I have a 2000 International 9400 series with a CAT. Ever since the Temp dropped outside, my temp runs fairly cool. Now that it's really cool out, I'm lucky if it gets up to 150 running down the road. So, I took a winterfront and put it on my grill. It was for a peterbilt, but I cut it and made it fit my truck. Temp ran 210 constantly with that winterfront on it...ended up busting a tank in my radiator. So I had new tanks put on my radiator. Now, I am having issues with heat. When I'm parked, the temp runs warm enough to have plenty of heat. But driving 70 mph down the road, averages between 125-150..never gets hotter..so my heat is a little chilly....Should I go to International and get a winterfront designed for this truck or anyone have any idea's??????

 

There should be one made that would fit your truck. You may want to check your fan clutch to see if it is working properly. I had one go out once and about froze my buns off until I could get it fixed. The fan would not disengage so the temperature remained at about 120 degrees.

 

Now, I'm not a diesel mechanic, but it sounds like your thermostats!

When I got this truck I noticed that the cooling fan would NOT shut off, and the engine wouldn't get above 150 degrees. I took it to a KW dealer, and they fixed the fan, but the engine still did not like to get above 150. Finally, a cat dealer replaced the thermostats, and she runs 190-200, regardless of the outside temperature.

Now, unless I'm mistaken, the cooling system in a truck is very similar to what's found in a car. The mechanical thermostat(s) open when the temperature reaches a certain point, allowing antifreeze to flow into the radiator and through the rest of the cooling system, which cools the engine. When the thermostat is closed, the coolant is confined to the engine and heater core.

Sounds like a thermostat is stuck open, overcooling the engine....

 

if you find you need a winter front, give intl dealer your last 8 digits of your vin & they should be able to get 1 for you. however from what you are describing, it may need thermos or thermo seals or both. if there are 2 thermos in your cat, then maybe just one of them is causing the prob. anyway. you could replace both thermo's & both seals.

 

I had a similar problem with a cat c-15 turned out to be a sensor switch .
Something else to consider.

 

when did diesels start having thermostats? lol

Could be your temp sensor telling the fan to stay on. The sensor actually adds air to the fan clutch to disengage it. Could be a simple leaking air line to the fan.

 

One of the first things I had fixed when I got this truck back in October was the cooling fan. The solenoid that engaged the fan was frozen, and the fan was constantly engaged, and NEVER shut off. When I was at the KW dealer in Des Moines, I asked if that would cause the temperature to run as cold as it was.

I was told that, like a car, the thermostats should still prevent the engine from overcooling, as the cooling fan blows cold air through the radiator, and if the thermostats are working properly, there would be no coolant circulating through the radiator. When my fan was fixed, it would still not get over 150, unless it was under a heavy load...the problem didn't go away until my thermostats were replaced...ever since it runs at a constant 190, regardless of the weather......

 

Before spending the money on a winterfront try putting a small piece of cardboard between the grill and the radiator or on the front of the radiator and attach it with a couple of bungees and see if that works. Vary the size of the cardboard. It may not look great but if it works then you can spend the bucks on a made for your truck winterfront.
Yes: I am very cheap.

 

Had the same thing happen to me as far as the temp would not go up. Mine would not go past 120, got a c-15 cat engine, called KW Shop and told them what was going on with the temp not going up and was told to check:

Stop the Truck, let it idle the engine to cool down and then very carefully check the level of my coolant to see if I was losing coolant, which I did check and was not losing any.

Let the Truck cool down for 30 to 45 minutes and then crank it back up, watch the water temp gauge and see if it went up close to where it would go normally, then drive it and see if it went back to 100 to 120, and if so then thermostats were proably bad. (mine has two in them)

Did what they advised and found that my thermostats were bad, replaced them and temp has been running very steady 180 since then.

 

I would concur that it sounds like a thermostat or related problem. I have a 9400 with an ISX and do not have a winter front on the truck. I was just in -30F for a couple of days recently and the engine operated at 180 running down the road. Would have liked the winter front for other reasons, but the engine getting up to operating temp while working was not an issue.