7.3 Getting Hot

[stealthregal]

My buddy just purchased a 2002 F-250 two weeks ago. It has 180,000 miles on it and is in nice shape.

The problem that he is currently having is the coolant temperature spiking. If he fires it up, idles for a few minutes, and then goes for a two mile drive the coolant temp goes into the red zone. There is no bubbling in the degas bottle or any signs/sounds of the coolant boiling at this point.

He replaced the thermostat, the fan works, no leaks on the water pump, the belt has tension, coolant level in the degas bottle is static, and the cap is holding pressure. I did not see any signs of leaks and the wiring harness into the temp probe (I believe that is what it was, right next to the thermostat on top of the water pump) was tight.

Now he did take it to a mechanic last week to replace some leaking transmission cooler lines. Those were fixed and at the same time he was told that his intercooler lines were leaking too. The truck has an old snow plow frame on it so the mechanic disconnected the lines going to the intercooler. I am guessing that after the plow frame is removed the lines were going to be replaced. This problem has appeared since that happened.

Any ideas or suggestions on things to check?