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Bone stock 03 5.9 overheating when pulling hill's heavy loaded with 5th wheel

2574 Views 48 Replies 19 Participants Last post by  440scout!, 
patricktucker777
03 5.9 Cummins six speed manual 4x4 dually... Bone stock had it about 5 years never moved the temp needle Previous one owner 90k mile from an older neighbor that passed. His wife had every recipe from day one kind of truck. He babied it and was immaculate when I purchased. Recently when pulling heavy loads over hills 12k lbs 5thwheel will get hot. My live feed gauge shows hottest 235 then I would pull over and let it rest. This happened on one trip then I took her home and changed the fan clutch with OEM and the radiator... I put in a aluminum radiator it is better but when I pulled heavy today I reached 225 never seen any thing over 205 until what ever is going on now Currently I have 190k miles, I have no oil in the water, no water in the oil and no water coming out the tale pipe, no drop in water fluid in radiator or reservoir. So I've ruled out head gasket. I have no oil in the radiator is it possible that the engine oil cooler is the culprit? If I'm pulling straight aways or empty needle never moves only steep grades while heavy... Any input would be great
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black93gt
I’ve been noticing higher temps towing grades as well. there are times I can partially blame the shift points I’ve programmed, but I suspect the wastegate is opening early and lowering boost.

While checking for boost leaks I found there was some air leakage coming from the wastegate actuator. This indicates the control solenoid has leakage and causing the wastegate to open earlier.

Also questioning if I have a partially clogged cat.
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Will59
Are you sure your fan is spooling up? It should sound like a garbage truck on Monday morning.
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patricktucker777
misterfixit_sd said:
Low boost from a stuck waste gate?
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Maybe so how to check this? Seems to have plenty of power
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Subscribing to thread to see what you figure out. Seems like you covered everything that came to my mind. I would almost think it has to be the dragging brake though right? Truck is working way harder. I tow the same weight and do hills in PA and VA and while the temp will climb a bit it never gets that hot. How big of a grade are you talking?
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patricktucker777
0rion said:
Subscribing to thread to see what you figure out. Seems like you covered everything that came to my mind. I would almost think it has to be the dragging brake though right? Truck is working way harder. I tow the same weight and do hills in PA and VA and while the temp will climb a bit it never gets that hot. How big of a grade are you talking?
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These last ones that gave me trouble are not that bad at all just a pretty long while traveling out of Bakersfield CA to tehachapi think it's about 8 - 10 percent.

The brake drag is very minimal I can turn the tire by hand just feel slight drag. It's only on one side and not enough to pull to one side still drives straight. If the drag was noticable of causing overheating It would half to have a pull I would think?
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patricktucker777
black93gt said:
I’ve been noticing higher temps towing grades as well. there are times I can partially blame the shift points I’ve programmed, but I suspect the wastegate is opening early and lowering boost.

While checking for boost leaks I found there was some air leakage coming from the wastegate actuator. This indicates the control solenoid has leakage and causing the wastegate to open earlier.

Also questioning if I have a partially clogged cat.
Click to expand...
How did you test the waist gate? I'm running a Manuel so can watch my rpm pretty closely
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patricktucker777
black93gt said:
I’ve been noticing higher temps towing grades as well. there are times I can partially blame the shift points I’ve programmed, but I suspect the wastegate is opening early and lowering boost.

While checking for boost leaks I found there was some air leakage coming from the wastegate actuator. This indicates the control solenoid has leakage and causing the wastegate to open earlier.

Also questioning if I have a partially clogged cat.
Click to expand...
My 03 is a federal truck and OEM was not equipped in this year
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patricktucker777
patricktucker777 said:
My 03 is a federal truck and OEM was not equipped in this year
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With a cat is what I was say
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black93gt
Yea.. I have an 06 so I have a cat and the electronic solenoid to control the wastegate.

I used a boost leak tester and some soapy water to check everything possible. When I sprayed the actuator I got bubbles. I still need to do some further testing.
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george.swartzell
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You mentioned that you have no oil in the water and no water in the oil. Are you loosing coolant? My head gasket had rusted and was leaking coolant very slowly. Where it was leaking was hardly noticeable and made me think it was the water pump as you could see just a few drops of coolant there. Also you should check your radiator for exhaust gas. There is a tool that is available from Harbor freight to do this.
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White Light Hood Crankset Automotive tail & brake light


White Hood Light Automotive tail & brake light Crankset
White Light Hood Crankset Automotive tail & brake light
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Blazerswampthing
I have not heard anything about exhaust gas temps. I added an EGT gauge and I always keep an eye on those temps. If they are high then that would cause water temp to run high. I also put a generator on front hitch and it blocked some of the radiator and it ran a little hotter. I ended up moving it to the side to help with temps.
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patricktucker777
george.swartzell said:
You mentioned that you have no oil in the water and no water in the oil. Are you loosing coolant? My head gasket had rusted and was leaking coolant very slowly. Where it was leaking was hardly noticeable and made me think it was the water pump as you could see just a few drops of coolant there. Also you should check your radiator for exhaust gas. There is a tool that is available from Harbor freight to do this. View attachment 975908 View attachment 975909

View attachment 975908 View attachment 975909
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Welp that is a good observation didn't think of that... What do you call the exist gas gage to put on the radiator? So you have a picture of one? Thanks so much
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patricktucker777
george.swartzell said:
You mentioned that you have no oil in the water and no water in the oil. Are you loosing coolant? My head gasket had rusted and was leaking coolant very slowly. Where it was leaking was hardly noticeable and made me think it was the water pump as you could see just a few drops of coolant there. Also you should check your radiator for exhaust gas. There is a tool that is available from Harbor freight to do this. View attachment 975908 View attachment 975909

