Engine/Transmission (1994 - 1998) engine got HOT very QUICK

[Bandit1]

went turkey hunting this morning drove 20 miles on the interstate pretty hard, then got off the interstate and got on a back road to a the farm. goign about 30 taking it easy while sipping on coffee the check gages light came on and i looked down and the engine temp gauge was pegged, so i slowed and pulled over, then it went down to 180 REALLY fast then even faster went back up to 220 and it did that like 2 times and stayed at 230. shut truck off and went after a long beard, drove home and the gauge never left 185. i just installed a brand new thermostat 1 week ago bc this another time i got off the interstate i watched the temp guage rise, not as fast and it would run alittle hotter than normal. enough antifreeze, could this be the temp sender unit? any help is appreciated.

 

[fox]

My guess from several states away is that you have a bad/sticking thermostat. Change it again real soon.

 

[Turbo Horseman]

Not sure if the same code would be in a 98, but when my engine got a little too warm... about half way between normal and blow the cap, a code was triggered. The code reduces engine power by 40% until it is cleared manually by a dealer. Suggest you check to see if such a code has been tripped and have it cleared.

 

[illflem]

No power cut back code for a 12 valve.

Next time it happens pop the hood, if the overflow bottle is way full it's the stat, if normal the temp sender.

 

[JWaters]

hot

If it got to hot you are going to need a head, These 5. 9's cant ake heat!, The way to tell easy is to run it under boost and see if the temp rises real fast. It will not do it under light trottle. I have replaced many of these and believe me I can tell you for a fact that heat is the number one killer for the head on these engines. Also make sure your lower rad hose is not closing up under hard trottle. If it is it can and will make it run hot which will make you buy you a head and do a head job on the truck!

 

[Tmartin000]

too Hot?

My guess is that you might have had some air in your system. Did the level change significantly AFTER your incident? If It never happens again, I'd say thats what it was. Its pretty hard to get these trucks up to some real good operating temp. Was that the first trip with that much heat since you did your t-stat and fluid change? Air in there could screw with your temp and I've seen this before and the poor t-stat takes the wrap! It may not ahve had the fluid around it to open.



Just my . 02 cents.



TJ

 

[RVPILOT]

hot running

I would like to give my experience of over heating. I have over heated my 96 several times, pegging the Gage for as much as 10 minutes at a time. the last time was in Aug on the grapevine (5)

headed south with a trailer weighing in excess of 20k. After 524,000 miles it runs just fine with no apparent ill affects. not to say that heat doe'snt affect the performance, mabey I am just lucky. rvpilot