3.9 v6

just replaced heads, thermo, water pump, and changed the oil.... now what?

Problem: over heating after a few minutes of driving around

Clues:
1. AFTER putting the top of the engine back together the first cooling fill took about 15 quarts of water. The radiator alone holds about 5 quarts.

?- (Is it normal for the water passages through the block and top half to take up this much water?)

2. clean WATER poured straight through the radiator drains dirty and green.

?- (Without even running the engine is this a sign the radiator should be flushed or are there any other possible components to check?)

Additional questions:

Is it possible to have oil in the radiator without water showing up in the oil pan.... ie my dip stick shows normal texture new oil. I know if oil is mixing with the water and showing up in the radiator drain that there is a crack in the block but would this also show up when draining a bit of oil out of the pan?


Is this a correct statement/assumption? - *You can see water in the oil pan without seeing oil in the radiator if there is NO block crack BUT if there is a crack in the block you will have oil & water in both the PAN and radiator.!?

thanks for the help all.

 

Sounds like radiator to me. I don't think flushing will do anything if it thats bad. Can't hurt to try though.

 

could also be an air bubble in cooling system, that would be the thing i checked first, get one of those coolant funnels that attach to the top of the rad, and keep it full and keep an eye on the temp gauge, my 5.2 did that after i put the new rad, thermo & housing, water pump & bypass hose, and upper & lower rad hoses on it, cause i didnt use that cause i didnt have one at the time. but now i would fill the cooling system without it

 

Replace the rad. they are not very expensive.

 

Probably would not hurt to check the fan clutch too.

 

Bad advice. The appropriate course of action is to review what changed during the maintenance to have caused the end result. Merely spending money on parts just to see if that corrects the issue is not proper troubleshooting.

 

Would also be a good idea to check/replace the T-stat again. BTW, what brand did you install? Don't want to go cheap on that.

 

I usually drill 2 or 3 5/32 holes around the disc part of the thermostat before I install just in case it fails, and I have seen brand new units go poopoo on the first day. Make sure it is not in upside down either - I have YEARS of experience & have made that mistake, so it can happen to anyone. Try removing the thermostat completely to see if that cures the overheating issue. Also disconnect both major radiator hoses, then hook up a garden hose to the top of the radiator & see if water flows through easily. Try that with the hose at the bottom as well.