borgille
Junior Member
Hey guys. Trying to figure out an issue with my cooling system. Hoping to get some ideas on how to resolve it.
Last week, my truck overheated on the way to work. I managed to pull over quickly and turn the engine off with some white steam coming up from under the hood afterward. While I waited for the tow truck, I noticed that the coolant overflow was empty. And when I got the truck home, the radiator had at most a pint of coolant drain out of it. A while back, I noticed that the truck had been leaking oil, and I suspected that it was the famous oil cooler issue. I got confirmation from a dealership a bit later. I had actually been planning to replace the oil cooler only two days after the truck overheated, but I guess I wasn't quick enough (I got the replacement a day before!). So after I got it home, I spent some time replacing the cooler (upgraded to 2014 version), and I also replaced the plugs since I had the intake off. I figured it would be a good idea to flush the radiator afterward in case any oil got into the coolant, and that's where things have been getting more difficult for me. I wanted to make sure that the cooling system was working before I flushed it because the flush instructions say that it cannot remain in the system more than 4 hours. So, I filled the radiator with water as a temporary measure and started the truck up. It runs fine, and I watched the coolant temperature on the dash rise to about 230 degrees before I got nervous with it and turned it off. The radiator fan had kicked on probably just before it hit 230, but the hoses to it were not very warm. The top one was still cool, and the bottom one was lukewarm. One of the smaller hoses in the front of the engine was much warmer. While it was running, I also noticed that I wasn't getting any heat out of the interior vents even with the heat turned all the way up.
Btw, re air in the lines, I did want to bleed it using the bleeder screw on the thermostat housing, but I'm not sure why anyone would design it so that it was buried almost under the throttle with a thick cable running over the top of it. There is literally about an inch of space over the top of the screw when you pull the cable back. No way to reach it without pulling the intake resonator off the throttle assembly.
So, am I doing something wrong? To me, this seems like coolant isn't flowing to the radiator. Failed thermostat or pump? Anything else that I can check? Anything to get me moving forward again would be appreciated!
Last week, my truck overheated on the way to work. I managed to pull over quickly and turn the engine off with some white steam coming up from under the hood afterward. While I waited for the tow truck, I noticed that the coolant overflow was empty. And when I got the truck home, the radiator had at most a pint of coolant drain out of it. A while back, I noticed that the truck had been leaking oil, and I suspected that it was the famous oil cooler issue. I got confirmation from a dealership a bit later. I had actually been planning to replace the oil cooler only two days after the truck overheated, but I guess I wasn't quick enough (I got the replacement a day before!). So after I got it home, I spent some time replacing the cooler (upgraded to 2014 version), and I also replaced the plugs since I had the intake off. I figured it would be a good idea to flush the radiator afterward in case any oil got into the coolant, and that's where things have been getting more difficult for me. I wanted to make sure that the cooling system was working before I flushed it because the flush instructions say that it cannot remain in the system more than 4 hours. So, I filled the radiator with water as a temporary measure and started the truck up. It runs fine, and I watched the coolant temperature on the dash rise to about 230 degrees before I got nervous with it and turned it off. The radiator fan had kicked on probably just before it hit 230, but the hoses to it were not very warm. The top one was still cool, and the bottom one was lukewarm. One of the smaller hoses in the front of the engine was much warmer. While it was running, I also noticed that I wasn't getting any heat out of the interior vents even with the heat turned all the way up.
Btw, re air in the lines, I did want to bleed it using the bleeder screw on the thermostat housing, but I'm not sure why anyone would design it so that it was buried almost under the throttle with a thick cable running over the top of it. There is literally about an inch of space over the top of the screw when you pull the cable back. No way to reach it without pulling the intake resonator off the throttle assembly.
So, am I doing something wrong? To me, this seems like coolant isn't flowing to the radiator. Failed thermostat or pump? Anything else that I can check? Anything to get me moving forward again would be appreciated!
