Ford 460 (F53) running hot

[rvinit]

Hello all,

Hoping this is the right forum for this. I recently purchased a '94 Holiday Rambler Imperial 37' with 60,000 miles. I've put about 300 miles on it so far, and noticed that it seems to run uncomfortably hot.

I notice maybe a 10 degree difference when I'm towing my car dolly and car, but generally the temperature gauge reads 235-250 degrees. I've never seen it cross 250, but it's very high on the gauge. It has been like this since I purchased it.

I intend to replace the thermostat, but I wanted to see if anyone else had suggestions or experience with the 460 engine.

[Gjac]

How did you make out with your overheating problem? Did replacing the Thermostat fix it?

[WILDEBILL308]

With your new thermometer see what temperatures it is really running. That is the first step. There is no need to guess and just throw parts at it.
Bill

[fourmat]

rvinit wrote:
Hello all,

Hoping this is the right forum for this. I recently purchased a '94 Holiday Rambler Imperial 37' with 60,000 miles. I've put about 300 miles on it so far, and noticed that it seems to run uncomfortably hot.

I notice maybe a 10 degree difference when I'm towing my car dolly and car, but generally the temperature gauge reads 235-250 degrees. I've never seen it cross 250, but it's very high on the gauge. It has been like this since I purchased it.

I intend to replace the thermostat, but I wanted to see if anyone else had suggestions or experience with the 460 engine.

a 94 with 60K on it my guess is you need a radiator. coolant tubes clog giving you less area. That said you need to find out for sure could be a water pump, thermostat or fan clutch Start by removing cap before starting see if coolant circulates once warm that will tell you if the thermostat is opening the if circulation is present. Do you hear the fan come on you will know the 460 roars when fan kicks in. From that pint it is a flow ck better performed by a radiator shop. Do you notice any coolant leaks?

[mabynack]

I'm an old diesel mechanic. I would have the local auto parts store pressure check the cooling system. It could be something as easy as a $4 radiator cap. If the system holds pressure, my next step would be to check the radiator. It's fairly common for a 20 year old radiator to be partially clogged with rust and casting sand. A good radiator shop can rod one out. While your at it, you can replace the thermostat. If the thermostat is sticking open the coolant won't stay in the radiator long enough to cool back down.

Is it loosing coolant? If it's not, that pretty much rules out an expensive engine repair, like a blown head gasket or cracked head.

[John_Joey]

Don't forget to think outside the box on this one. Check your transmission fluid, brake calipers, and parking brake oil level. Engines run hot when they have to compensate for those items.

[Gjac]

Just to add a little detail to the good suggestions you have already received and you know you have a good thermostat( check first in boiling water should open a 1/4 in or so), when you check the temp with your IR gun shoot the sensor in the head, on a 454 its in the LH head not sure where it is on the 460. Compare that to the gauge reading. My gauge was 15 degrees higher than the sensor. Also shoot the thermostat housing temp and compare. To check for a clogged radiator start where the water comes in from the thermostat housing and go across and down in a grid pattern if you see cold spots that indicates a clogged area. Pay particular attention to the center of the radiator where the fan clutch is. You will have to re-position the fan blades to get the readings. You should see a delta T of 50 degrees or so from top to bottom if the radiator is not clogged and is cooling correctly assuming it is a vertical cooling radiator. Once you check the simple things and report back there is a lot of info on this forum on how to cool these engines. Good luck.

[dbates]

Good luck. I just had my 1999 F53 V10 clutch fan; lower degree thermostat and OM temperature gauge (which was not registering correctly) with a numerical gauge replaced because of over heating on steep hills. The clutch fan should only functions when the temperature exceeds a much higher degree than is developed on straight way driving. But I still had problems with over heating on long steep hills on our trip to Montana. Here in Indiana it’s OK as we have no steep hills but coming back from Montana through South Dakota it was a real problem until I found that the coolant reservoir had a leak. A Montana mechanic pressured washed the radiators and tried to epoxy the reservoir leak and but it didn’t hold and I had Amazon.com overnight ship a replacement to our campground and installed it myself. The overheating was better but still not what it use to be. I’m going to wait until spring to worry about it as I’m out of money for now.

