Overheating help in Maine? ASAP!

[nhrocker]

I'm up in Portland, Maine and ran into a problem. Right after getting off the highway my temps started going up and my upper radiator hose blew off right as I got to the hotel. I replaced the hose, refilled the system, and started it up. Temps didn't look horrible so I went for a test drive, didn't even make it 1/4 mile and the temps red lined and it stalled. Had to let it cool down for a couple minutes before it would restart then headed back to the hotel. Just as I pulled in the parking lot the upper line blew off again.

Rig is a '90 MJ, Renix, appx. 174,000 miles. I converted it from closed to open by adding an in line filler neck in a new upper radiator hose (its one of the ends that goes to that that keeps blowing off when the pressure builds up). The heating valves were eliminated, t-stat replaced with a new 195*, and aftermarket overflow bottle added. All this was done approximately 6-8 months ago and it's been running awesome since. Pulling the dipstick looks like normal old oil. Hose doesn't seem to get hot before blowing, so the coolant can't be circulating properly.

I haven't touched the water pump since I purchased the truck 14 months ago. Not sure if it dieing could cause these problems, or if the t-stat could have crapped out already.

Any help/suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Right now it's stuck in a hotel parking lot and while I do have some tools, I hate tearing it apart out here in the rain...

BTW this is my DD and I'm now 3+hrs away from home...

 

[nhrocker]

Got a ride to autozone and got everything I thought it might need. now has a new water pump, t-stat, radiator cap and 2.5 gallons of coolant. luckily had enough tools with me. seems to be better now. i'll be driving it around town tomorrow before I hit the highway to get home.

 

[H8PVMT]

Good luck

 

[zr2toxj]

Yeah, good luck. There are some members of ME4x4 down that way if you need a hand in the morning.

 

[nhrocker]

Thanks guys.

I'll have to check out Maine 4x4 when I get a chance, but hopefully not because of problems. I plan on driving it to visit my girlfriends parents tomorrow to get a little more time on it and see how it does. Sitting in the parking lot the temps did fine, and drove around the building with no issues. Going to double check levels and make sure everything's tight before I fire it up again in the morning.

 

[nhrocker]

Made it home with no problems. I'm thinking it may have been just a defective t-stat that caused all the problems, but the new pump and cap couldnt have hurt either.