Today, after returning from a short trip with the fiver (Cardinal Platinum, approx. 14K lbs) I have to back up a slight incline in a shallow S for a distance of about 150 feet. I'm not a super backer-upper, so this took about 10 minutes or so. When I finished, I expected my trans temp to be up, which it usually is after this backing maneuver, but my engine temp was almost to the high normal mark, about 2/3 around the gauge. The ambient temperature was around 88 with fairly high humidity. Do any of you out there think that I might have a cooling problem? It didn't overheat on the drive home, about 20 miles flat terrain, mostly freeway: 65mph. The needle was right in the middle, more or less, the entire way. Or, while backing, is there just not enough RPM's even if the fan clutch is locked up to provide adequate cooling? By the way, I did have the fan clutch replaced last year.

What do you all think?

 

Total NOOBish response here - check your rad fins and see if they are plugged up with crap. When I looked at the front of my engine cooling rad (not the other three) I couldn't believe the fuzz and spooge that was pile up on the front of the rad where the fan would be sucking through. I backwashed it from the engine side and the temps immediately dropped. We just came back from a tow with our 8,000lb. RV and I definitely noted cooler running temps - even stuck in a massive traffic jam on a Calgary freeway for an hour!

Cheers!

Mike

 

Thanks Mike! I did know that but I'd forgotten about it. I'll give that a shot before anything is done.

DeWain

 

does your truck still have the crankcase breather bottle mounted in the original location. I didn't realize how bad it makes the radiator get plugged up with dirt and junk once the oil gets sprayed on the back side of the radiator.

I just recently moved my breather bottle down towards the sway bar and it works great. i wish i had done it several years ago. after you do this and then spray all the oil and junk out that gets clogged up in the radiator fins you can really notice a difference in the truck staying cooler.

 

Just remember to check that breather bottle after spraying around the front of the engine. Lots of times you end up filling the bottle up with water.

 

id make sure that new fan clutch is operating correctly also

 

To do the job properly, you should pull the radiator. It is impossible to get it completely clean with the shroud and fan still in there (trust me I tried, as I did EVERYTHING in my power to not have to pull that rad). Its not hard to do and its worth it to do it right.

 

my 98.5 will do a similar thing the oil temp gets to 230 but the water stays ok but all comes down when I start moving. I think that some is an issue of heat sink. I have been driving for a long distance and start to back up slowly and the the heat of the engine just starts fill the engine and trans with heat. If I drive a long way and stop the engine and restart in about a half hour I will see a large raise in the trans temp ED ps new radiator and don't have a puke tube near the radiator.

 

First thing I did when I bought mine in99 was to go to Lowes and get a window screen kit. I custom cut it to fit in front of the radiators and now once a year I pull it out and hit it with a hose and scrub brush. My fins look like new still. It was something my grandfather taught me. It's sooo much simpler to remake a screen than to replace a radiator, AC coil and or tranny cooler.