Tips for a cool running comanche?

[AZJeff]

1 minute ago, cruiser54 said:

No kidding??

Yeah, we old guys gotta stay together.   You know how there is "boomer bias" nowadays

[cruiser54]

Yep. 

[EUREKA]

I had problems on hot summer days when driving up into the mountains, which can be very steep for many many miles where I live.

 

I switched to open cooling, deleted heater control valve, replaced fan clutch. Those improvements made a noticeable difference. I latter installed a flowkooler water pump and added redline water wetter, and that was a game changer.

[Discoman9001]

1 hour ago, AZJeff said:

Yeah, we old guys gotta stay together.   You know how there is "boomer bias" nowadays

I’m still wet behind the ears compared to yall but I appreciate the help immensely. 

[Pete M]

5 minutes ago, Discoman9001 said:

I’m still wet behind the ears compared to yall but I appreciate the help immensely. 

 

we all start at the bottom of the knowledge ladder.    we're happy to give others a hand on the climb up.

 

[cruiser54]

This^^

[DesertRat1991]

On 8/26/2023 at 1:16 AM, Discoman9001 said:

Electric fan blows solid and clutch fan seems to be good as well. 

 

Converting to the HD fan clutch is a good move for a desert truck.  It runs a bit louder than the stock unit but it definitely helps.  NAPA part number is 272310.

 

Your electric fan should be kicking on at ~230 and turn off when the temp drops down to 210.  Is the system working properly?  You can perform a simple test by blocking the front grill with a piece of cardboard while idling.  Temps will rise to 230, verify fan turns on, then unblock and monitor for cutoff at 210.

 

Other than that, yah... the desert is hot.

 

Even with the HD clutch you might still see engine temps creep to 230 when stuck in traffic on hot days but I've found the efan has always been sufficient to get the situation back under control.  

[Salvagedcircuit]

1 hour ago, DesertRat1991 said:

Your electric fan should be kicking on at ~230 and turn off when the temp drops down to 210.  Is the system working properly?  You can perform a simple test by blocking the front grill with a piece of cardboard while idling.  Temps will rise to 230, verify fan turns on, then unblock and monitor for cutoff at 210.

 

That is some excellent reasoning. I should have thought of that. I've never seen my electric fan kick on and was going to take some elaborate drive to test the fan temp sensor.

Good noggin right there! Thanks

[pizzaman09]

I went through this earlier this year.  Things I did to get the temp back in spec.

1 Replaced the original mechanical fan clutch

2 Replace the e fan switch, actually I didn't replace it but installed a second in the radiator location as the switch was hacked into the lower Radiator hose from a dealer installed AC job.

3 Fixed my leaking expansion tank/pressure bottle.  My original one was leaking.  The combo of a new Dorman tank and factory original cap works perfectly.  

 

It now stays cool on even the hottest day.  I know my water pump is just a couple years old so it likely works well.  My coolant looks crusty and should be flushed, however Erie, PA isn't exactly a sweltering desert.