Also, a perfectly good fan clutch can get seriously desensitized to rad heat as a result of clogged rad fins because of the puke bottle problem. I experienced this in my 98.5.....I thought the clutch was smoked because it never really came on when the engine got hot when working hard......pulled the rad and washed the exterior (it was badly clogged), installed it and presto, the fan clutch worked fine when towing heavy and there were no longer any temp issues.

I agree with the TC issue......your truck should be able to get 20k GCWR moving just fine without the need for 4LO. FWIW, I have not seen a 2nd gen CTD with an ATF heat exchanger in the rad....it has always only been a separate primary cooler.....I did not realize some came equipped this way?

 

well... i just assumed it was in the bottom of the radiator... it is on my 98 Jeep (DC Also), i do know it has a cooler, never really looked.

is it nessassary to pull the radiator to clean it.... i was going to spray engine degreaser on it, hose it off from the backside ??????

 

If it's like my previous 1996 V-10/47RE 3500, the transmission fluid flow is from the transmission to a radiator tank cooler (in the passenger side tank of the radiator), then to a oil-to-air cooler (on the driver's side of the cooler stack), then back to the transmission.

Rusty

 

No way......the only way to get the front side of the rad clean is to pull it out of the truck.....it actually isn't very difficult on a 2nd gen CTD.....you will be surprised how clogged it is.

 

Exactly what I was thinking. My truck got warm when towing (3/4 on the gauge). After learning about the "puke bottle" on the net, I removed the rad. It was nearly plugged on the outside with brown "fuzz". The fuzz was from oil vapors collecting on the rad from the puke bottle, then the dust/fuzz/dirt sticks to the rad. A can of engine degreaser and a pressure washer on the rad, new coolant, and a new thermostat - and now she stays cool towing havy loads.

Don't be afraid to pull the rad. It's pretty easy to do, and that's the only way to clean it good. Trust me. My rad was very dirty - with only 45,000 miles on the clock. I imagine your 99 has a few more. Do it right, pull and clean the rad, new T-stat, new coolant, maybe new fan clutch. That'll solve you heat issues, and it's a WHOLE lot cheaper than a new Cummins.

 

well i pulled / cleaned the radiator, replaced the fan clutch, replaced the thermostat guess we shall see next weekend

fwiw the thermostat i pulled was a 180 (factory) and the one i installed was a 190 so the truck runs 10 deg warmer now

radiator was really dirty, cleaned it and put cardboard in front of it to warm it up @ 210 the fan clutch was spinning easily (same as 180 deg) so i replaced it

 

If you had cardboard in front of the radiator, you had no air flow and the fan clutch could not sense the 210 degF coolant temperature. The fan clutch works on air temp coming through the radiator, so with no air flow, the fan clutch likely won't engage.

Rusty

 

I cannot stress enough on how true this statement is. Contrary to another post on this subject using "wands" to power wash the radiator in the truck, hands down the BEST way is to remove it and clean it.

....on the fan clutch test you can get the clutch to engage with cardboard in front of the radiator (turn a/c OFF!! and be sure the rad is CLEAN). The clutch will kick in at about 3/4 of the gauge sweep. I'll set the idle up to around 1800-2000. May take awile depending on ambient air temp.

 

If you have neglected your puke bottle and let the oil and dirt build up really bad, granted, the radiator removal is the way to go. If you have taken care of the buildup problem, the wand does an excellent job of keeping the dust, dirt and grass from building up and blocking air flow. I never did let mine get out of hand, and some degreaser and the wand took care of my "slight" overheating problem. Now, two or three times a year, I spray down the front of the engine and the back of the radiator with a degreaser and use the wand and my truck has never even made it to the 190* mark.

As a side note, my '99 didn't have a bottle, just a hose about 8 inches long. I ran a 1/2 inch, oil resistant hose, the down hill all the way to behind the drivers seat.

 

agree... i did pull my radiator

my 99 doesnt have a bottle either same 8" hose

i ran mine inside the frame rail back under the drivers seat