Overheating need help

[Ozymandias]

Same here, no problems, it's self bleeding.

Fill it to the top, slowly, slowly, then start engine, let it idle and continue to fill it slowly till it overflows, close the cap, fill the reservoir bottle, let the engine come to operation temperature.
Carefully crack the radiator cap a tiny little bit, you can hear the air hissing out, close it immediately when the hissing stops as there is no air in the radiator anymore then and coolant would spurt out. Then let it cool of and it takes the coolant from the bottle in. Finish.
Pretty easy.

 

[Rowdy Dalton]

Shouldn't have an issue with an air pocket on a 3rd gen 5.9 as the radiator is higher than the engine T-stat, I changed 2 water pumps and the radiator on my 04 and never touched the thermostat, just re-filled via the coolant tank, filled the recovery tank and went for a ride.. then level off the recovery tank and done.. It sounds like there is an issue as has been said with the T-stat, and / or there was a blockage of the bypass in the old T-stat.

So, when you change the water pump, a lot of water comes out of the block. The water below the thermostat is gone. You fill the radiator, and run the engine. Just how hot does the engine have to get, without water, for the thermostat to open up, and allow the water from the radiator to completely fill the block. Answer: Too long.
I trashed a new water pump by following directions as suggested by others. Plus, I don't like the thought of my engine block being mostly empty, while running hot. It only takes a minute to remove the thermostat housing, three bolts if I remember correctly. These engines are too expensive to take shortcuts.

 

[Ozymandias]

There is at least one, sometimes two wiggle pins in the thermostat to allow air to bleed out.
That's why I say fill it slowly so the air has time to get out of the block.
It is a fools proof design as it is needed for a commercial engine that is sold globally.

Even a guy in Zimbabwe or Angola lays a hand on these engines - without any education, unable to read but learned along the way what he needs to know to survive - reading a workshop manual he doesn't know it even exists isn't one of them. @Jim W could tell you stories about that with Caterpillar.

That's also why the Cummins Ram is so popular in Europa but not the Ford or the Chevy - uneducated Mechanics for this specific engines.

 

[Rowdy Dalton]

There is at least one, sometimes two wiggle pins in the thermostat to allow air to bleed out.
That's why I say fill it slowly so the air has time to get out of the block.
It is a fools proof design as it is needed for a commercial engine that is sold globally.

Even a guy in Zimbabwe or Angola lays a hand on these engines - without any education, unable to read but learned along the way what he needs to know to survive - reading a workshop manual he doesn't know it even exists isn't one of them. @Jim W could tell you stories about that with Caterpillar.

That's also why the Cummins Ram is so popular in Europa but not the Ford or the Chevy - uneducated Mechanics for this specific engines.

How long does it take to bleed the air out, on a warm day? Just curious. Do aftermarket thermostats that are designed for this engine have the hole for the air to bleed out??

 

[AH64ID]

I’ve seen air bubbles in 3rd gens from coolant drain/flush/fill with the Cummins thermostat that has the jiggle pins. It’s not common, but can happen.

 

[Ozymandias]

How long does it take to bleed the air out, on a warm day? Just curious. Do aftermarket thermostats that are designed for this engine have the hole for the air to bleed out??

They should yes, as it is part of the OEM design.
In the end it is you as installer to check this.
Just changed mine with an aftermarket part from MOTORAD, it has two* wiggle pins.

*factory is one pin

 

[Darkbloodmon]

There are many ways to bleed air out of a system. Most T-stats have a bleed jiggle pin.

I just replaced the rad, hoses and T-stat on my '91 Accord SE, It has a bleeder valve on the T-stat housing. Fill the rad to the neck, open the bleeder valve, run the engine till coolant comes out the valve, close the valve, run the engine, cap the rad, fill the over flow, done.

For reference on a 5.9; along the head on the exhaust manifold side there are coolant ports with threaded plugs. A way to bleed air out the system would be to fill the rad to the neck, open a threaded plug, and run the engine till coolant comes out the plug, reinstall the plug, fill the rad/over flow, cap the rad, and then drive to get to operating temp. Like wise you can fill from the threaded plug till you see coolant at the neck of the rad, reinstall it, and run the engine to temp. Some people will jack the front end up and put it on stands or ramps to point the rad at a higher angle for the air to get out the system. Others will fill the system and let it sit over night after squeezing the hoses.

