PennSilverTaco's "Perfect 5-Lug Regular Cab" Build, Aspergers, and General BS MegaThread!

Yeah, but I'll probably be in a Mitsubishi Delica or Toyota HiAce; I love the old American-made V8-powered creeper vans, but after driving a Delica last February I really love the JDM vans. The Delica also has factory 4WD and probably gets much better gas mileage than a Chevy G-series or Ford Econoline...

 

When l first moved to OH it was weird to see alcohol in the grocery store, no stupid state stores.

 

Just arrived at one of the biggest van shows in the Northeast!

 

Originally a thread called My truck is going crazy; From overheating to no heat in an hour!...

I don't even know to explain this; I took a road trip today and stopped for gas on the way back. When I started the truck after refueling, the temperature gauge climbed almost to the red before climbing back down to the normal level. I stopped again maybe an hour later to stretch my legs and grab a bite to eat, and when I started the truck, it climbed towards the red and didn't go back down. I freaked out and shut off the engine.

A look under the hood revealed nothing amiss. Some random guy came over and helped me, and at first we thought it might be a stuck thermostat. I let the trucks sit and cool down, the I drove about 10 miles home with the heat cranked. The truck started to overheat at red lights even with the heat on, but as soon as they turned green and I got moving, it returned to a normal temperature.

I let the truck run for about 10 minutes with the A/C cranked in my driveway, and it didn't overheat.

While taking it on a test run with the A/C on, I called my friend who used to be a mechanic and on a whim he suggested turning on the heat to see what would happen. To my amazement, my heat wasn't working.



So now I've got a truck that runs good and doesn't overheat, but doesn't have working heat. I was supposed to follow my parents up to Massachusetts for a week-long vacation, but I don't feel comfortable driving the truck such a long distance with these issues, so I'm gonna be driving my mom's 2013 Nissan Murano which I am not particularly fond of.

At this point I am both pissed and devastated. My truck is a 2010 RC 5-lug with over 157K miles that has never had a problem like this in nearly 13 years of ownership. It just got a new frame last November, but in the last ten months or so it seems like one thing after another has been failing and I am strongly considering selling the truck I said I'd never sell.

Any ideas what could be wrong?

 

Bad fan clutch would explain why it's fine while moving but overheating when sitting still, airflow through the radiator as you move but no cooling when sitting still.

The other details strongly imply a blown head gasket though I hope not, possibly a dead water pump but there's typically other signs of that.

Check your coolant level, no heat with the heat on implies there's no coolant in the heater core, coolant had to go somewhere, hopefully not the engine through the head gasket.

Also check your transmission fluid for coolant, there's a line that runs through the bottom of the radiator to cool the automatic transmission and the transmission cooler line in the radiator can get hairline cracks in it as the radiator ages and cross contamination of fluids occurs.

Also check your radiator cap, sometimes the fall apart and don't keep pressure in the radiator which can be a factor.

 

Have you checked the coolant level in the radiator?

 

Water pump was replaced when they replaced the frame, and a full coolant flush was performed as well, Radiator cap is brand new in the last few months, the truck has plenty of coolant, and the oil is not milky and does not appear to have coolant in it.

 

In the actual radiator and not just the reservoir?

 

Frame replacements sometimes lead to gremlins. I've told you about my friend's truck. It's never been the same. Lots of nagging things

 

Yes

 

Head gaskets leak combustion into the coolant on toyotas typically, so you wont see milk, but it will over heat with load.

One other tell tail sign is a hard restart after a long drive.

 

Possible causes.
Low coolant.
Failing waterpump.
Failing fan.
Head gasket leaking internal to cooling system.
Crack head.

Start with the simple stuff.
I have seen the impeller fail on several water pumps

 

Clutch fan maybe as stated above.

 

What would cause a head head gasket to fail? There is oil in the coolant, but this was attributed to some idiot at the Toyota dealer using a funnel to top off the coolant after using the same one to change the oil. I do see oil in the coolant from time to time, but I've had numerous mechanics look at it and nobody thinks it's a head gasket. I'm beginning to doubt that now. Also, why wouldn't the heat work?

 

Should I get rid of the truck?

 

Also, this may or may not be related, but my fuel gauge has been inaccurate lately...

 

Do a block test first, they have them at Autozone. I just had same problem and I had 2 problems first radiator was not flowing properly and I also had a pocket at the block or heater core. I ended up using a garden hose to flush everything individually both ways with thermostat out.

 

The dealer charges roughly $120 to do a diagnosis

 

Fuck the dealer. Due to an unrelated issue we are not leaving for Massachusetts until Monday and I'm gonna bring it to my mechanic first thing in the morning before we leave.

 

I'm actually considering selling the truck and buying my late friend Jim's 2017 Ridgeline...