I started the truck up and observed with the radiator cap off for about 30 minutes.
I saw no bubbles appear in the radiator. Just as I observed when this problem began, I can't really tell if water is flowing properly through the system. It wasn't like watching a rushing river through the filler neck.
The engine reached about 190-195 while idling. I decided to take it for a short drive and see what happened. Temp immediately started rising when I got on the freeway until the gauge pegged at 212.
When I pulled into the driveway the coolant was not boiling over but it does have a 4 lb cap so that wouldn't occur until 224.
With a infrared thermometer I shot readings at various locations.
The engine has a crack in the usual area near the petcock on the driver side that someone made a sloppy looking repair with epoxy of some sort. It never leaked or seeped but after the second overheating issue, I now see coolant seepage. I don't believe this is a cause of the overheating problem. Not enough coolant leaks out there but it is something that will have to be addressed.
I suspect that the higher than usual engine temps may have weakened the repair.
Even if the engine doesn't boil over, 220 is 40 higher than the truck normally used to operate.
What can be causing this? I suspect coolant isn't flowing through the system properly due to some sort of blockage. What happened? Clear water flushed out both ways under high hose pressure. The coolant remains perfectly clean after the over heating.
What should be my next step? Do I run it with a stronger acid solution? TSP? Evaporust?
Oil remains perfectly clean and amber colored with no evidence of contamination of any kind.
1950 Chevrolet 3100 (Ol' Roy) 1939 Packard Standard Eight Coupe (The Phantom) | 1956 Cadillac Coupe de Ville (The Bismarck) | 1956 Cadillac Sixty Special Fleetwood (The Godfather) | 1966 Oldsmobile Toronado (The Purple Knif) | 1966 Ford Mustang (Little Red) | 1964 Ford Galaxie 500 coupe | 1979 Ford F-100 | 1976 Ford F-150 (Big Red) | 1995 Ford F-150 (Newt)
