I wanted to come back in and update this thread with a resolution. Since I've been having the overheating issues, I just stopped driving the truck except on really short runs to the mulch place or Home Despot and the like. Finally got around to working on it over the weekend. here is what I knocked out in one weekend of wrenching:
- Took off the old radiator and took it into a local radiator repair shop (Sims Radiator in Lawrencevillle GA) This was on Friday at about 2PM. they said it would be ready on Monday around noon. Okay, that's acceptable turnaround time. Turns out, I got a call Saturday morning at 10AM saying it was ready! Deluxe. $65 and it's been chemically cleaned out and refinished. Tech said it was loaded up with rust particles. He estimated 50% blocked.
- Replaced the timing belt, and more importantly corrected the "one tooth off" mistake made by the last guy to do the belt. I had never been able to correctly time the truck due to that one tooth. Also replaced the smaller silent shaft belt, the small belt tensioner, the main timing belt tensioner, and the crank oil seal.
- Replaced the water pump
- New drive belts
- filled and burped with fresh coolant 50/50 mix
- Used timing light to set timing.
Well, it's like a different truck! Temp gauge rises exactly to the middle, and stays there!! Idling, full throttle, AC on, AC off, puttering around town or 70MPH on the highway the temp gauge is rock solid, straying only slightly from midpoint.
Also, getting the timing back in spec shows up in much better power, and I'll bet the next emissions test will show much cleaner burning. Should see my MPGs go up too I would expect.
I suspect the radiator was my big culprit in the overheating. I had removed it from the truck before, and gave it the driveway flush with a garden hose, but that obviously did not do the trick. In retrospect, I wonder if it dislodged some of the particles, and then when they resettled, they actually made it worse!
I'm loving my truck again!!
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