Every time you drive your diesel truck, the engine overheats. This is a sign that the thermostat has gone bad, and we will talk more about the overheating below. Generally speaking, the thermostat tends to break down after 100,000 miles or approximately 10 years. Thankfully, replacing the factory thermostat is not a difficult job, so we can get your truck back out on the road as soon as possible. If the thermostat in your truck’s engine has 10 years under its belt, bring your truck to our shop so we can test it.
Corroded Housing
One of the things that we will look for is corrosion on the thermostat’s housing. If the housing is corroded, the thermostat is leaking. This leak is a slow leak that will not leave coolant spots underneath the diesel truck. Consequently, you may not be aware that your thermostat is leaking.
We recommend that you have the thermostat replaced right away if the housing is corroded. The reason why is that the coolant is eating through the metal out of which the housing is made. Consequently, the more metal the coolant eats the greater the coolant leak. You will end up with…
Leaking Coolant…
… underneath your diesel truck. As you can imagine, if there is a puddle of engine coolant underneath the truck, you don’t have a lot of coolant circulating through the engine. The thermostat is the cooling system part that opens a valve to release the coolant. Consequently, the coolant can leak out of the thermostat and make a difference in your diesel truck’s engine temperature.
Erratic Temperatures
Speaking of the engine’s temperature, you may see the temperature gauge needle moving erratically while you are driving the diesel truck. The thermostat checks the engine’s temperature and releases the coolant once the engine needs it. If the thermostat is malfunctioning, it can read the engine temperature incorrectly. Consequently, it will release the coolant at the right time. This will leave your diesel truck running too hot or too cold sporadically.
Constant Overheating
Eventually, the factory thermostat is going to stop working. When this happens, your diesel truck’s engine will overheat every time you drive the vehicle. This can be frustrating because you rely on the engine to operate at a normal temperature. The engine will be unable to operate at a normal temperature until you have the thermostat replaced with one that is working properly.
We can do that at our shop, so call us today to schedule a service appointment.