Cooling issues

[Oklahoma]

OK, 62 C-10 with a 350, aluminum radiator, electric fan with a 165 deg thermostat. Yesterday on the way home it was around 100 deg out, had the AC blasting, stop and go traffic and the temp slowly crept up to around 215 deg. the fan was running constantly, should it creep up t hat high? everything in the truck is new. none of my other vehicles creep up like that, they reach a certain temp, the thermostat opens up and remain a constant temp. should I run a higher thermostat? or am I just missing something here that is keeping it from staying cool?

[shortbed70]

most vehicles run at that temp now to help with emissions and as far as an old truck with ac If it went no higher I wouldnt worry.

[markeb01]

Although running at 215 degrees may not be a problem, the engine should run consistently at or near the thermostat temperature regardless of the ambient. Assuming everything inside the engine is functional properly, the timing isn’t too far advanced, a coolant recovery tank is in place, and the radiator has adequate capacity - the problem is normally lack of airflow through the core. With no shroud, or with a shroud that doesn’t fully cover the entire radiator core, the only part that receives maximum heat exchange is the portion directly in front of the fan. The rest just sits and cooks. Also the shroud needs a large enough hole for the fan(s) to allow air to escape at freeway speeds, or the shroud itself will restrict airflow. That’s why so many of the newer installations use twin fans for better coverage while allowing good airflow past the fan blades when vehicle speed provides necessary airflow.

[Rich 5150 69]

You said you had a 165 thermostat, change it to a 192, that will keep the water/mix in the radiator longer and allow it to cool down before coming back to the motor.

[Fred T]

If you're running at 215 when at idle, but don't have problems at speed it means you don't have enough fan. The opposite is running hot at speed, meaning there isn't enough radiator.

If you have a puller fan one thing you can do is add a pusher to the front. Another is to get a fan with more capacity.

[Oklahoma]

Thanks guys, yesterday on the way home I decided to take the highway home and it ran at a constant 210 deg. it was around the same temp outside as it was the day before. The fan pulls a lot of air, around 3500 cfm, I do have an AC condenser in front of the radiator now, so that is impeding the flow of air for sure, with the large radiator I have now I just assumed that it would keep the truck running at a nice constant temp depending on the thermostat I chose to use. I thought about using a higher temp thermostat to see if that made a difference to hold the coolant in the radiator longer like Rich 5150 69 said, I guess that will be my next step.
Thanks

[Fred T]

Another thing to try is a "water wetter" cooling additive. They contain polymers that allow better thermal transfer and will help your truck run cooler. Most cost $10-15. Just don't get one that also has stop-leak. They don't always make a big difference, but getting the temp down 10* will help.

[Oklahoma]

Cool, I will also try that. Thanks