Posted this in the 'other models' forum, but got no feedback. So I'd figure I'd give this one a shot.

Got a co-worker w/ a 86 Bronco w/ a 302. However it has a radiator from the V6 that was replaced before (some years ago).

She was driving home and in the course of 15 minutes, the truck overheated and lost power graduly and slowed down from 50 mph to 15mph before stopping.

Took it to the shop and they changed the thermostat and the starter (not sure why). The truck runs fine now.

My question being why would the truck loose power and come to a stop like that? I could see it overheating and blowing somthing up, but to slowly creep to 15 mph sounds weird. I'm sure that there is an easy explanation for this, but it is eludeing me at this time. Thanks!

BTW, they are replacing the radiator next week w/ a proper sized one.

 

There were VERY few '80-96 fullsize Fords produced with a V6 (actually only in '84-85), and an I6 (the standard engine) radiator won't work with a V8, so it's not likely that it actually has a radiator for a 6-cyl in it.

There's no telling why it behaved that way, but the important question is: WHY DID SHE??? Why didn't she pull over & let it cool off? She'll be lucky if it runs another 1,000 miles. I'm amazed that any shop would do such a half-assed repair (even for a woman) because now, they're liable for making the truck run.

Is the truck EFI? It's conceivable that the heat affected the ignition system or boiled the fuel.

For more activity on pre-'97 trucks, join FSB. There's an excellent SEARCH feature on that site, and almost every situation has already been discussed, so do some reading. It's much quicker than waiting for (sometimes smartass) replies.