Ford V10 Running hot

[johnwalkerpa1]

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!

[johnwalkerpa1]

Thanks everyone for the replies and suggestion. I’ll start to look at things

[Grit_dog]

theoldwizard1 wrote:

johnwalkerpa1 wrote:

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.

OVERKILL !

Yes, 240 is hot, but with the newer high pressure (21 psi) cooling systems, you still had some cushion. I would always kick down a gear when towing up a grade with with my E150.

My process for "flush and fill".
• Drain coolant. Refill with plain water. Add flushing chemical (Prestone Flush). Double if you have a rear heater. Drive for at least 30 minutes.
• Repeat
• Drain. Refill with 100% coolant (there is still water in the engine). Drive for 30 minutes and then check and adjust the coolant strength

I'm sure he's 2 gears or more kicked down flat footin that setup up the grades.
FWIW, the condition of the coolant in a vehicle that new is far less likely to be the cause than several other things that are far less involved to check first.

[CloudDriver]

BobsYourUncle wrote:
Don't overlook something as simple as plugged cooling fins on your rad. There is usually 2 or 3 things out front, the rad being the innermost. Your A/C condenser will be in front of the rad, and then a tranny oil cooler if you have one.

Are you cleaning a lot of bugs off your windshield over the past couple years? If so, those same bugs could be plugging things up through the grille, restricting air flow.
Take a peek through the front to see if there is a lot of schmoo in there.

We had an issue a few years back with the radiator fan often coming on even when driving on level ground. A check of the front side of the A/C condenser and radiator fins disclosed a lot of gunk and white fluff (cottonwood tree fluff maybe?) was blocking the fins. A flush from the back side cleared most of it off and resolved the issue. I took some pictures at the time but can't find them now.

[klutchdust]

BobsYourUncle wrote:
Don't overlook something as simple as plugged cooling fins on your rad. There is usually 2 or 3 things out front, the rad being the innermost. Your A/C condenser will be in front of the rad, and then a tranny oil cooler if you have one.

Are you cleaning a lot of bugs off your windshield over the past couple years? If so, those same bugs could be plugging things up through the grille, restricting air flow.
Take a peek through the front to see if there is a lot of schmoo in there.

I use a pressure washer to remove bugs and junk from the radiator and oil cooler/trans cooler.
Also, do you have your AC on when climbing hills? It makes a big difference.
Water pumps tell on themselves when they need changing by the drip drip, however they still function. If it is not leaking I would pass that by.

[BobsYourUncle]

Don't overlook something as simple as plugged cooling fins on your rad. There is usually 2 or 3 things out front, the rad being the innermost. Your A/C condenser will be in front of the rad, and then a tranny oil cooler if you have one.

Are you cleaning a lot of bugs off your windshield over the past couple years? If so, those same bugs could be plugging things up through the grille, restricting air flow.
Take a peek through the front to see if there is a lot of schmoo in there.

[midnightsadie]

I just had my clutch fan changed on my rv and that fixed my problem. theres U tubes on how to test them.

[katysdad]

If it has a fan clutch have that checked before replacing the radiator. Lower radiator hose may be collapsing internally and restricting flow of coolant returning to water pump.

[NamMedevac_70]

For years I have used Rislone Super Cool greenish color in my older Ram trucks that has greatly reduced the radiator temperature in very hot summer stop and go city driving. Works better than Water Wetter in my opinion. May help????

[theoldwizard1]

johnwalkerpa1 wrote:

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.

OVERKILL !

Yes, 240 is hot, but with the newer high pressure (21 psi) cooling systems, you still had some cushion. I would always kick down a gear when towing up a grade with with my E150.

My process for "flush and fill".
• Drain coolant. Refill with plain water. Add flushing chemical (Prestone Flush). Double if you have a rear heater. Drive for at least 30 minutes.
• Repeat
• Drain. Refill with 100% coolant (there is still water in the engine). Drive for 30 minutes and then check and adjust the coolant strength

[Grit_dog]

Good start, Provide more info...
Assumption 1. Still runs 200+/- on the flats.
Assumption 2. Alot of miles (for a RV) on it
Assumption 3. Haven't preformed a coolant flush/change.

Assumption 4. Haven't cleaned cooler stack.

1. Start with #4 if #1-3 are correct assumptions.
2. Move to #3 if #4 was incorrect and #1-3 are still correct.
3. Disregard #3 if performed.
4. If #1 is incorrect then start with your list, thermostat, water pump etc. Add radiator cap to the list as well.

[opnspaces]

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.