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Overheatin. Weird problem...

Stomis

Stomis

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Well I have an electric fan on my truck. It keeps the thing cool as hell. I also have a 160* thermo stat which also keeps the thing even cooler. Also have a can of water wetter in it. Driving on the roads, in traffic, freeway, around town the truck runs at like 150*.

If I take it offroad and start driving down a trail the temperature goes right up to 200-225*. I had to blast my heat coming down the trail today with the 160* tstat and a racing fan....

Got on the road and it shot right back down to 150-160*.

Before we give the obvious, no the rad isnt clogged with mud, no it doesnt leak.

I'm thinking the best place to start is a rad flush. Any ideas?
 
Did it do this before the electric fan? Got a mechanical to swap in?

Demand on the cooling system is much lower at idle than under load, (IE, wheeling) so I'd really verify that the electric is moving enough air. There are a fair number of people out there whose electric fans work perfectly fine, except in situations like towing, where demand on the engine is extremely high.

As to the radiator, if in doubt, have it flow tested (if you can) and/or replace it. Radiator flushes IMO are a waste of money and time. If it needs a flush, it's corroded and that's not going to solve the problem.
 
Imo, it sounds like the fan isn't moving enough air.

How long has the electric fan been on? Is the overheating issue new to an existing set up?
 
The electric fan isn't moving enough air through the radiator to keep the engine cool when you're working it hard at low speeds. Crawling puts an extreme load on the cooling system.
You can either A: get a bigger electric fan/add another.
B: build a fan shroud so the electric fan pulls air through more of the radiator.
C: go to an engine driven clutch fan
or
D: a combination of above.
 
The truck had the electric fan when I bought it. It was on there due to the fact that the truck had a 3in body lift. So now that the body lift is taken off I guess I'll simplify things and switch to a clutch mechanical fan.
 
Do many people run their rigs at 150-160*? Just seems REALLY cool.
 
Do many people run their rigs at 150-160*? Just seems REALLY cool.
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It's not real good to have it run that cool especially if the engine isn't being loaded down enough to get the oil temperature up. Engine oil needs to be above 180-190 degrees to effectively burn off moisture, acids etc.
There is no power advantage of running 160* compared to 180* and in fact the lower oil temperature will cost power and engine life.
 
I have noticed that many people that install an electric fan, do so without a shroud of any kind, making the fan not very efficient. Is that possible here?
 
Most electric fans that are worth any money already have a shroud built into them. Depending on the design, they don't need much if any shroud, usually just enough to cover the tips of the blades. Since the pitch of the blade of an electric usually isn't much, the shroud is typically only an inch or two thick. Thin fans help the engineers cram the powerplant into ever smaller engine bays.
 
I have had nothing but problems with my electric. I wish I would have just stuck with the mechanical.
 
bigblock72 said:
It's not real good to have it run that cool especially if the engine isn't being loaded down enough to get the oil temperature up. Engine oil needs to be above 180-190 degrees to effectively burn off moisture, acids etc.
There is no power advantage of running 160* compared to 180* and in fact the lower oil temperature will cost power and engine life.
Click to expand...

The only reason I did it was because of my fan problems.

I definatly know now that my problem is the fan. I left my truck idling for a good 20mins today and the temp started to creep up. I dont know how it started all of the sudden nor do I care. I'm just gonna switch back to a mechanical. Just need to get a shroud.
 
im hoping ill be installing my new engine tomorrow...as for fans im using a brand new Windstar dual fan setup i got at work(for about $100) with a brand new 3 row radiator, new water pump, and 180* fail safe thermostat...once i get it running and everything dialed in ill let you know if it gets hot

it seems the Windstar fan setup is the preferred swap setup from what ive read on here so we will see how good it works
 
I am working my way back to the mechanical too. I just found a shroud now I need a few more parts. Live and learn I guess.
 
Yeah i hear ya. I have some crappy single aftermarket fan that covers like 1/3 of the radiator. Atleast with the fan and shroud I'll have more blown air, nothing killing my battery, and the shroud will stop all that mud from getting in there.
 
I have seen dual fan set ups that use one fan as long as all is cool, then when things heat up (wheelin) the second will kick in providing a significant increase in air-flow through the radiator. Might be something you will want to look in to.
 
It really sounds like your fan. You should consider duals or just get a mechanical. Like these guys said the singles just arent enough epecially wheeling. All the drivetrain temps get hotter including your tranny. If you dont have a seperate tranny cooler its probably getting real hot too without you knowing it. Trust me a good fan is money well spent. Especially if your running aluminum heads or your tranny is getting too hot.
 
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