1996 1500 4x4 5.9
Driving home the truck overheated. I had heAt and the upper radiator hose was warm so I don't think it's the thermostat. It's also vererry cold although idk if that would do anything. I'm not losing any coolant either. I have no idea where to start. I got it home before it reached red so no damage has been done

 

Also the last time we had extreme cold it got hot but it's like something opened and the temp whent to normal so I didn't think much of it. I also seafoamed it yesterday. Connection?

 

Did the truck act like it was truly overheating or just the temp gauge on the dash showing it was hot(er)?

 

+1, you may have a faulty coolant temp sensor or temp sender....unless you were starting to get smoke out of the hood or some other "oh ****" symptom

 

Id bet either temp sensor or stat.

 

How cold was it? I suspect the coolant/water mixture was inadequate to prevent freezing. As it melted, engine began to cool....just guessing. No idea where OP lives (shortage of info in sig....)

 

i live in illinois and it was about 0 degrees F. no it was overheating i popped the hood at home and i could hear it was hot. I think it might have frozen because when i re added my coolant my mixture might have been light on coolant so i will drain it and at like 75 coolant 25 water. would 0 degrees freeze the mixture? i know i felt warmth coming out of the t stat and through the upper radiator hose so i think that the t stat is fine if that makes sense.

 

sorry northern illinois wisconsin border so it gets cold.

 

Your truck has two temp sensors, one for the gauge, and one for the PCM. Gauge sensor is a one wire, on the passenger side of the thermostat housing. Wiggle the connector... see if anything changes.

hows your coolant level? Almost sounds like an air bubble.... (but, you have heat....)

 

So I was able to add a third of a gallon of antifreeze to the system. I started the truck up and it is now - 5 degrees f. It was sooo cold it took 6 min for the truck to get to just 150 degrees. The weird thing is at 150 I usually have heat but I didn't. Now the thermostat is rarely me ( 2 months) is it possible for a thermostat to freeze shut especially if I have a low mix of antifreeze?