Overheating???

[Weiss1]

So we went camping this past weekend.
Left Thursday night. Nice and cool. Truck pulled like a mule. No problems.
Used the truck all weekend without any issues.
This morning I had a funny start. Almost thought it wasn't going to keep running.....but it did and it sounded and ran fine.
About half way home the terrain goes from being an easy up and down pull to a constant uphill climb. Not aggressive or anything, but just a noticable climb.
It was shortly into the climbing part when my eng oil temp went up. To the point that my "Check Gauges" light came on. So I pulled over and put the rpm's to about 1800 and the gauge came back to normal. Started out again....got to 60 mph and up it went. Kept it at 50 mph and It would stay at about 3/4 to 7/8 on the gauge.
Details:
Ambient temp was HOT! 38 degree's C or 100 degree's F
AC condenser fins are flat in spot which might decrease cooling to the rad.
Thermostat issue??
Trailer is a 30 ft trail cruiser. Probably 8000 pounds or so.
Truck........F350

Any help here would be great.
I'm thinking to comb the fins first and Never pull when it is that hot.
The thing that bugs me......Chev's were pulling trailers too and they weren't pulled over!

[99bigred]

OUCH i always hate to see fords pulled over with chevys going by. it would take alot of bent fins to cause that problem and you should be able to pull in any temp. i really dont know what it is though, good luck

[strokerboy73]

Try the changing the thermostat. I was told its a good thing to do about every 50k miles. That they start to stick open and shut, and just at the right times to. haha. Mine stuck shut on me pulling 14k up the moutains. Just an idea.

[bigcountrysg]

Was it the engine oil temp, or the engine temp that went high. I am guessing it was the engine temp. I would check the radiator for blockage. Dirt, mud caked up in front of the radiator, leaves, bugs, all clogging up the radiator fins will not allow air to move through the radiator to keep the engine temp cool. Now if there is nothing blocking the fins of the radiator. I would check the fan clutch. A fan clutch that will not engage will cause the engine temps to rise. Because the clutch will not engage it will not make the fan spin faster which would normally pull in extra air and cool the engine down. I doubt it has anything to do with the thermostat, if it was the thermostat it would show the problem more often then this. Also I doubt it is the water pump because usually a bad water pump leaks antifreeze. You did not mention any leaking coolant.

What you have is an air flow problem.

[Weiss1]

thanks for the help and sorry for the confusion. It was the eng temp bigcountrysg. I was thinking of the oil when writing the post and at what temp would it start to cook the oil.
So how do I check the fan clutch to make sure it's working.

It seems like the problem is worse when I'm starting to work the truck.

I'm going into town today without the trailer so I'll see what happens today.
The only bad thing is that it is only suppose to be 28 degree Celsius or 82.4 degree Fahrenheit, which is a lot cooler than yesterday.

[SCUFFY828]

im thinkin fan clutch

[Weiss1]

With the truck cold, I tried to spin the fan. It doesn't "spin", but I can easily turn the fan blades one by one. There is no movement forward or back or side to side.
When I get into town the truck should be at normal running temp. I'll check everything when it is warm.
No signs of any coolant or leaks either.

Next day I drove it to town. No problems........ ran like a top
A buddy of mine said it could be the fan clutch sensor. I'm going to check the codes this weekend to see if it comes up.
He had the same deal happen to him. AND, when he replaced the sensor and started pulling, he said you could here the fan when it was starting to heat up. I don't notice any "fan" sound. never have. He said it would be pretty noticable.

What else can I do to check the fan clutch?