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Strange cooling behavior after new head


dfaroah

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So I am having a ranger passed down to me that has significant sentimental value, it had alot of issues, 1989 with original plugs rusted hood and roof, dying fuel pump and a cracked head. I fixed everything and did the head last, it had been cracked for years but somehow still pulled just fine (it only gave out when I used jb weld and that redirected exhaust to radiator) but now when I run it the temp gauge barely moves past the normal line although it leaves closed loop and the heater gives full blast, but whenever I go up a dirt road to my lady's house, its about 200ft and requires me to drive in first at about 3500 or so rpm the temp gauge jumps to about halfway(and I smell burning oil but im sure thats from the slow leak in my oil pan thats right over the exhaust pipe that I have yet to fix, Im pretty sure I put everything back together properly, new head is a brand new 89tm casting as well. Any ideas? I'm hoping to turn this into a small metal hauler as a small part time gig to fund some upgrades for it.
 


RonD

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Fan clutch should be tested.

Could be some of the rad tubes are getting clogged up.
Warm up engine then shut it off and move fan shroud out of the way(if you don't have a fan shroud that could be the problem), now feel the rad fins, should be nice and even heat across and down, any cooler spots are clogged tubes.
 

dfaroah

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I just tested it. The radiator is hotter on the top but heat is pretty consistent from left to right, and as far as I know the only way to test a fan clutch is to spin it to check the resistance and it will only turn about 1/4 when I spin it by hand. Is there a more definitive way for testing?
 

RonD

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What you did, which makes the clutch seem fine or the rolled up newspaper test is about it for testing fan clutch.
Google: fan clutch test youtube

Running with blown head gasket builds up debris in cooling system, when you drained it what did it look like?

Maybe you could drain it again, save the coolant for refilling, and just have a look at it, see if there is "stuff" mixed in.
If there is debris(stuff) in the drained coolant then I would pull the rad and back flush it.
Regular flush can't push out any debris, because it flushes the same direction as coolant flow.
Flipping the rad upside down and flushing can push larger debris out the way it came in.
Also lay rad flat and fill with CLR warm water mix and let it sit for 20 minutes then back flush again.

Rad test for side flow when rad is out
Put rad cap on
Put rad on it's side so tubes are up and down
Put hand over lower hose outlet
Fill rad with water using upper hose outlet
Stop filling
Remove lower hand
Water should drain out instantly, there is not an air lock holding it back, both hoses are pretty much the same size, so water should dump out instantly
Tilt rad slightly to make sure all the water is out.

Now the test:
Flip rad upside down, it ANY water comes out, it could only come from blocked tubes.


Impeller fins on water pump may be worn down, only way to tell is to remove water pump, and since they are not that expensive, best to just replace it.
 
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