Dave

[rvinit]

Wow, thank you everyone for all of this input! Due to work schedule, haven't been able to spend much time with it in the day light. I'll listen tomorrow for the fan - drove about 20 miles today pulling my car and finally showed 250 pulling up steep grade.

Noticed that it was well over 200 within a mile and a half of starting it cold, and it's 45 degrees outside. I'll go over all of this tomorrow and will make sure to post back my findings.. Going to pick up an infrared thermostat too, just to be sure.

[rkentzel]

Had radiator replaced on mine was leaking these radiators are not cheap. Then the fan clutch stopped working. Replaced it myself with a hayden 2799 severe duty fan clutch. Someone said on here 4 hour job not on mine call that BS. I doubt its the t stat not really that cheap if you want a good one. 190 degree stat

Mine would run around the l on normal now runs up there half way or under. Keep telling the ford dealer it was the fan clutch they only wanted to do a dye test and was talking head job pulled it out and changed the fan clutch myself.

[Golden_HVAC]

Hi,

If the thermostat is not opening all the way, then the radiator can remain 'cool' and the clutch fan will not heat to the required 155F to cause it to move the fan at engine RPM (making it roar).

I would replace the thermostat first, then the clutch if that did not solve the problem. The thermostat should only cost about $15. The clutch is $100 - $250 item, and will take some 4+ hours to install at home, depending on your skills.

I know someone (highly skilled) who removed the radiator from his 96 Bounder, and had it replaced, then found that the old thermostat did not open all the way. If they lose a tiny amount of wax, it will not fully open. Even new ones can be defective. Get the one for the 1996 F-350 truck with 460" engine.

You will find that many of the F-53 with 460" engine share parts with the F-350 460" truck. Use the 4X4 transmission filter (deeper pan than the 2WD F-350).

Brake pads are shared with the same model year F-450 truck. THey are huge, and last a long time, especially if you lock out overdrive while going down the hills. . .

Fred.

[RLS7201]

Do you hear the radiator fan roaring? If not you need to replace the fan clutch.

Richard

[Jagtech]

My F53 had a substantial build-up of debris between the radiator and the AC condenser, which you can't see except from under the vehicle. I was able to clear it out with compressed air, but its hard to access.
The F53 isn't all that bad a chassis, it just needs a little love.....

[WILDEBILL308]

rvinit wrote:
Hello all,

Hoping this is the right forum for this. I recently purchased a '94 Holiday Rambler Imperial 37' with 60,000 miles. I've put about 300 miles on it so far, and noticed that it seems to run uncomfortably hot.

I notice maybe a 10 degree difference when I'm towing my car dolly and car, but generally the temperature gauge reads 235-250 degrees. I've never seen it cross 250, but it's very high on the gauge. It has been like this since I purchased it.

I intend to replace the thermostat, but I wanted to see if anyone else had suggestions or experience with the 460 engine.

Changing the thermostat is a good place to start. Make shure you get a "high flow" one. You should also make shure all the gaps in front od the radiator are plugged so all the air coming in will go through the radiator. Cheack your fan clutch to make shure it is working. The same thing if you replace it get a heavy duty fan clutch.
http://www.summitracing.com/oh/parts/hyp-1018/overview/

http://www.summitracing.com/oh/parts/hda-2799/overview/make/ford
I would add a good water temp gage because I think yours maybe not accurate. Cheack the temperature with a lazar thermometer and see what it is.
http://www.summitracing.com/oh/parts/atm-2313
Bill

[Big_Katuna]

I had a 97 460. I hated that chassis. Brake problems, exhaust header problems, fuel pump problems.

But it never ran hot, not even in the mountains. I dont think it ever hit 230 even at wide open throttle up a long hill.

You either need a new radiator or a fan clutch or both.