It's not an apples to apples comparison for an all aluminum head and block 4 banger to a cast iron straight 6 near double the displacement but the 5.9 isn't going to get up to temp and open the T-stat just idling from a cold start. Later model 6.7s had bleeder valves to aid with this bleed process along side the exhaust manifold.

Point is to get air out the system jiggle valve or not.

 

[CharlesinGA]

I had problems with a NAPA thermostat. It ran hotter than the Cummins one (long story I won't get into here) and finally started sticking. I ended up getting a new Cummins T-stat, works perfectly and now the temp runs right where it did with the original CumminsT-stat. I just finished up a radiator replacement and I filled the system and let it sit, added a little more, and it sat for quite a while, overnight if I recall, and I have been driving it to get it up to temp and letting it cool overnight to purge air and suck fluid in. I probably have added a half gallon to the bottle, possibly a little more, and the level now is stable, same spot over past three or four drive cycles, when it cools.

I will say that when the bad T-stat was sticking, the fan came on full blast, and pretty shortly the thermostat would open again. Temp only passed 200 by a slight amount.

Never thought about adding coolant thru the removed thermostat opening but since it has no gasket, just the rubber seal, it is easy to do. Will try that next time, hopefully there is no next time though.

Charles

 

[MPieper]

Removed the thermostat and drove today. Still getting hot just before the red. Fan runs when cooling for the ac but stops when past 200. Then ac compressor begins to cycle very frequently and fan is not running. Problem has to be in the control of the fan which seems to be only from the ecm.

 

[AH64ID]

Something still doesn’t seem right, running empty it’s doubtful you would ever need the fan for cooling. I don’t think I ever saw the thermostat go full open driving empty on my 05, let alone get to fan temp.

 

[MPieper]

Something still doesn’t seem right, running empty it’s doubtful you would ever need the fan for cooling. I don’t think I ever saw the thermostat go full open driving empty on my 05, let alone get to fan temp.

 

[MPieper]

Oh didn't mention not running empty this thrruck has a large kuv box on the back and usally runs around 12k at all times. But I have never had overheating problems with this truck.

 

[AH64ID]

That’s still pretty light. Unless I was towing over 4-5K with my 05 it would rarely get to 207°, fan temp is closer to 215°.

Was anything done prior to the issue?

Have you verified the gauge is reading correct?

 

[MPieper]

Nothing done prior stock no tuner... how would I verify the gauge is correct? If it gets into the red the overflow will activate until full and the truck idle increases and shift point from second to 3rd gear changes. But fan does not come on?

 

[AH64ID]

Nothing done prior stock no tuner... how would I verify the gauge is correct? If it gets into the red the overflow will activate until full and the truck idle increases and shift point from second to 3rd gear changes. But fan does not come on?

If there is a fan command issue it will set a code, even if it doesn’t set a CEL.

You can verify temps with an IR gun or a stand alone ECT gauge.

How did the overheat issue first present?

What was the cooling system maintenance prior to the overheat issue?

 

[Ozymandias]

I run a month without a Fan in southern California and Arizona- 12500lbs.

The workshop manual says do not drive without a thermostat as it will overheat the engine.

Was the Radiator cap changed together with the new Radiator?

The factory thermostat starts to crack open at 190°, no less and reaches full open at around 210° - and this is far from boiling. At 16PSI water boils at above 250°.
https://flex-a-lite.com/blog/how-radiator-cap-pressure-affects-cooling

But seriously- you need to check were this heat comes from, something with your truck is badly wrong as like said, it does not need a fan until you reach a serious incline. Not even stop and go heats that Motor into the area where it would switch the fan on.

Also check belt routing, maybe your water pump runs backward.

You still haven't answered why you had all that work done prior.

 

[MPieper]

Truck was in for brake work and a flush. I was told and shown a picture of a small radiator leak. The radiator was 6 yrs old and I told them to replace it . A couple of weeks later when it started to get hot in CO it started to overheat.

 

[AH64ID]

Truck was in for brake work and a flush. I was told and shown a picture of a small radiator leak. The radiator was 6 yrs old and I told them to replace it . A couple of weeks later when it started to get hot in CO it started to overheat.

What radiator was installed?

 

[MPieper]

Exact same as what came out Carquest Premium.

 

[AH64ID]

Exact same as what came out Carquest Premium.

That right there sounds like an issue to me. Are those lifetime warranty parts?