I Would ducwad.. running those kinds of temps is asking for trouble from what I understand. Before you do too much more driving I would investigate those leaks..

I may just replace the radiator for the hell of it.. no clue what PO did to this thing besides replace the driveshaft AFTER it failed.

 

Had the same issue with mine before I replaced the radiator. It was not able to expel the heat even at highway speeds since it was clogged up. Might not be your problem but its a good place to start.

 

You can check to see if its your radiator by measuring the temp near the inlet and outlet hose. IF there's not more than a 10F difference, you need a new radiator, otherwise, your problem lies elsewhere.

 

Awesome.. I thought I had to shoot the actual radiator finns.. thanks dan. It hit 205 sitting in stop and go traffic on a hill in morristown.. I was freaking out.. I actually shut it down for 20 minutes.

 

The thing that is odd to me is that I hear everyone quoting temperatures when driving up hills as if that should be the hottest. Mine actually goes down driving up hills!

 

temps should climb going up hill. engine works harder thus generating more heat.

ok well i took temps today after a 25 minute trip to lowes.

UG-195*
upper rad hose-150*
lower- wait for it... 95*

should i park it or what? lol

 

Wow. My UG read 208-210 on a recent trip. I have a new 180 tstat ready to install. I guess low 200-high 190 is normal with that stat.

 

So the first post in this thread explains why I might be seeing temperatures drop when accelerating up hill - clogged up t-stat. I'm planning on flushing the system, changing to a 180F t-stat and replacing the expansion tank cap anyways so I may see better temps soon.

 

just remember.. i believe i am dealing with a clogged radiator. its common on these. i already installed a 180* stat. it was a good thing too.. when i did the front cover seal and h20 pump.. the one that was in it literally crumbled in my hands.


i think i missed something.. if there IS big temp difference from top to bottom then the radiator is good?

 

Well the t-stat was NOT clogged. I flushed the system and installed new coolant, a new pressure cap and a new 180F t-stat. Short trip to the hardware store to get a spring to fix one of my horn buttons never saw over 202F and I know there is air in there still as I get the waterfall sound under acceleration. So, much better temps than before.

I also noticed that my viscous fan is always spinning. When cold the first attempt to spin it by hand it fails as expected but by the third attempt it is spinning all the way round and more. When I started the truck to warm it up after putting the cooling system back together I noticed that it ran from startup and never stopped. I hate to think that the only reason I didn't overheat was that my fan was stuck. I'll have to add it to the list of things to do.