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hdmod
07-12-2014, 17:41
Hey all,

Bought a 1987 GMC with just 60,000 miles on from Montana last fall.....the truck is a no salt MINT truck........so I drove it very little last fall.........

The truck has a 6.5 engine not the 6.2........the owner changed the original out.......but I did not know it was a 6.5 until I took it to a shop that is sharp with these motors to give it a compression test for the rough idle.....

It has a bit of a rough idle, but starts very quick and clean...... barely a whiff of smoke........

Problem is now with the hot humid weather..........without pulling anything the truck will ramp up to 220 or better if I run it out at 60-65 mph...........

I did not trust the gauge so I put a mechanical in and it reads the same.......

I did change the thermostat but did order it for a 6.2 1987 truck not knowing at the time it had a 6.5..........is the 6.2 and 6.5 thermos the same???? I used a Carquest replacement.........

I am wondering if the wrong thermo would be the issue........

I did put a new fan clutch on and that did not help..........

The rad hoses don't get firm with a lot of pressure and I can take the rad cap off and actually infrared the coolant and it will show a lot cooler........maybe 15-20 degrees cooler.........

Is there a bypass in the thermo housing that isn't blocked properly???

Thanks guys;)

a5150nut
07-12-2014, 22:16
How is your radiator stack? I would start by separating oil cooler, ac condenser and radiator and give all a good cleaning. Do the simple cheap things first. Grass bugs and dirt tend to collect here.

hdmod
07-13-2014, 05:49
10-4 Will do;)

Robyn
07-13-2014, 07:15
Hi, and welcome to TDP :)

As 5150 said, clean the stack to be sure the air flow is good.

My bet is that the radiator is silted in over the past many many many years and is not rejecting the heat.

Likely a fresh radiator will cure the issue.

The fan clutch can cause problems, but with a fresh one on there and no load over heating, it points to the radiator.

Use a 180F Stat

Another possibility is the wrong water pump ???

Does the truck have the factory V belt set up on the accessories ??

If it does the 6.5 that was installed may have the serpentine drive water pump still in place.

The two systems rotate in opposite directions.

The wrong pump will cause major heating issues.

Check it out

Missy