Reset ECM, solved a couple issues at first.

My 96 Country has been overheating at idle, after resetting the ECM it was fine for a couple days.

This leads me to think that the temp sending unit might be an issue. Ordering it now, as it doesnt hurt to replace it anyways.

My question though, does this point to an larger issue with possibly the timing advance or AF ratio? I have replaced the downstream O2, will replace the upstream as soon as I can get in there with some heat. I have a crack in the exhaust manifold on the rear pipe (firewall side).

:huh:Not really part of the issue, but better to mention as it steers me towards other electrical issues. The stock radio seek feature also started working properly after the reset, but once I saved a station to memory it no longer registers any stations. Tune works fine just the seek will run until I stop it.

Also ordering a new radiator cap and thermostat, I accidentally ordered a 160 last time. Havent bothered to install it, hoping to get out an flush the system today since it will finally be above freezing for most the day.

OH and also, when starting up there is a rattle that sounds like its coming from the fan clutch. Fan was replaced recently, clutch does not show any signs of wear. Will double check in the morning that all is tight and well.

Pchitti said:

OH and also, when starting up there is a rattle that sounds like its coming from the fan clutch. Fan was replaced recently, clutch does not show any signs of wear. Will double check in the morning that all is tight and well.

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With motor off of course, grab that blade and rock it front to back and look at the clutch bearings. Should no movement. Your description sure points a to a fan clutch to me.

MACH90XJ said:

With motor off of course, grab that blade and rock it front to back and look at the clutch bearings. Should no movement. Your description sure points a to a fan clutch to me.

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Well that takes all the fun out of it! lol

Hell Im apparently not going to sleep after my late nap anyways. Might as well let the dog out and check it.

Thanks for the quick response.

No movement, fan stops with out any free turn. Think I found the rattle, shroud is ziptied and epoxied on... Great shop my buddy used apparently.

Just realized where your at, middle of night, must be well below zero now. One would think nothing would overheat in those temps.

Correct me if I'm wrong but shouldn't that fan spin freely when cold and lock up when hot to give you that extra air flow. Gotta suspect something went wrong up there by the sound of the shroud hack job and new fan you talked about.

Flush and fill with new thermostat won't hurt. I'm guessing water freezing before you could even see a leak right now ?

It was nice today, spent most the day trying to fix a window switch issue. Its 17 now though. lol

I should clarify, it doesnt OVERheat just gets right to the red and then drops down for a few minutes. Them back up again. Never truly overheating, but close enough it bothers me.

I cant speak with knowledge on the operation of the fan, ive always had electric fans.

With the engine off I would expect the clutch to stay locked, if it was an issue of being locked all the time I would assume I would have an over cooling issue.

I have never been able to spot any coolant leaks, even before we dropped in temps. Same with when its warm and running, I do however suspect my heater valve as a possible small leak that I smell occasionally.

Yeh I would eliminate that tstat possibility, might be sticking closed off and on. I can't think of any sensor that would cause that.

Gotta hit the hay now, busy day tomorrow err today. Shipping the misses to Wisconsin for a week to chill out, hehe.
Then the big game, GO DUCKS arty:

Pchitti said:

.....it doesnt OVERheat just gets right to the red and then drops down for a few minutes. Them back up again. Never truly overheating, but close enough it bothers me.

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I would suspect a faulty thermostat or a faulty radiator cap. If both of those are new, overheating at idle, or when on the 4x4 trails, is almost always a failed fan clutch. Cheap parts are cheap for a reason, and they fail at the worst times.

Agreed, new parts are on the way. Not the most expensive, but well above the lowest levels.

My experience, I would replace the temperature sensor first. They are high failure rate and a lot of them are inaccurate when new. Either get one from the dealer or from Standard, do not use any house brand parts. That will tell you if you actually have a problem or not.

An IR thermometer pointed at the thermostat housing will also give you a pretty good idea

To test your mech fan, roll up some newspaper and stick it in the fan blades when the engine is cool to get an idea of how much resistance is needed to stop the fan. Then do it again after the engine is hot, you should have much more difficulty stopping it when the clutch is engaged.

I did go with a standard due to your suggestion on a few other posts.

Pchitti said:

No movement, fan stops with out any free turn. Think I found the rattle, shroud is ziptied and epoxied on... Great shop my buddy used apparently.

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Are you sure the rattle is coming from the shroud? Mine had a rattle that turned out to be the water pump as I suspected. Use a wooden dowel or long screwdriver, place one end on the water pump and the other end against your ear hole. You can test different areas for the noise and you can pinpoint it well with this method. Just be careful not to get into the moving parts with the dowel or any loose clothing of course.

I will check out the water pump. Thanks for the direction!

New thermostat and radiator cap. Cools better now, gauge stays right under the 210 mark while driving. Idle is right at 210 for a bit, after about 4 min it starts creeping back up. Fan shroud is toast now and i grabbed the temp sensor for the gauge not ecu... appears my fan clutch is locked up.

Does it run at 195 when driving off idle like it should ?

Not sure how bad the shroud is but you might hit junk yard for one, you won't get the temp right if it can't channel that air at idle.

Yep, fan shroud was whole when it started. It was rigged with plastic weld and zip ties from a PO. Will snag one when i get a chance to hit a jy.