Thanks man, I am getting a lot of heat now after the bleeds. So much that I couldn't stand to sit in the truck for long.

I'll give it a quick spin tomorrow to see if I am still overheating.

and yes, Primus does suck.

 

Man this forum rocks!! There's so much information here it's mind boggling. I don't want to hijack your thread but I'm following it closely because I have similar issues:
1) intermittent gurgling sound from under dash (goes away after I bleed the system and stays ok for several hundred miles)
2) slow coolant leak which I can't seem to find (I haven't pressure tested it yet)
3) no coolant in oil
4) only overheats if I haven't topped off the coolant in a while which is maybe twice in the last 2 years
5) smells like coolant burning but only very faintly
6) after its been sitting overnight and completely cold (its winter in Montreal now), if I open the reservoir bottle it releases pressure and water rushes back in to the tank

I know I shouldn't, but I've been driving like this for 2 years now. I would imagine if it were head gaskets it would have gotten to the point where it would be undriveable by now (especially after the overheating incidents).

Looking forward to seeing the other replies.

 

Rent/borrow pressure tester. Pump up to 15-18 PSI. Wait 15 minutes, look for leaks. Reserve tank should not be empty (you said coolant rushes back in). Is smell under hood or inside cab (heater core)?

 

The smell comes from the outside. I don't have that coolant must inside the passenger compartment or the wet carpets. My firebird's core went on me and I remember the coolant fog inside the car... Brutal!

I have to get a coolant tester and pressurize it. Out of curiosity, how would I know that the gaskets are shot with the pressure tester? Air bubble sound in the oil pan or through the exhaust?

 

The coolant tester is to find external leaks, sometimes around a hose clamp, something that may only leak when warmed up and underway, so you don't get a puddle at home. One fellow found the leak was at the clamp under the coolant bottle.

Won't get noise from oil pan, the sump is fed by gravity drains. Some guys do a cylinder pressure test and look for one or more low readings. But that can also be valves or rings. Some put a dye in the coolant, then look for flecks of green dye on spark plugs.

If you have ben driving like this for two years, it most likely is not a head gasket, but anything is possible. You could also have loose bolts at the rear of the intake manifold, there have been reports of those found finger tight. Water passage in each corner.

Heres a plumbing chart so you can look for all the connections. The worse thing to leak would be freeze plugs on the back of the block....

 

OK, so took it for a drive this morning. Temps at 25-40mph ranged from 203-210.... Did some interstate driving, temps increased to 212-217. This was all with the fan on.

I played around with the heater to see if it would make any difference and it fluctuated a bit but nothing above 217... Then I turned the fan off at 70mph and within 2 minutes the gauge flashed to 221 degrees. Turned the fan back on, and temps went back to the 212-217 range.

After that I spent some time looking for a hill that wasn't covered in snow/ice to no avail. That took about 10-15 min of driving, temps back to 208-212 at 30-40mph.

Finally on my way back home the temps went back up to 212-215 at 30 mph.

My questions are, are these temps acceptable at these speeds? Would it be smart to drive the truck 200 miles both ways for Christmas?

 

Let us talk about temps. With a stock thermostat, it starts to open at 180F, and is fully open at 204F. The electric cooling fans may come on at 212F, and may come on at certain times with AC on. You want to be sure the electric fan is coming on above 212F, even with AC off. Fan could be siezed (spins freely normally) or fuse blown.

Since water flows thru the heater core at all times, and if radiator is sludged up, radiator can't cool enough. Turn on heater fan, and some heat is moved away by the heater core. I would think if you went outside after truck was warmed up you may find the radiator fins (not tanks) much hotter at top than bottom. By more than 10F. Have you flushed the radiator or replaced it?

My point is that if you are getting a big swing in temp from that tiny heater core and little fan (compared to the big radiator and 70 mph air blast at local temperature) - it makes one think the main radiator could be way less than optimum. 212F in the summer, and then Rover turns on the fans to cool it down.

Now you may want to take another car for your trip, you might be OK, you might be able to do a chemical flush and also wash out all the mud and leaves in your stack of radiators. Getting a new rad delivered might be slowed by the holiday rush. If you must drive the truck go slower, and keep an eye on the temps. Not sure if a bottle of water wetter would have much effect.

Maintaining under 220 is good. Under 205 would be better. Under 200 even better. My D1 does 187 at 70 mph, with a 180F stat. How long you can drive at elevated temp is determined by the Rover gods. If you have failed to make an offering of roasted meat on the fire, you may be on their short list.

 

No temps are not good. Would not drive that way until its sorted out.

 

OK thanks. Read your PM before reading this.

 

Thinking about a shade tree work around for a sludged up radiator - with no time for a replacement to arrive -

Buy a big aftermarket transmission cooler, install it (they almost zip tie in) and route the heater hose thru it. If the heater core and the small fan make a 4-5 F change, then a bigger core and 70 mph air blast should help.

But you are on borrowed time and may yet dodge a bullet if you can get it sorted out before much more driving. All this is based on no other symptoms like loss of coolant, exhaust gas in coolant, bubbles under dash noise, white smoke out exhaust.