Engine running hot... and more

[NC80series]

So I've searched all over and cannot find anyone on here that has had my same problem and figured them out and decided to post the conclusion. So here's what I've got and I really hope someone can help me.

I just had a fuel injector replaced, tension pulley replaced, coolant petcock replaced, radiator flushed, spark plugs and distributor cap and wires replaced, EGR port cleaned.

My truck's engine heat gauge will shoot up to just under the redline, never actually hitting red, and will sit there for a few seconds. It does this almost every time i turn on the heat. When the temp goes up the heat in the cabin goes away and is ice cold. If i turn off the heat for a few minutes and try again the heat will usually come back on, some times its still cold and I have to wait longer and try again. When it goes way up like that I can smell the sweet coolant smell. Once it goes back down the smell goes away. When i pop the hood the coolant overflow tank it almost full to the top and the radiator cap shows a little bit of coolant around it like it spitting a little out. I read somewhere that it might be a head gasket but the shop i go to pressure tested it and said he didn't think it was a head gasket.

I'm at my wits end here guys. I just spent $700 on this last trip to the shop and it's still not right.

 

[Trailworxs]

Clutch fan? Dirty/clogged radiator... I doubt it's the heater core because your floor will be wet and you'll have a mildew smell in the car.

 

[SUMMIT CRUISERS]

The cheapest fix could be there is air in the system. Park with the filler cap at the highest point of the engine bay. This will usually require a ramp or a jack. When cool, open cap, turn your heat lever to hot and start engine. Watch the coolant level as it starts to circulate and add as needed.

 

[NC80series]

Thanks guys. I'll try bleeding the air then do the fan clutch

 

[NC80series]

BUMP.....

 

[scottryana]

Yeah sounds like air in the system

 

[thedoughboy]

You can always invest in an UltraGauge: http://www.ultra-gauge.com/ultragauge/ for under $75. I don't know what year your rig is. You have to have and OBDII port. I believe 95 was the first year...although, I could be wrong. This will tell you what your ECU is reading. Coolant temp is one of the options. This is MUCH more accurate than the gauge in the instrument panel. Besides, once you fix the problem you'll have a cool toy for your rig!

 

[NC80series]

It's a '97. I do want to get an ultra gauge. Would that read oil pressure also? My oil pressure gauge needle likes to do some long distance traveling inside its gauge as well.

 

[stevezero]

hopefully its just air in the system. make sure you turn on both the front and rear heaters on high when you start it cold. that way you can get any air in the rear heater core flushed out.

Another long shot would be that the thermostat is sticking. Was that replaced when you had the flush and other cooling system done?

 

[thedoughboy]

It's a '97. I do want to get an ultra gauge. Would that read oil pressure also? My oil pressure gauge needle likes to do some long distance traveling inside its gauge as well.

No oil pressure. However, coolant temp, intake temp, rpms, speed, timing and a few others.

 

[warezdog]

this for $5 and the free android torque app will let you lay out what ever the ECU sees in dial, digital, or graph form.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/321457984558

 

[BILT4ME]

It's a long shot, but possibly the thermostat is in backwards. The spring should be to the block side and the weep hole at the very top.

But it sounds more like air in the system.

 

[NC80series]

Alright guys so here's where we're at.
I burped the system yesterday for about 20 minutes. It pushed out a bunch of air and i added about a half a gallon of water back in (minus the amount that came back out burping it). The good news is the engine temp. isn't spiking anymore. Once it gets up to the middle on the dummy gauge it stays there. Now on to the cabin heat issue. I will have heat inside as soon as the needle starts to move from the lowest position up until it gets to the middle or normal operating temp. Once it gets to the middle the heat goes away, but doesn't get as cold as it was getting. So in other words it's still getting cold but not as cold. The rear heat does the same most of the time but occasionally I'll have rear heat but not front heat. Also when the engine is hot the coolant expansion tank will be almost as full as possible. Is that normal? I never checked until I started having issues so I have nothing to compare it to.

So do you guys think I need to burp it some more? Or is it possible my heater core is clogged or what? I'm happy the engine temp isn't spiking anymore which was my biggest concern obviously. Thanks for all your help guys. You have all helped so much already. Wish some of y'all were closer so I could buy you all a beer to say thanks. If you're ever in Concord NC for a race or anything let me know and I'll meet up to say thanks.

 

[4G63 POWER]

How cold is it getting at night in NC? I wouldn't be adding straight water to the system. You never mentioned the thermostat. Have you had it replaced? If you don't know it's history it's something easy to replace after you remove it for inspection. I would recommend a toyota unit or a stant >> http://ww2.stant.com/modules/partLocator/view_diagram.cfm?id=14128 Stant # 14128 and gasket # 25283. I've seen the toyota units get stuck and even break. Only $12 for a stant >> http://www.amazon.com/Stant-14128-T...?ie=UTF8&qid=1421715209&sr=8-4&keywords=14128

The gaskets only $6.00 http://www.amazon.com/Stant-25283-E...?ie=UTF8&qid=1421715272&sr=8-9&keywords=25283

 

[NC80series]

How cold is it getting at night in NC? I wouldn't be adding straight water to the system. You never mentioned the thermostat. Have you had it replaced? If you don't know it's history it's something easy to replace after you remove it for inspection. I would recommend a toyota unit or a stant >> http://ww2.stant.com/modules/partLocator/view_diagram.cfm?id=14128 Stant # 14128 and gasket # 25283. I've seen the toyota units get stuck and even break. Only $12 for a stant >> http://www.amazon.com/Stant-14128-T...?ie=UTF8&qid=1421715209&sr=8-4&keywords=14128

The gaskets only $6.00 http://www.amazon.com/Stant-25283-E...?ie=UTF8&qid=1421715272&sr=8-9&keywords=25283

It recently had the radiator flushed so it's mixed with coolant. It's not getting but maybe a few degrees below freezing a few nights out of the week right now. I haven't checked the thermostat yet. I guess I can try that next. the truck has 210,000 on it and Ive had it since about 170,000. It's a great looking truck and up until now it's been running great. Idk how it was maintained before me and I can't trust appearance since you know how some people are. They'd drive Ferrari even if it had a weed eater motor just for the badge on the hood.