Originally posted by atomarc:
Brendan,
I did a min-search on your engines operating temperature...the general consensus was 160F.
I am with you, I think 180 is too hot for this old stump puller. When you checked the radiator with your thermometer, where was the needle in the dash temp gauge. I'll bet if the gauge works, the needle was higher than mid scale, or normal.
If you can't control the engine temp with the "valve"...the thermostat, then the cooling system is plugged somewhere. Usually the tubes in the radiator!
If under hood temperatures are elevated to a state to cause other components to malfunction, I would definitely classify this as a coolant, or cooling system problem!
Stuart
Hi Stuart!
My shop manual says that the stock thermostat in these old girls was a 140° model, but if you run coolant/antifreeze all of the time, then they suggested a 160° model. From what I can tell, dealers often did the swap before they were sold.
Obviously, I have no idea what is in there; my grandpa is infamous for having the 'fix it so that it works now' mindset, so it probably has the wrong one. But, seeing as I'm not quite done with my tree pulling project, I'm a bit reluctant to tear into it right now.
The gauge was pointing at 180(ish) when I tested the radiator, which is why I suspect that the thermostat is working. (I was also shocked as hell, but that's another story.
)
The pump is definitely moving water/coolant: I can see it moving when I look into the radiator.
Another thing that might be an issue is that the radiator is mounted ahead of the support ring, with a pretty good gap between it and the fan. I'm not sure why this was, but I do know that the truck has had the engine out of it five times, and I assume that someone either had a longer engine in there (e.g. a GM) or they just moved it ahead to make it easier to pull the block out. Either way, they never put it back where it belonged.
I will check on the components that Baldy suggested and check my hoses in case there is a kink or something something somewhere.
If all else fails, I'll take it to the radiator shop.
