Driving down the interstate towing a small (5X8) empty U-haul trailer. Did not notice if engine was overheating. The top of the radiator blew right off! Had the truck towed to the nearest dealership where it took two days for them to actually replace the radiator. I was in a hurry to get back on the road so I took it back from them with no diagnosed reason for the radiator failure. They said there were no indications of any further problems or cause of the original problem. Ok, so what caused it to get so hot and blow up? Radiator cap must not have been working properly. It was recently replaced at around 204,000 miles when I had the cooling system flushed. But what caused it to get so hot? Thermostat stuck open or closed? After I got the truck back, I did notice right away that the heat was not working. So maybe the thermostat is stuck open? Driving home, 300 miles into a 660 mile trip the truck started getting hot while I was now towing a full trailer in some hilly terrain in moderate traffic, the temperature gauge started to climb again. I was getting ready to enter the worst possible place to overheat and break down. The George Washington Bridge in New York City! Luckily I was able to run the heat at full blast in the middle of August to try to keep it from overheating. (the heat is working now that the truck is starting to overheat) Also I was lucky that sitting in traffic just idling with the heat blowing at full blast, did not cause it to get any hotter. After the George Washington Bridge I was able to turn the AC back on and drive it the rest of the 360 miles home with no further issues. I think I need to replace the thermostat.
Driving down the interstate towing a small (5X8) empty U-haul trailer. Did not notice if engine was overheating. The top of the radiator blew right off! Had the truck towed to the nearest dealership where it took two days for them to actually replace the radiator. I was in a hurry to get back on the road so I took it back from them with no diagnosed reason for the radiator failure. They said there were no indications of any further problems or cause of the original problem. Ok, so what caused it to get so hot and blow up? Radiator cap must not have been working properly. It was recently replaced at around 204,000 miles when I had the cooling system flushed. But what caused it to get so hot? Thermostat stuck open or closed? After I got the truck back, I did notice right away that the heat was not working. So maybe the thermostat is stuck open? Driving home, 300 miles into a 660 mile trip the truck started getting hot while I was now towing a full trailer in some hilly terrain in moderate traffic, the temperature gauge started to climb again. I was getting ready to enter the worst possible place to overheat and break down. The George Washington Bridge in New York City! Luckily I was able to run the heat at full blast in the middle of August to try to keep it from overheating. (the heat is working now that the truck is starting to overheat) Also I was lucky that sitting in traffic just idling with the heat blowing at full blast, did not cause it to get any hotter. After the George Washington Bridge I was able to turn the AC back on and drive it the rest of the 360 miles home with no further issues. I think I need to replace the thermostat.
- Mark M., Virginia Beach, US