Extra cooling for 2010 Chevy pickup

Joined
Mar 31, 2010
Messages
6,258
Location
Iowa
Hi guys, I've got a customer with a 10 Silverado/5.3 that overheats when pulling a small camper in the mountains or on the flat lands if faced with a stiff head wind. I've already called the dealer with the vin and they told me that it's already got "heavy duty cooling" - probably an oil cooler and slightly thicker radiator core.

I remember another member here (Chris142??) saying that they'd dealt with some of those trucks with that issue too.. What can be done? Ditch the electric fan and go with a mech fan and shroud?
 
Tried replacing the thermostat? Maybe a bad water pump? Has the coolant been changed ever? This sounds more like a problem that requires troubleshooting than needing supplemental cooling. Fans don't matter much on the highway since air is being forced through the radiator so replacing the fans won't help unless it's overheating at idle because the fans aren't coming on.

Edit: And yes is it actually overheating, with MIL and steam/coolant coming out, or just the temp gauge ticking up? GM often uses real temp gauges, even my parents Traverse has a temp gauge that actually moves with coolant temp rather than a dummy "cold , normal, or overheat" gauge like Ford. If it's the former that's totally normal.
 
Tried replacing the thermostat? Maybe a bad water pump? Has the coolant been changed ever? This sounds more like a problem that requires troubleshooting than needing supplemental cooling. Fans don't matter much on the highway since air is being forced through the radiator so replacing the fans won't help unless it's overheating at idle because the fans aren't coming on.
Good Point since it's over 10 yrs old.
 
Make sure the radiator is clean. Seriously.

My 2000 Sierra started overheating, and it was nothing more than years of accumulated muck (dirt, bugs, debris) in the radiator. A couple of minutes with the power washer resolved it.
quoted for emphasis!

You wouldn't believe the amount of road trash and tree trash, especially if you live in an area with cottonwood trees that gets stuck between the radiator and condenser.

The condenser might look just fine from the front of the vehicle but it could be almost completely stopped up between the condenser and radiator.
 
If it is overheating on the highway, I would look for a waterflow issue such as a radiator having water tubes being plugged up with calcium deposits. Airflow issues usually will show up during city type stop and go conditions.
 
Back in the day, a collapsed lower radiator hose could cause this issue. Not sure if it's a possibility on this one? Edit-if it is like the '11 Express 6.0 in my sig, they seem to run pretty hot already (mine runs 210 all the time), might benefit from a performance thermostat of a slightly lower temp, like 180F instead of 195F.
 
If it is overheating on the highway, I would look for a waterflow issue such as a radiator having water tubes being plugged up with calcium deposits. Airflow issues usually will show up during city type stop and go conditions.
He said it's from Towing.
 
Towing causes increased heat, including heat load from transmission ATF heat passing through the radiator cooler, and will have to be removed somehow. A lower thermostat with a bigger opening will get more coolant moving through the radiator-if that doesn’t help, more airflow or even a radiator with a bigger core (like some all aluminum racing style radiators have) may be necessary. My old company ‘94 E-250 had a weird issue towing in overdrive, it would run hot & burn the (non-synthetic) ATF everytime, not enough flow at low O/D RPMs. Might be something to try here, especially if this truck has a 4L60E & 3.42 (or numerically lower) gears.
 
We really need to know the actual temps to know if it's overheating. As it's been said Chevys have real gauges and tend to run in the hot side. I've seen high temps on the 6.0L in our RV and it seems to be ok if you keep in under 240, and that was in the mountains. Turning on the heater sure did drop the temp fast though.
 
These trucks are not known to have inadequate cooling especially if it was factory equipped with a tow package with heavy duty cooling. A cooler thermostat will not solve this problem. This problem is caused by inadequate flow somewhere... either by lack of water flow through the radiator or by lack of airflow through the radiator
 
Back
Top