My V6 4.0 Overheats

[JonaJones78]

I own a 2007 V6 4.0L. I drove it last Saturday and my first encounter with over heating on this model. It was full of anti freeze. I was able to drive it home with the heat on which was about 15 miles. I drove it again the next day. On a cold engine, it does fine. When the engine becomes hot then it starts to over heat. If I turn the heater on then the temp will come down to normal. But when I turn the heat off or turn on AC then the temp will rise above normal. I replaced the thermostat, thermostat housing assembly, radiator cap. I even flushed out the radiator and water water went through. I poured new coolant in it. I was thinking it could be a bad fan clutch. It makes this loud jet engine whirling sound when engine becomes hot. Do you think that could be the culprit? I hope and assume that head gasket isn’t blown because the oil doesn’t look creamy, and coolant looks really dirty but doesn’t look like there’s any oil in it. What do you all think? Any help would be very helpful.

 

[07EddyB]

There seems to be a trend here lately.

There is nothing exotic about these vehicles when it comes to overheating. Considering what you have done so far, I would make sure the radiator fins were clear and if so then replace the water pump unless....

You said that you flushed the radiator - I hope you meant the whole system - not just the radiator. Just pouring water through the radiator isn't going to help anything. Pull the thermostat - fill it up and run it. Drain the radiator fill it up and run it. Do it several times. Run the front and rear heat the whole time - get that water flowing through the entire system.

Bonus points for doing it while the front is higher than the rear to eliminate air bubbles. It's really just a standard cooling system. All the old rules still apply.

 

[08EddieCA]

Any whiff of exhaust smell from the coolant? Also, agree with 07EddyB.