Forum Discussion

johnwalkerpa1's avatar
Sep 09, 2022

Ford V10 Running hot

I have a 2015 (chassis 2014) 32 foot Class C running the Ford V10. I flat tow a 3500 pound car.

On a recent trip to West Virginia and Kentucky it started to run hot on the grades. I run it in tow-haul on the grades and don't try to go over them at 65-70mph.... Since new I've had it all over North America and ran the same setup and never had an issue so this is new.

In the past I'd typically run (via Scan Gauge numbers), an average temp of 195-205 on the radiator and about the same or less on on the transmission. Once in a great while I'd get to 220 on long (5-7 mile) grades.

On this last trip I found my self hitting 240 on a couple of grades before I backed it down to "creep and crawl" to keep it from getting hotter.

So....I am thinking to go through the usual subjects in this order....thermostat, fan, radiator hoses, water pump, then the radiator itself.

Thoughts or ideas?

Thanks!

11 Replies

  • truck getting hot is definitely not fun. I would change the order of a few things that you listed.

    First check the coolant level. Then go for a thermostat and radiator cap. If the thermostat and cap doesn't fix the issue, then go for the radiator. The fan as far as I know is for when driving at lower speeds. At 60 mph the fan probably isn't doing much. So I would go thermostat then radiator.

    After that you can try the fan, but I've never ever had to change a fan out because my engine was running hot.

    The hoses have nothing to do with the cooling unless they are letting your coolant leak out. Inspect them and make sure you're not seeing wetness or powdery crust at the clamps. If crusty you could be losing pressure which could result in a lower boiling temperature of the coolant. But I would still look at t-stat and radiator cap or radiator first.
    If a new or flushed or rodded out radiator (from a radiator shop)has no effect I would replace the water pump.