2006 LBZ cooling problem

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VEfreak

Member
Oct 18, 2018
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Hey guys, I need a little guidance.

A few months ago I moved from Sacramento to San Diego. I towed my Subaru Impreza behind my truck on a uhaul car trailer. It was July, so 90+ the whole way through the central valley. Truck did mostly fine, although I did notice the coolant temp needle creep above the middle mark, which had never happened before and I found mildly worrying. After spending a night in Bakersfield we left early and embarked up the grapevine while it was still cool out. The truck overheated. I pulled off at a rest stop before the whole thing went to shit. We unloaded the car and my buddy drove it the rest of the way to San Diego. We tried continuing with the empty trailer and the truck couldn’t even handle that so we had to put it on the uhaul truck my dad was driving. The fully unloaded truck made it the rest of the way and I haven’t had a problem since.

Now I don’t do a lot of towing, but I think a 2006 LBZ should be able to tow a small sedan over the grapevine without breaking a sweat. The truck does have 350K miles. The coolant and hoses do need to be replaced, and I will do that soon. Probably put in a new thermostat while I’m at it. What else would you recommend so I never have to worry about cooling ever again. Keep in mind I don’t do much towing, though I’m considering getting a boat in the near future.
 
2004LB7

2004LB7

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Dec 15, 2010
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2x to the above.

May also check/change the fan clutch, and do a coolant flush.

If it still has overheating issues it may be a bad water pump or head gasket, but those could be ruled out pretty easy
 
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RickDLance

Active member
Feb 14, 2007
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Did you hear the fan kick in making a roaring sound? If so clean the stack. If not you need a new fan clutch and clean the stack.
 
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VEfreak

Member
Oct 18, 2018
54
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Okay thanks for the tips. I’ll hold off on upgrading the radiator to a performance unit. I didn’t hear the fan kick in and make a roaring sound, so I’ll replace the clutch. I’ve no doubt it’s the original unit.
 
snowman22

snowman22

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Jan 30, 2018
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VEfreak said:
Okay thanks for the tips. I’ll hold off on upgrading the radiator to a performance unit. I didn’t hear the fan kick in and make a roaring sound, so I’ll replace the clutch. I’ve no doubt it’s the original unit.
Click to expand...

There is no need to upgrade the radiator at all, the stock unit is fine. If you didn't hear a fan that sounded like it was going to come through the hood, you need a new clutch. With 350K miles, I'm sure the stack could use a good cleaning too.
 
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VEfreak

Member
Oct 18, 2018
54
1
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Well this has turned into a bit of a nightmare. I was unaware that I had to remove the transmission line fitting from the radiator and replace them one at a time, so now the transmission cooler dropped to the bottom. Can I salvage this situation or should I get a new radiator for my transmission’s sake?
 
rcr1978

rcr1978

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Apr 1, 2007
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You didn't have to remove the fittings, didn't you know the lines come out of the fittings with the "C" clip removed? You might be able to put it back together with new orings but it's old stuff now it could leak. Probably better just get a new GM radiator I got a new one for a LML the other day and it wasn't terribly expensive I wanna say around $350.
 
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VEfreak

Member
Oct 18, 2018
54
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My old lines were leaking like the Exxon Valdez, so I’m installing a set of fleece lines. That’s why I was taking out the old fittings.
 
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VEfreak

Member
Oct 18, 2018
54
1
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Got it back together, really wasn’t that hard. Thanks for the replies. Looking at all the stuff clogging my stack, it easy to b see why the truck overheated coming over the grapevine. Chalk this up to another thing manufacturers don’t figure out in the design and testing phase.
 
DAVe3283

DAVe3283

Heavy & Slow
Sep 3, 2009
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VEfreak said:
Got it back together, really wasn’t that hard. Thanks for the replies. Looking at all the stuff clogging my stack, it easy to b see why the truck overheated coming over the grapevine. Chalk this up to another thing manufacturers don’t figure out in the design and testing phase.
Click to expand...
I'm not sure you can blame this on GM. The truck is 13 years old with 350k miles. Needing to clean the cooling stack every decade or so isn't unreasonable. And the fan clutch is a wear item. They only last 5-7 years in my experience. I've been through 3 on my 2003.

If it makes you feel any better, my dad's 1999 Cummins needs the radiator removed and cleaned every 2 years or it overheats.
 
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VEfreak

Member
Oct 18, 2018
54
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It was a tongue in cheek statement, but thank god I won’t have to do this every two years. Pulling the radiator was a huge pain in the ass.
 
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VEfreak

Member
Oct 18, 2018
54
1
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Anybody know the part number for the plastic retainer clips on the bottom hose? I’m having trouble finding it and I would like to replace the old ones.
 
V

VEfreak

Member
Oct 18, 2018
54
1
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So now I’m doing this water pump because I was a cheap dummy and didn’t want to replace a part that “didn’t seem to need replacing”. It’s all going well since I have all the experience from before. My question now concerns the power steering pump. It has a little bit of in-out shaft play. Not much, maybe 1-2 millimeters. Is this typical for that pump or should I be concerned. There’s no oil coming from the shaft seal.
 
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