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Ford Explorer 2004 Overheating/No heat

ccarr10488

New Member
Joined
December 22, 2008
Messages
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City, State
riverside, ca
Year, Model & Trim Level
2004 explorer eddie bauer
We have just replaced the radiator cap, fan clutch, water pump and thermostat in my 2004 ford explorer and it is still overheating. The radiator was also flushed. In addition there is no heat coming out of the heater. I don't know if it related, but the air does not blow out of the inside vents all the time. It is intermittant. It appears the water/coolant is not always flowing as it should. Sometimes it appears to flow normal and sometimes it doesn't. The car overheated when the heater vents were changed (heat to feet, face, defrost, etc) and when the temp was raised and lowered. We are at a loss. Any ideas?
 



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It sounds like you have thermostat issues.
 






I agree w/Dopler - I would take it back to the shop that did the work, take off the radiator cap and see if you DO have any circulation.
 






Its overheating as in steam pours out, or is it just the gauge that says its overheating? Are there actual overheating symptoms besides just the gauge? (maybe its just the sending unit or an electrical problem with the gauge?)

Somebody else suggested the thermostat, even though you already replaced it (new ones can be bad, too). So to verify this, you can try the trick of running without a thermostat. If it still overheats then, that wasn't the problem (you can also try boiling the thermostat in a pan of water on the stove. You see it pop open well before the water boils. You can use a Turkey thermometer to make sure its at the right temp.

Also, you can make sure you have decent water flow through the block by getting it warm enough for t-stat to be open, then disconnect upper hose from rad and start it back up again (have a bucket or sumthin' to catch the fluid).
 






Also check the coolant expansion tank cap. Make sure it is pressure tested.But if you are getting no heat sounds like the thermostat is faulty.Check the oil to see if it is milkey could also be head gasket blown.Though that is unlikley.
 






Ok, I tested the thermostat and it tested good. Also checked the tempurature in the water that I tested it in. We watched the circulaton and again, for the most part it appears to be circulating as it should. While we were watching the circulation, my husband was also in the car to see if any heat was coming out of the vents. As he was playing with the heater controls, the tempurature went into the red. (not sure if it's related). Also one thing, while we were testing it, after the car started to overheat, we would have to fill the plastic reservoir with water because it was being sucked up. I don't understand where it was going so fast. THere is nothing leaking. Another thing, again not sure if it's related, when I accelerate and sometimes even when I don't, the air vents from inside of the car hardly blow out any air. I also was convinced that it was the thermostat but it tested as it should.
 






I forgot to add, there are no signs of a blown head gasket. We did all of the testing for this and everything appears OK. A;so, the car is actually overheating, it's not just the reading.
 






The coolant is boiling away do to the overheating.This does sound like a cracked cylinder wall or blown head gasket.take it to the shop that did the work[unless you did it yourself].If you have the same problem now as you did before the parts were added there is something else wrong.If you keep messing with it you will end up with a cracked block or blown gasket.
 






you might have some serious air pockets in the system after you all the work you put in, did you release the air out of the system? if your truck is like mine, you also have rear heat, thats alot of lines, and alot of air can be trapped in there causing airpockets and thus not letting the thermostat open, thus overheating
 






Any update on your problem?

We have just replaced the radiator cap, fan clutch, water pump and thermostat in my 2004 ford explorer and it is still overheating. The radiator was also flushed. In addition there is no heat coming out of the heater. I don't know if it related, but the air does not blow out of the inside vents all the time. It is intermittant. It appears the water/coolant is not always flowing as it should. Sometimes it appears to flow normal and sometimes it doesn't. The car overheated when the heater vents were changed (heat to feet, face, defrost, etc) and when the temp was raised and lowered. We are at a loss. Any ideas?
 






We have just replaced the radiator cap, fan clutch, water pump and thermostat in my 2004 ford explorer and it is still overheating. The radiator was also flushed. In addition there is no heat coming out of the heater. I don't know if it related, but the air does not blow out of the inside vents all the time. It is intermittant. It appears the water/coolant is not always flowing as it should. Sometimes it appears to flow normal and sometimes it doesn't. The car overheated when the heater vents were changed (heat to feet, face, defrost, etc) and when the temp was raised and lowered. We are at a loss. Any ideas?
 






IT'S Fixed!!!

Wow, it's fixed. They bypassed the heater core and it ran fine. They purged the air prior to hooking it back up. Then they hooked it up so antifreeze would go to the heater core and come out the other side. Anyways, the bottom line is it must have been air pockets that was causing this continuous issue after replacing everything that we did. Thank you everyone for your input.
 






Nytroman hit the nail on the head.:thumbsup:
 


















2004 Ford Explorer Purge

I am having the same thing going on with my explorer too:( Nytroman please share how to fix..........I am a female so everytime I take it to a mechanic their trying to get me to fix 18 other things that have nothing to do with the problem I'm trying to take care of!
 






Thank you so much for this info. Appreciate it.
 






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