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Having several issues

Anubis

Anubis

Being fat sucks
Messages
700
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2
Location
People's Republic of Michiganistan, United Sociali
well as the title says.

1. low coolant light keeps going on and off. Had the cooling system flushed and bled (maybe air still trapped in it?), thermostat was recently changed (well back in spring.... it was done before I bought the truck in May)

2. engine never gets warm at idle, even with the heater off. It only make heat going down the road but never gets over 160* I thought it might have been low coolant (because of the light) but I can never tell if that recovery tank has the right amount in it and I have driven it several time to Chicago an back with no heat problems.

When my Suburban (350 gasser) did this it was the fan clutch..... I could not turn the fan with the engine off. replaced it and the fan would free wheel with the engine off. go out to my truck, pop the hood I can rotate the fan but it is stiff and take effort to move it.... doesn't free wheel..... start the engine and observe the fan....... it is spinning fast with the engine and not just slowly spinning because of parasitic and centrifugal drag.

could also still be air in the system but I got no idea how to bleed it...... you got no idea how much I wish I had a radiator I could take the cap off and see down inside it.


Maybe a bad thermostat
 
Anything is possible but if your system was flushed it shouldn't have air in it. The key is your overflow tank when it is hot. The level should be close to the hot mark. If it's less then the hot mark you are loosing coolant. How does the oil on the dipstick look. If it is milky you know you have a major problem. Do you smell coolant in your exhaust? Have you checked all your hoses and water pump. I had a small leak at my water pump. I just replaced it a month ago. No more low coolant light.
 
unless it loses enough to trip the light in 20 min but does not lose enough to notice things like a sickly sweet smell to the exhaust or coolant in the oil after 3 months or a puddle under the truck or the antifreeze smell associated with a leaky water pump o radiator then i doubt I am losing coolant, plus all the hoses and water pump appear to be new. I have been told that the sensor in the tank has issues....... but that doesn't solve the issue with heat..... I don't have any over heating problems and it does make heat going down the highway. this is a new problem..... it used to heat up to 180* while idling and temp gauge shows over 160* after its been plugged in all night.


also just broke my block heater cord, the plug came off the cord when I went to unplug it. got 3 wires on it, 1 thin green and 2 fat black... one black wire says neutral conductor, for grounding purposes only.... my fixit plug says green white and black on it green being the center ground...... how is this supposed to be wired?
 
Block heater cord,green is ground,the other 2 dont matter wich side.

do you have to add coolant? If not,i would say the T-stat fails to close.Or maybe the CTS(driver side head) is kaput.
 
In my experience with lower temps my temp gauge would just barely get above 160. It turned out to be the T-stat failed open. Replaced the T-stat and the temps came back up to normal. My truck takes along time to come up to temp on first crank in the morning till it‘s rolling. My EGT’s don’t get above 200 degrees no matter how long it sits idling till it’s rolling down the road. My fan is tuff trying to turn it with the engine off as well.
 
Sounds like a bad or poorly made t-stat.

Use Robert Shaw or Delco ONLY.

Kennedy diesel sells them for 12 bux a piece or so.

I like the 190's. Better fuel effeciency, and less temperature swing during work.

Also, your fan isn't stuck on is it? When engine off, you can move the fan by hand, yet feel a little resistance? At idle, and you revv it up, no WHOOSHing?
 
Any leaking noticable at the heater return quick disconnect fitting (on the T-Stat housing)? I just noticed an orange 1" long Stalactite hanging down from mine...guess what I'm doing real soon?
 
Paveltolz said:
Any leaking noticable at the heater return quick disconnect fitting (on the T-Stat housing)? I just noticed an orange 1" long Stalactite hanging down from mine...guess what I'm doing real soon?
Click to expand...
Stalactites for crying out loud:D,that truck must be prehistoric,a true dinosaur at last:thumbsup:
 
bison said:
Stalactites for crying out loud:D,that truck must be prehistoric,a true dinosaur at last:thumbsup:
Click to expand...
:iagree:
Fossil fuel for the old fossil...):h and the smart asses at work say "Rangers eat their dead" to get a rise out of the 2nd LTs....

I hope he finds the problem though, I was loosing coolant too and after that trip past Vegas with the bubbling, over, I think it's solved with proper bleeding and tomorrow's "quick disconnect" and T-Stat replacement. At least I know where mine's really coming from, was worried about head gaskets for a bit.

Checks on the oil, moisture on the inside of the oil filler cap, exhaust vapor etc will help him isolate the issue.
 
Matt Bachand said:
Sounds like a bad or poorly made t-stat.

Use Robert Shaw or Delco ONLY.

Kennedy diesel sells them for 12 bux a piece or so.

I like the 190's. Better fuel effeciency, and less temperature swing during work.

Also, your fan isn't stuck on is it? When engine off, you can move the fan by hand, yet feel a little resistance? At idle, and you revv it up, no WHOOSHing?
Click to expand...

you mean like the whoosh when the Fan on my 565 Cummins engages climbing Vail Pass? then no, no whooshing. the sound from the fan is proportional to engine speed.

I did see evidence of past leakage around the quick disconnect but it is new along with the water pump and hoses, this pick up was dealer maintained. I got it so cheap because the body is rotted. I am going to change the T-stat first and then go from there. thanks for all the replies ..... going to fix the BH cord tomarrow.
 
I and many others have tried other brands. The AC Delco or robert shaw are the only ones that work correctly in these engines. I have no idea why. It just is what it is. With the other brands I had very eractic temp swings. With ac delco smooth and steady.
 
You say you hear the whooshing sound consistant with the engine RPM? you really shouln'dt be hearing the fan at all unless clutch is engaged when your running hot.

You can move it by hand with engine off, correct?
 
Matt Bachand said:
You say you hear the whooshing sound consistant with the engine RPM? you really shouldn't be hearing the fan at all unless clutch is engaged when your running hot.
Click to expand...


Until it warms up a little, my fan clutch doesn't slip much, and it roars.
After about 5 minutes or so, it'll warm enough to release until
it gets hot enough to engage the clutch
 
ok so I finally got around to changing the Thermostat. That solved the issue of no heat.

this is what I found

112509_120200.jpg



looks like it had a stuck thermostat at 1 time and somebody just punched out the T-stat and put the ring back in......... why would somebody do that.... why not just leave it out. I can understand the orange silicone if this was done on the side of the road. plus that was almost straight water in the cooling system........ going to talk to the guy that I paid to flush it to find why it was only protected to +10*F instead of -25*f like it should have been...... well it is now I siphoned some coolant out and dumped about a gallon and a half of straight anti-freeze into it.... I assume the water is red because of rust.... should I be worried?
 
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