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wont get passed 140

Old Mar 25, 2020 | 07:51 PM
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Originally Posted by proVIP3R
so i figured it out i covered the radiator with more than half with cardboard and the truck finally got up to operating temp so i am assuming the fan clutch is stuck full engaged

Maybe, then again, wehn I drove a truck many years ago, we would often put cardboard in front on the radiator to get some heat with a worn engine. Usually, a mild over haul, not a rebuild, removed the need for cardboard. The thermostat will handle all but the coldest weather. You really need to check your timing chain. Until you do, you're just throwing parts at it. This will eventually fix it, but waste a lot of money.
Pop the distributor cap off the distributor and mark the location of the rotor with a marker. NOT a pencil! The graphite in the pencil will cause arcing. Mark the position of the harmonic balancer. Now rotate the engine backwards by hand. When the rotor starts to move, stop. Look how far the balancer moved before the rotor did. It will show you how much slop is in the chain. More than just a few degrees (5 to 10 at most) and you need t replace the timing set.
I replaced a chain set on a '94 with the 3.9 once. Fuel economy went from 17 to 23, the heater would cook you and the temperature gauge went up to where it should have. All because the slop had the valves put of time.
 
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Old Mar 26, 2020 | 04:54 AM
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i dont think it would be the timing chain due to this engine only has 65,000 miles on it so its fairly broken in i will check the fan first before doing something that major due to it being my only vehicle right now
 
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Old Mar 26, 2020 | 06:40 PM
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Originally Posted by proVIP3R
i dont think it would be the timing chain due to this engine only has 65,000 miles on it so its fairly broken in i will check the fan first before doing something that major due to it being my only vehicle right now

65K should have a good chain yet. That's why I asked several times. If you have a good thermostat rated at 195 degrees and it ISN'T a fail safe (they all fail), it may be your fan. It's possible someone monkeyed with the distributor timing and got it off for better power. You can check that with a timing light.
 
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Old Mar 26, 2020 | 08:27 PM
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Originally Posted by ol' grouch
65K should have a good chain yet. That's why I asked several times. If you have a good thermostat rated at 195 degrees and it ISN'T a fail safe (they all fail), it may be your fan. It's possible someone monkeyed with the distributor timing and got it off for better power. You can check that with a timing light.
Turning the distributor doesn't really do anything on these engines. Moving the dist only changes injector timing. Turn it too far, and it won't run worth beans..... Timing is purely computer controlled.
 
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Old Mar 26, 2020 | 08:37 PM
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Considering I've worked on cars as old as a 1914 Model T up to late model units, I have trouble keeping them all straight in my head. (Lot's of room in there. ) If the fan turns out to be good, it has a 195 thermostat and the timing looks good, I'd get a compression tester and check the cylinders. I had an engine once that never would warm up and when it did get a little heat, it wasn't much. I had a severely burned valve on it. A compression test will show that if that's the problem.
 
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Old Mar 26, 2020 | 09:33 PM
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I think my oldest car that I worked on was a 1929 Buick. (yeah, with the wooden body frame, and the whole nine yards.) Ignition timing on that was controlled by a lever on the steering wheel.
 
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Old Mar 27, 2020 | 06:02 AM
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Originally Posted by HeyYou
I think my oldest car that I worked on was a 1929 Buick. (yeah, with the wooden body frame, and the whole nine yards.) Ignition timing on that was controlled by a lever on the steering wheel.

Oh! One of those new fangled cars with a shift lever!!! I was putting an electric start on the Model T.
 
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Old Apr 10, 2020 | 02:34 AM
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Originally Posted by HeyYou
Only one sensor, and the PCM tells the cluster what to display.

What brand/type of thermostat are you installing? If you are using 'safety stats', don't. They suck. Get a good Stant thermostat, (NOT the 'safety' variety) and try again. Might not hurt to pick up an infra-red temp gun, and see what temp the thermostat housing is actually getting to. It's possible the sensor simply isn't grounding to the manifold good enough to work properly.
X2 on the Safety Stats SUCK. Brand new some stick open,some stick closed. Made in Israel junk
 
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Old Apr 14, 2020 | 09:29 PM
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but theres no loss of power, no check engine light for misfires or anything related to the engine, my assumption is the engine itself just runs too cold
 
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Old Apr 14, 2020 | 09:38 PM
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Originally Posted by proVIP3R
but theres no loss of power, no check engine light for misfires or anything related to the engine, my assumption is the engine itself just runs too cold

Have you run a compression test on the engine? I had a car once that suddenly wouldn't get any heat. I found a burnt valve on one cylinder. I reworked the head and it like to cooked me later that winter. We had a cold one that year. The Ohio river near my house froze over.
 
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