I have never had any issues with overheating, but I had a very interesting issues yesterday. I was driving over a mt. and it was snowing pretty good. On the way down the mt. my temp dropped down to C. It was 1AM so it was pretty dark and cold. I believe that the outside temp was around 25. The truck was running fine and pulling through some deep snow. I turned the heater on and it was pushing cold air. When I got to the bottom of the mt. the engine temp. went back to normal and didn't change until I went back up the mt today to let the kids play in the snow. Any ideas what that was about?

 

Just a guess, Do you have antifreeze in your system?

 

50/50 if the system would have froze, there would have been worse problems.

 

What he was getting at is the level correct on your anti-freeze? It sounds as if your system is low on coolant.

 

Low coolant - there will be steamy air in the coolant areas, but the tip of the coolant temp sensor won't be touching water, so it will give a false reading. Air does not transfer heat as well as water, so heater core seems cold, etc. Elevate front right corner of truck to force bubbles out. Fast idle for a few minutes after filling.

Stuck thermostat - it should open/close to keep engine at minimum temp even when cold outside. If stuck open or part open, and you are rolling down hill at almost idle, would cool off below where you want it. $10 part and 1/2 gallon of coolant, new gasket. Easier to diagnose if you have an OBDII scanner like and Ultra Gauge that gives live data.

 

my heater hoses were leaking, fixed it and the problem was gone!

 

Glad it got you home. Good seeing ya before you head off to Japan.

 

Thanks to you! She made it home just fine!