Noticed a coolant leak earlier in the week but truck drove fine and stayed at steady temp... Last night, however, she started acting up.

The temp gauge went up all the way to the max "safe" temp on the gauge, then started cooling down only to cool about halfway under the 200 degrees that it usually operates at...

Down side here is I'm currently on Austin, TX with work so I don't know any good shops around here...

Any help with what my problem might be or a good shop in the Austin area would be greatly appreciated!

 

I would check the water pump. It has a weep hole that will throw coolant everywhere when going down the road. It is a $50 part and takes less than 30 minutes to install. Simple DIY project. If it is your water pump, you might want to throw in a new thermostat and change the coolant while you are in there.

 

I see your have close the the same setup as I do with the exception of the smarty jr, I was trying to find someone with one to see how well it worked, I was told I need the smarty sr if I had the 60hp injectors, but I dont want to spend that much money if I dont have to, are you happy with the jr, what did it do for fuel economy ? mine sputters if I get into the throttle to much at times and i lost 3-5mpgs after I had them put in

 

There's a thread Hijack!


Any ways, are you seeing any coolant on the ground when the truck sits? Check all hoses and clamps first. Could be something very simple. Check the drain plug on the radiator too. I've read where some people have had issues with these leaking.

If nothing, you can then go to a shop that looks busy, chances are they are reputable. Ask them to do a simple pressure check.

 

Go to your nearest Autozone. For $80 they'll loan you a coolant system test kit. Bring it back, and you get your $80 back. Follow the instructions in the kit, and you should be able to diagnose the problem.