COOLANT and TEMPERATURE SENDER (Part 1 of 2)
Before I start on another long-winded ramble, I’d like to thank everyone that has ever posted to this site. I’ve found hundreds of gems of information and advice in here, there are so many to thank, so THANK YOU ALL ! (I hope I didn’t leave anyone out).
I did this in April and May 2011.
The coolant needed to be changed. The temperature gauge wouldn’t move out of cold. With a fully warmed up engine, it moved slightly but sat solidly in the cold range all the time.
I removed the pipe plugs in the block, flushed the system real good, and replaced with new coolant and distilled water. The old coolant was surprisingly clean, unlike everything else I’ve seen on this truck so far. I replaced the 180 thermostat and 13 lb radiator cap with a 195 and 16, respectively (closer to spec), all this with negligible results on the temperature indicated on the gauge. My fan clutch was wobbling on the shaft so I replaced it with a new thermostatic type, also with no change in indication.