2014 Silverado 4.3 overheating

Juan Falcon · September 3, 2020

Have a 2014 4.3 Silverado with around 180k miles. About two weeks ago I noticed that whenever I’m driving (any speed) and press the gas pedal halfway or more for about 5 seconds I notice it starts to go from normal 210° to around 220° once I start to see it go up I let off and it goes back down. I could let it idle with the ac on and it’ll never go past 210 only when I step on it even with the ac off. The coolant is always at the top, the fans turn on when the ac is on , I haven’t seen any leaks, the radiator hose is hot after driving and radiator doesn’t have too much build up on it from the outside . I’ve replaced the thermostat twice in the past year and a half because both times they went out and marked 0° the whole time while driving causing my fans to always stay on (I just disconnected the battery for 10 min and after it would only mark around 100° but I only did it so the fans wouldn’t turn on, and It ended up being the housing) I also don’t think it’s the thermostat because otherwise it would go up and down like the other times And it only goes up when I know it will (when I floor it a little bit). Any idea what it could be?

CamGTP · September 4, 2020

Sounds like a normal working cooling system to me. Seeing anywhere from 210 to 225 degrees is pretty much normal on a the EcoTech3 engines, be it a 4.3 or V8 model.

It's much more noticeable in the summer time. The only thing that comes to mind that could be a problem is a poor flowing radiator but that seems unlikely. Your other option is buy a cooler thermostat if it bugs you that much.

Juan Falcon · September 4, 2020

20 hours ago, CamGTP said:

Sounds like a normal working cooling system to me. Seeing anywhere from 210 to 225 degrees is pretty much normal on a the EcoTech3 engines, be it a 4.3 or V8 model.

It's much more noticeable in the summer time. The only thing that comes to mind that could be a problem is a poor flowing radiator but that seems unlikely. Your other option is buy a cooler thermostat if it bugs you that much.

Thank you for the reply, and hmm Interesting, because in the 2 years I’ve had this truck and beat on It it’s never gone up past 210 which I thought was strange. Hopefully it is something normal like you said.

ZTL · March 6

Hey Juan I hope you weee able to figure out this issue. It’s something I’ve been dealing with in my 2014 4.3 past couple month. Swapped thermostats, engine coolant temp sensor, coolant reservoir and heater core hose to try to fix the fans going on and the overheating. Mines now closer to 235 on a normal drive and pushing 260 on the highway. I’m sure whatever issue you had I have as well, wondering if you could shed some light for me