[Matt Bachand]

When I am driving from lot to lot, NOT actually plowing, my truck runs at 210df, When I am plowing/idlling it runs at 188df. I know because my plow is blocking the radiator directly it runs warmer.

I heard you should never run diesels over 200df, however the 210 marker is Dead center of my coolant guage, so should I worry about this, or is this normal?

Once again, when I am plowing or idling, it is right back at its cozy 185-188 mark.

 

[gmctd]

No - that's good and within acceptable range - for winter temps.

Summer you'd be in the 230-up range, and that would be bad.

If it wants to creep up over 220deg in winter ambients, you should pull the radiator and clean out all the accrued junk from behind the ac condensor.

You will definitely want to do that before summertime, so it will be ready for summer heat, and next winter, as the stuff constantly accumulates there.

 

[Matt Bachand]

well, if i have my plow on in summer time, somethings wrong ... I wont worry about it then.... Wasn't sure if i needed to buy a new fan/clutch but since i'm broke i wont now, thank you gmctd

 

[gmctd]

No prob - but, don't forget to pull the rad for the cleanout B4 summer - you'll be amazed at the quantity of stuff there.

And simply blowing or washing it won't even make a dent in the stuff.

 

[Dave12]

No prob - but, don't forget to pull the rad for the cleanout B4 summer - you'll be amazed at the quantity of stuff there.

And simply blowing or washing it won't even make a dent in the stuff.

Any FAQ available for rad pulling procedure? After reading a few threads about coolant temps, I think mine needs to be done. I routinely get up to 100C when towing in the summer. I think maybe I'm in need of a rad cleaning and possibly a HD fan clutch.

Thanks,
Dave

 

[Scrufdog]

i took the front grill/headlights off to do my truck. Undid the mounts on ALL the coolers up there. Got in between things, scooped all the crap out of there. Then I took a hose and sprayed everything from the back of the coolers...engine side towards bumper. The radiator...well it took about 20 minutes of full blast spraying before the water ran clear. Condenser was almost as bad. Oil/tranny/pwr str coolers werent so bad, but i cleaned em out anyway.

Made a world of difference. Truck ran cooler, A/C got colder faster. Took me about 2 hours taking my time. Well worth it.

 

[Dave12]

So did you complete remove the rad or did you do it while it was still on the truck?

 

[jifaire]

I did both, Dave ... did it on the truck ... and then did it right.

I couldn't BELIEVE how much came out the second time... when I tried to do it in the truck, I finally had the water running clear, thought I was done. Washed out about 10 lbs of crap. Dead bugs, mud, poplar fluff, slow hitchikers...

If you have the time, pull it, wash it, soak it with foamy cleaner (I used formula 409), have a beer ... wash and repeat.

You get another 10 lbs out. Unbelievable.

 

[Scrufdog]

yeah, left it in. I did use some Gunk engine degreaser though.

 

[montemike]

My truck runs 200-210 all year around I never worried about it but in spring Ill pull the rad and flush the system

 

[85vette]

I've not driven mine in the summer yet but on days here with temps in the 70's its constantly running about 160. Is that normal or is my gauge off? It's a 1998 F VIN with 3:73 gears.

 

[gmctd]

160 is low, 195 is good - your truck is 9 years old, clean between the radiator and the ac condenser, and check to see if the t-stats are missing.

 

[LoCrasto]

When I have my plow on I just angle it all the way to the left or right and it runs at 185ish running 70 down the turnpike though the 97 6.5 I had you could not go any faster then 40 or it would overheat

I do know my 99 has 3500 t bars in it and the truck does not sag with the plow up I wonder if that as something to do with it.... Cuz the 97 would drop like 3 1/2" when the plow was up...

Later Johnny

 

[Dave12]

So what exactly is involved in pulling the rad? Is it pretty straight forward? I've never done it and I've never really looked around in there to see what is involved. I assume the coolant has to be drained first. Then what?

Thanks,
Dave

 

[nickg]

For a quick look and clean just remove the upper fan shroud, (takes 2-3mins) then lean the rad back towards the fan and you will have all kinds of room to look/clean the rad, soak it with what ever degreaser you want then flush it out. I dont think its worth dropping the coolant unless its due to be changed anyway

 

[Dave12]

The coolant likely needs to be changed. I don't know what the regular interval is, but nothing has been done with it since I bought the truck in April 04. So to competely remove the rad I need to drain the coolant?

I hate asking questions before I even look at it, but is there anything I should know or look for?

Thanks,
Dave

 

[Dieseldreamr]

ya you will need to drain the rad if your taking it out, i mean that is unless you want coolant all over your floor, There is also a easy route to take to put a hose on the drain pet**** if you look at www.kennedydiesel.com and go to tech tips then click on 6.5L.

 

[jifaire]

If your coolant has to be changed anyway (most of us don't do this nearly enough), then pulling it out isn't that bad. Follow Kennedy's idea, put a drain line on the radiator pet**** and drain the coolant.

Remove the upper brackets and pull the fan shroud.

Draw a diagram of the serpentine belt path, loosen the belt tensioner and pull the belt. Inspect it for wear/cracks (most of us don't do that nearly enough) and get a new one if necessary, undo the bolts on the fan clutch and remove the fan and clutch. Put bolts back in pulley & hand-tighten (or you'll lose 'em .. don't ask me how I know this)

Pull the hoses (yep, you're gonna want to replace the spring clips on the hoses with new hose clamps - I'm not sure I trust those spring clips when I put them back on.) Undo the coolant lines - put balloon or condom over ends of lines to stop dripping.

Lift it out, put it face down on sawhorses or 5-gallon plastic buckets, (someplace where you can just let the mess wash away... steep driveways are good for this, or that part of the garden you wish wouldn't grow anyway) and wash/soak/beer/wash/soak/beer/wash. Soak with foaming cleaner. Beer is for you.

While it dries, this is a good time to change thermostats (most of us don't do this often enough anyway), or do anything else with cooling system, like change the heater line hose barb (tick, tick, tick...GM time bomb) or put in a Balance-Flow)

Put it back together in reverse order (remember that serpentine belt diagram?). Add new coolant (some guys recommend crushing up some GM sealtabs and adding them at this point - probably a good idea) at 50/50 mix.

Burp.

Again.

Check for leaks.

Be cool.

 

[Dave12]

Jimmy you are a funny guy!

Thanks for the info. I'll save this for reference material. I won't be doing this job in this weather. If only I had a house with a garage, it doesn't even have to be a heated garage!

Sounds like a good time to put in one of those Heath HD fan clutches that we talked about.

Dave

 

[Joey D]

Just to add, pulling the coolant sensor in the head also drains a lot of fluid out of the block