Turns out the center was cool from the fan working so well. I towed a 1300lb lathe 400 miles in a heavy trailer with no overheating issues, even when standing still. The one thing I changed was to fully shut off my heater core valve in the engine bay. The hot/cool dash control cable wasn't set...
I agree it seems plugged. What bugs me about it - and maybe I'm overthinking this - is that hot coolant comes in the top left corner (facing the truck), goes out the bottom right. How can the middle be staying cold and yet have hot coolant passing through?
1) it's blocked somewhere
- meaning...
Hey, My 97 V6 gets hot in traffic but cools fine while it's moving. Fan is working. Pump is working. Coolant is flowing.
I started it cold and found that with both Left and Right sides getting hot (180 and 185F), the center was still at 89 degrees.
Is it possible that the radiator is somehow...