. There should be some drag, yet it should be smooth thruought a full rev. If it is not smooth, or is loose, replace the fan clutch
2) Open the hood and start the engine, and run it to about 2000 rpm--fan should engage initially, then disengage. Engagement is indicated by the distinctive " roaring" sound. If fan clutch does not engage, or fails to disengage, replace the fan clutch.
3) With the engine running place a piece of cardbord over the front of the radiator, blocking the air flow. Run the engine at 2500 rpm, watching the temp gauge. As the temperature gaguge climbs, but before it reaches the "hot" zone, the fan clutch should engage, ( "Roaring sound") . If it does not engage, and before the engine overheats stop the engine, remove the cardboard, replace the fan clutch.
If the fan clutch engaged, with the engine still running, remove the cardboard. As the engine cools, the fan should disengage, ( no more "roaring"), If it fails to disengage, replace the fan clutch.

Since the test is so easy to perform, I would not take the word of a dealer tech. Check it yourself.

 

[Joe Mc]

The Ford temp gauge is a joke, intall a real temp gauge and then try pulling the load to see if it really getting hot.

 

[poolguy]

I'm familiar with the inequities of the factory guages (thats why I orderd new) but the thing reads low empty, but went to the A or L in "NORMAL" under load. This indicates some ability to read temp, and a difference in temp under load. Again, I NEED to pull the load on Tues. & am trying to fix the problem now.

 

[Exekiel69]

As stated, You should be able to hear the fan clutch engage at high temps if such thing is actually happening. Maybe it is also time to change to another mechanic and get a second opinion or do it Yourself if You have the time. Sounds strange to Me they would replace the rad and not the t-star.

 

[Joe Mc]

You may only be climbing from 190 to 200 while towing, in that case the engine would be normal, despite what the factory gauge claims.

Your post did not mention a water temp gauge, I didn't realize that you had ordered a new one.

 

[banshee350]

I take it your over temp light did not come on.if so you may not be overheating.It is in the head and trips at 230 or so this drives the gauge to full temp and brings on the light. Have you changed your stat mine was bad and truck would not warm up very fast when it was cold out and would run hot pulling hills.

 

[Diesel JD]

Rather than continuing to throw money at it, I would get a cheap mechanical gauge from Wal Mart or your auto parts house until the new good one gets here. Very very easy to install and should cost you about $15-20. Well worth it for the peace of mind. Also, I am not sure what these other guys think but the factory cooler for the E40DOA may not be up to heavy pulling....I might want to see you add an auxillary cooler if its in the budget especially if that backhoe is going to be being pulled often at all. BTW, normal for these trucks would be 192-212*F warmed up...I think the overheat idiot light comes on at 243*, between 212-243 the fan clutch is supposed to help keep you cool. Normal is to see the temp spike up when you are pulling heavy especially with the AC on and if its hot, then cool back down when you slow down or when the fan clutch engages. I have never heard mine engage but strongly suspect it works well since as long as I can keep moving, I never see high coolant temps even pulling. As soon as the temp begins to approach the danger zone, it will back down to the Normal 192-212 range by the mech. gauge. A man could go broke at the Ford dealer...especially since they are mostly clueless on these motors. Not sure I'd trust them with an older PSD let alone an IDI.

 

[dualexhaust]

What you are describing is exactly what happened to me last summer on my trip from Utah to Glacier National Park/Waterton and back. The reason you get cooling at 35 MPH is the RPM's of the engine are slow enough the clutch fan doesn't slip, but at higher RPM(s) it does. Also your heat load is lower, so airflow past the radiator is probably enough to keep up. I ended up bolting my clutch solid to get me home from that trip, to avoid engine melt-down.

 

[Agnem]

I noticed that the Lady Moose gets up towards 230 or so (I have a good ISSPro guage, but the resolution at higher temps is not that great). The factory gauge moves from the "m" in Normal to the "a" at this point. It never seems to want to go any higher than that, but at that temp, I can feel a lot of heat wafting up from under the dash, and my Hypermax turbo up pipes will actually start to rub from the expansion of all proximity metals. I may need to check into the fan, but I'm just wondering if 230 is that unusual when towing a GVW of 16,000 over the highest point on I-80.

 

[Joe Mc]

towing a GVW of 16,000 over the highest point on I-80.

Mel, when were you towing in Wyoming?

 

[Agnem]

OK... OK.... In Pennsylvania