View attachment 975908 View attachment 975909
Click to expand...
** Exhaust**
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Blazerswampthing
Exhaust temp gauge is an aftermarket add on that you typically install temp probe in the exhaust. I mounted the gauge on my a piller. Even when the engine temp is good the exhaust temps can climb and it does damage if it stays hot too long.
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B
No, he meant the gauge that you put into the top of radiator with the cap removed.
It has a liquid that changes colors if exhaust gases are present.
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Blazerswampthing
bigblock_doc said:
No, he meant the gauge that you put into the top of radiator with the cap removed.
It has a liquid that changes colors if exhaust gases are present.
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bigblock_doc said:
No, he meant the gauge that you put into the top of radiator with the cap removed.
It has a liquid that changes colors if exhaust gases are present.
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Ah, yes, I see now. Its my Monday.
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R
An EGT gauge is a good investment if you tow. Towing hills is a prime example of rising EGT's. I suspect you may have a boost leak that is causing your EGT's to rise. In towing hills you would have a higher boost level than running flat. Which could point to a high pressure boost leak. Building a PVC test fitting to connect an air compressor to your turbo intake and pressurizing the system to 20 psi and some soapy water is a good and easy boost leak test.

And it may just be the thermostat not opening fully.

I have an '08 Ford Superduty that was mostly drove in the northeast before I owned it. Both front wheels began to drag and lockup. I thought stuck calipers. I figured that I might be able to spray the pistons with PB Blaster and work the pistons in with a welding clamp on the pads to free them. I had two large welding clamps on one caliper and could not push the pistons in. I decided to open the bleed screw and the pistons moved in with out an issue. I heard that the brake hose to the calipers could get blocked. I pulled the hose and sure enough the hose was blocked. What had happened was the road salt had worked its way between the hose and the crimped metal hose support bracket. The growth of the rust had crimped off the hose. The fluid from the master cylinder to the caliper is under high pressure it is able to flow a little fluid pass the blockage. But the return flow is low pressure and cannot push back pass the blockage to the master cylinder. New brake hoses fixed everything.
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patricktucker777
Tha
Realdann said:
An EGT gauge is a good investment if you tow. Towing hills is a prime example of rising EGT's. I suspect you may have a boost leak that is causing your EGT's to rise. In towing hills you would have a higher boost level than running flat. Which could point to a high pressure boost leak. Building a PVC test fitting to connect an air compressor to your turbo intake and pressurizing the system to 20 psi and some soapy water is a good and easy boost leak test.

And it may just be the thermostat not opening fully.

I have an '08 Ford Superduty that was mostly drove in the northeast before I owned it. Both front wheels began to drag and lockup. I thought stuck calipers. I figured that I might be able to spray the pistons with PB Blaster and work the pistons in with a welding clamp on the pads to free them. I had two large welding clamps on one caliper and could not push the pistons in. I decided to open the bleed screw and the pistons moved in with out an issue. I heard that the brake hose to the calipers could get blocked. I pulled the hose and sure enough the hose was blocked. What had happened was the road salt had worked its way between the hose and the crimped metal hose support bracket. The growth of the rust had crimped off the hose. The fluid from the master cylinder to the caliper is under high pressure it is able to flow a little fluid pass the blockage. But the return flow is low pressure and cannot push back pass the blockage to the master cylinder. New brake hoses fixed everything.
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That was my thought exactly was line collapse that was causing my drag. Or something in the caliper piston or slides. I broke the bleeder screw and no change rilling out the line collapse concern. So thin I went to the caliper. I changed it 3 different times with 3 different brands and still does the light drag. It is very light drag but still there.

As far as the pvc boost gauge that sounds perfect do you have a few pictures of the gauge and where to install it so I could look at make up one of them that sounds like a good test
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patricktucker777 said:
Tha


That was my thought exactly was line collapse that was causing my drag. Or something in the caliper piston or slides. I broke the bleeder screw and no change rilling out the line collapse concern. So thin I went to the caliper. I changed it 3 different times with 3 different brands and still does the light drag. It is very light drag but still there.

As far as the pvc boost gauge that sounds perfect do you have a few pictures of the gauge and where to install it so I could look at make up one of them that sounds like a good test
Click to expand...
I just made a boost tester from hardware store parts. Cost less than $20. 4" to 3" fernco reducer, 3" PVC cap, and a 3/8" swivel male hose end. Drill 1/2" hole in cap and thread tape the mess out of the hose end and screw it in. I was going to epoxy it but it held fine with just thread tape. You can add a pressure gauge or a shut off if you want but I just set my compressor regulator to 30psi and it worked fine if I were to do it again I'd at least add a shut off and will revisit that at some point but I was just spraying hoses real quick to check for bubbles.
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0rion said:
I just made a boost tester from hardware store parts. Cost less than $20. 4" to 3" fernco reducer, 3" PVC cap, and a 3/8" swivel male hose end. Drill 1/2" hole in cap and thread tape the mess out of the hose end and screw it in. I was going to epoxy it but it held fine with just thread tape. You can add a pressure gauge or a shut off if you want but I just set my compressor regulator to 30psi and it worked fine if I were to do it again I'd at least add a shut off and will revisit that at some point but I was just spraying hoses real quick to check for bubbles. View attachment 975986
Click to expand...
Thanks for sharing the photos. I didnt have any on hand.
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