DIESEL BLOG
Over Heating 7.3 Powerstroke Diesel
March 9th, 2008 at 6:04 pm   starstarstarstarstar      

Before jumping to conclusions about your Powerstroke and its overheating problem start with the basics.  Is your coolant full?  Is there a leak? What condition is the coolant in?  These are the first steps.  Does your thermostate open?  Is the belt in good shape? Remove the belt and turn the water pump pulley, is it smooth? 

    Does the fan clutch lock up when it gets hot.  The engine will sound different when locked and under a load.  It can also be checked by opening the hood and watching the fan as the truck is shut off.  Does the fan stop with the engine? 

     But the most overlooked overheating problem on a 7.3 Powerstroke is the radiator.  I know what your thinking, I can only see just in front of the fan and it looks good.  What you need to do is look down the front of the radiator.  This in most cases can be done be removing the trim piece under the hood on F series models or be removing the air filter duct work on the E series.  Use a flash light and take a look.  You will most likely see the front full of debris.  It will take more than compressed air to get all that junk out.  Removal of the radiator is needed and a good power washing to get all that dirt out of the fins.  You will be shocked when you see the dirt come out of it. 

    Always start with the basic checks on a cooling system before jumping to a worst case scenario.

Posted in PowerStroke 7.3 by Jim Heintz
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Steve Galles says:
August 29th, 2010 at 12:16 pm   starstarstarstarstar      

Driving down the highway and about every 100 miles - loss of about a gallon of fluid. It is not leaking anywhere as it does not show any signs but it either evaporates or something (the plugging of the fins in the radiator with dirt is something needs to be looked at). No water in the oil or anything like that. Confused as to loss of fluid - have any ideas. If any ideas please inform me. Thanks Steve 

Jim Heintz says:
August 30th, 2010 at 9:51 pm   starstarstarstarstar      

One gallon of coolant every 100 miles is alot.  Have you pressure tested your cooling system?  Have you been adding the proper mix of coolant or just water to your cooling system?  Does the truck overheat? Does the overflow resivor build with alot of pressure?  Is there oil in the coolant?  Do you smell diesel fuel in your coolant bottle?  Is the oil overfilled on dipstick?  Does the truck feel like it's running bad or missing?  Is this a 7.3 PSD or is this a 6.0 PSD? 

dave says:
January 11th, 2011 at 3:13 pm   starstarstarstarstar      

check your injectors and make sure all the sealing rings are in good shape.They seperate your fuel coolant and oil and since your oils is at higher pressure than your coolant and pressure always go high to low look for traces of fuel and oil in the coolant. good place to look

randy kyle says:
September 7th, 2011 at 12:21 pm   starstarstarstarstar      

my 2001 power stroke 7.3 is overheating while under a load anytime i get over bout 55mph ,when i get under 55 mph temp goes back to normal. i have cleaned outside of the radiator with pressure hose really didnt get much if any dirt out of it, coolant looks really clean.  I have replaced the fan clutch. Has any one had this problem???? any suggestions ???

randy kyle says:
September 18th, 2011 at 5:59 pm   starstarstarstarstar      

My power stroke 7.3 liter still heating, while pulling my rv over 55mph, Ive taken radiator completely out flushed , and power washed, seen some dirt , but not much, to cause over heating, changed bottom radiator hose, kind of soft and old, thought it might be collapsing under strain, fixing to change thermostat, if that doesnt work, thought id change water pump, any suggestions???

antonio  says:
November 14th, 2011 at 1:31 am   starstarstarstarstar      

check you fuel filter i had the same problem and after replace the fuel filter the temp becomes better

mark says:
January 24th, 2013 at 6:57 am   starstarstarstarstar      

I am working on a 1996 7.3 . I have replaced the water pump , thermostat, and heater core. The cooling system is still building pressure under a load. the truck can idle for hours without overheating. Also I am not getting heat thru heater core.  Any Ideas what to do next?

klay says:
September 18th, 2013 at 12:19 pm   starstarstarstarstar      

i have a 2002 7.3 that is overheating. i have taken the radiator out, flushed it, and cleaned it all out. i have put a new waterpump, fan clutch, and thermostat in. it is still overheating. we have been told that its probably the head gaskets but i wasnt sure. any suggestions?

james walker says:
March 11th, 2014 at 8:06 am   starstarstarstarstar      

i have a 2000 7.3 

i notice coolant coming out of resivor and had a oil floating on top but my temp gauge or actual temp is not that warm i changed oil cooler and i have no more oil in resivor but still pushes water out any ideas 

rosa says:
April 3rd, 2014 at 3:33 pm   starstarstarstarstar      

1994 f 250 powerstroke, stopped running and won't start, yesterday it was overheating anytime it was taken over 55-60mph and the overdrive light has been flashing on &off for the last few days what should we do?

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