Got an interesting situation here...
My existing cooling setup has worked great with no issues for years, in fact I've never had an overheating issue ever. My old dated existing 3row radiator developed a small pinhole leak ( at least I think ) when I started to notice a small amount of coolant here and there along the top of the radiator. Figured it was time to replace it so I bought a new CSF 3 row rad along with new cap and top hose. Also currently running the black magic electric fan but decided to drop a new one in for good measure.
So to recap we have a new radiator, fan, hose and cap. Currently running auto meter short sweep gauge with the sending unit in the back lower section of the block where the coolant drain port is. Never had an issue, truck ran between 180*-195* and would very rarely creep over that. During the rad swap i failed to wire my fan properly and by the time i figured it out my coolant began to boil over... oops (212* @ atmosphere). I shut off the truck and let the coolant settle out in my spill proof funnel. Figured nothing was hurt because 212* isn't crazy hot by any means for a rig. Figured I would mention this just in case it could have done something. Got the fan going and burped the system and off I went. Truck slowly got hotter and hotter while driving (220*-230*) but when I would stop and let it idle it would start to cool off. With a temp gun I was measuring 175*-185* at the stat housing and top rad inlet. Figured the t stat was the issues so i replaced it with an aftermarket one to see if it fixed the issue. It definitely appeared as if the issue had been resolved but the next day when I went up a long grade it started to overheat again. Same thing as before with things under the hood temping normal but gauge is reading high. This has me stumpted big time. So possibilities are:
-Bad sensing unit for temp gauge
-Bad aftermarket thermostat
-New radiator faulty? (doubtful but it is aftermarket)
-New fan not moving enough air? (not likely)
I have an OEM thermostat and new sending unit on standby but I also feel compelled to put the old radiator back in to see if that changes anything. The problem with doing everything at once is you don't know the specific thing that fixed the problem. Thoughts on where the sending unit is located? I figured the coolant cant have that much difference in temp there vs the factory location. Any and all input is appreciated, Thanks!
My existing cooling setup has worked great with no issues for years, in fact I've never had an overheating issue ever. My old dated existing 3row radiator developed a small pinhole leak ( at least I think ) when I started to notice a small amount of coolant here and there along the top of the radiator. Figured it was time to replace it so I bought a new CSF 3 row rad along with new cap and top hose. Also currently running the black magic electric fan but decided to drop a new one in for good measure.
So to recap we have a new radiator, fan, hose and cap. Currently running auto meter short sweep gauge with the sending unit in the back lower section of the block where the coolant drain port is. Never had an issue, truck ran between 180*-195* and would very rarely creep over that. During the rad swap i failed to wire my fan properly and by the time i figured it out my coolant began to boil over... oops (212* @ atmosphere). I shut off the truck and let the coolant settle out in my spill proof funnel. Figured nothing was hurt because 212* isn't crazy hot by any means for a rig. Figured I would mention this just in case it could have done something. Got the fan going and burped the system and off I went. Truck slowly got hotter and hotter while driving (220*-230*) but when I would stop and let it idle it would start to cool off. With a temp gun I was measuring 175*-185* at the stat housing and top rad inlet. Figured the t stat was the issues so i replaced it with an aftermarket one to see if it fixed the issue. It definitely appeared as if the issue had been resolved but the next day when I went up a long grade it started to overheat again. Same thing as before with things under the hood temping normal but gauge is reading high. This has me stumpted big time. So possibilities are:
-Bad sensing unit for temp gauge
-Bad aftermarket thermostat
-New radiator faulty? (doubtful but it is aftermarket)
-New fan not moving enough air? (not likely)
I have an OEM thermostat and new sending unit on standby but I also feel compelled to put the old radiator back in to see if that changes anything. The problem with doing everything at once is you don't know the specific thing that fixed the problem. Thoughts on where the sending unit is located? I figured the coolant cant have that much difference in temp there vs the factory location. Any and all input is appreciated, Thanks!