I was riding today and stuck in about 30 minutes worth of traffic and noticed my temp gauge go to 260. I put the heat on full blast and opened the windows so more water would run through. I did have the AC on and it was set around 70. Anyone have any ideas on what I need to check? And is there anyting I can do to keep my truck running cooler? I was thinking about switching to the E-fans but will that really keep the truck "cooler"? Thanks for your help.
Overheating issues?? help
- Thread starter loho16
- Start date
Disclaimer: Links on this page pointing to Amazon, eBay and other sites may include affiliate code. If you click them and make a purchase, we may earn a small commission.
Chads93GT
Full Access Member
check the coolant. If its nasty you may need to flush your coolant system out to get all of the crap out of the radiator. Hose out the radiator. the fins fill up with dirt over time. I just changed out radiators on my 01 and it was full of dirt, as well as a 4" crack, but i digress.
Your thermostat could also be shot, but id start with the coolant and a possible coolant flush. good luck.
Your thermostat could also be shot, but id start with the coolant and a possible coolant flush. good luck.
Rivieraracing
Full Access Member
I'd be replacing that thermostat ASAP and changing the coolant if it's been a few years since last change (flush the system real good)!! How old is the water pump? What was the outside temp when the truck got soo hot, and how long did it take for the temp to go back down after turning on the heat and turning off the AC?
These trucks run cool enough from the factory so something is definitely wrong with yours. Don't just throw Efans at it.
Don't get stuck in traffic with it again until you fix it or you are gonna burn it up.
It pretty much should be either low on coolant, a sticking thermostat, clogged radiator, or a bad fan clutch.
Keep us posted.
Wake
Full Access Member
That's what it was in my 02 Trailblazer. The bad clutch caused the fan to run all the time at highway speeds and sometimes not engage the fan while at low speeds or stopped. I never overheated the vehicle, but it ran a lot warmer than normal until I swapped the clutch out.
When I bought my Escalade I went with an 05, one big reason was I wanted to stay away from mechanical fans. I hated working around the front of the engine and hated changing the mechanical clutch.
PCM4LESS was working on an eFan conversion for the older Trailblazers for a couple of years. I haven't looked for more than a year now but they didn't have it worked out how to control the fans using the old fan clutch controls. Maybe they've got it figured out by now. If they figured it out they may have a eFan kit for the full size trucks as well.
Well most of the overheating issues that I've seen is on the blown head gaskets, many heads have been cracked and there a lot of cheap repairs on it but be vigilant and watch that heat gauge. If your car starts to overheat, pull to the side of the road, and let it idle and, if that does not seem to be working, shut it off.
Last edited:
Wake
Full Access Member
Really? I guess I've been lucky. The only time I ever saw a cracked head was when someone really didn't take care of the engine or the overheat problem.
My ex-gf had either a cracked head or block in her old Sable. She finally told me about it when she had to put 2 gallons of coolant in it to get home from work (7 miles away). I saw it spitting out coolant from the rear and pulled the heads. No problems with the gaskets so I attributed it to the heads. One port was nice and shinny inside like new.
She never learned though, after about 2 weeks of putting water in her replacement car a year later I finally had to beg her to let me take a look at it. It was quickly headed the way of her Sable.
