Did you know that?

[Bill-N-Donna]

Did you know that if you're towing up a very large hill and you start to over heat that you can turn on the heater and remove quite a bit of the heat from the engine and possibly avoid a lot of problems and maybe even a breakdown?

I have done this when I was towing with a full size Chevy van and it really made a big difference. I would watch when we would turn on the heat and the temperature gauge would start dropping very quickly. However, we would open the windows because it would get a little warm inside the vehicle!

Anyone else have any tips?
I would like to hear them, go ahead and post them!
Don't be shy.

[exav8tr]

Bill, that is good to know, thanks for the advice!!!!

[dsprik]

Good info, Bill. My main overheating problem has started with a rise in trans temp then the water temp follows. This procedure may help in this situation, though.

[daneboy]

Bill,
Yes that's a good old trick and it sure works. Boils your body instead of the engine. We used to turn the AC off also when pulling hills. Thank goodness the newer trucks are built for pulling big rigs and we don't have to deal with it any more.
Jerry

[Waynem]

Bill,
Good tip. The extra cooling of the liquid as it passes over the heater coils and is cooled by the heater fan attributes to the lowering of water.

Here's one:
On days that your windows are fogging up, you can do one of two (or both) things. just crack a window and the condensation will slowly go away.

Or, turn on the air conditioning and the condensation will go away.

Many years ago when I was on a motorist reaction team, (TEAM = Tidewater Emergency Assistance Monitors) we had a call from a "stranded" motorist. When we arrived, there were 4 people in the car and the windows were so fogged up they could not drive. We told them to turn the air conditioner on, but they complained it was cold and they needed the heater instead. Convinced, they turned the air conditioner on and within 30 seconds to a minute the windows started clearing up.

Once cleared up you can adjust the thermostat for comfort.

[SlickWillie]

quote:Originally posted by dsprik

Good info, Bill. My main overheating problem has started with a rise in trans temp then the water temp follows. This procedure may help in this situation, though.

It is unusual to hear of a LB7 Duramax that overheats. That is usually reserved for the 2004.5 - 05 LLY engines. You might consider adding a better tranny cooler to the truck. There is a guy on Diesel Place that goes by Mike L that is an Allison expert, and has designed an aftermarket cooler that is supposedly very good. Or, you might take a look at Coolmyduramax.com and check out his products. I don't know that guy personally, but I have followed his posts on Diesel Place and on Coolmyduramax, and he has really helped the overheaters when GM refused to acknowledge they had a problem. He took GM to task on the issue on his Duramax, and prevailed. Very interesting story.

BTW, the heater trick will work to some extent, but when it's hot enough to overheat the engine, I want the AC on full blast. Just my preference.

[dsprik]

Thanks, Will! I will check on that. I am a member, but I haven't spent a lot of time on it lately. I don't have a general overheating problem. Only 2 specific times. I have ran my cruise both times (TH on) and I said I would try that stretch next time w/o the cruise to see if that is contributing to the problem.

[TLightning]

I have not had an over heating problem with my LBZ...and last weekend we ran back to back days with the truck A/C on and the temp at 103 degrees. If it does over heat, in this weather, turning on the heater will not be one of my courses of action.