Help!Hotter than the hubs of Hades and climbing

[Drummer1]

Hey all, its been a while since I have posted/asked a question and well the old girl is having some issues. I am at my wits end and its not a very long wit.
Started the a/c up a few weeks ago and within a 20 min ride (mostly freeway) she was overheating (in about 103-105 degree weather, she did fine last year in 111).
Replaced, water pump, fan clutch ,radiator, t-stat, new serp belt(all parts are Oreily's as that's what I have to work with), by-passed the heater core, flushed the system over and over with the hose and Prestone flush (it was filled with crud due to some dumbass mixing orange and green, I wont even go into it here),I did not see oil in coolant or any white smoke from the exhaust (no smell of exhaust in overflow tank) replaced coolant with 50/50 mix.
Air condenser fins don't seem to be obstructed by anything and space between rad and condenser is free of debris.She overheats weather the a/c is on or not (with the a/c on just overheats quicker), highway or surface streets (it takes about 20 minutess until it's at the halfway point on the dummy gauge) it makes no difference she gets a little hotter every mile , gauge is moving up and down in small increments like the t-stat is opening and closing ,but, the needle will go over the halfway mark for a bit then back to just before half (normal temp, needle is at about 11:00 even in 111 degree heat) I can let it idle and it will cool down slowly, so needless to say, I'm completely stumped!
Could my hoses be collapsing and restricting coolant flow even at slower speeds? Could it be an airflow issue? I have no clue why this is happening,i hope I covered everything that's happening, this truck is my way to work(not to mention I really like her ) so if anyone has any ideas I welcome them - thanks!

 

[arco777]

The heater core is a good thing and helps as a second radiator; if there's a factory bypass valve installed it will bypass the core on MAX A/C but in any other position the heater core will only improve your cooling capacity.

Hose collapse does happen. Squeeze your hoses and see what happens, if they're real soft. Some hoses come with internal stiffening springs. Also have someone throttle the engine while you watch upper and lower hoses for flexing.

Might want to pressure test the cooling system and check your plugs to eliminate a head gasket leak as the problem.

 

[Drummer1]

I agree with ya on the heater core, wish it wasn't all clogged up, that secondary heat sink is good to have, I didn't want to risk getting any more of that orange crud in the new parts though so I took the lesser of the two evils on that one.
I did the bypass valve mod a couple years ago and of course that wasn't needed as I was by-passing the heater core.
I was thinking he new water pump's suction is closing the lower rad hose at highway speeds but after driving her home at 45 mph (average) I'm not so sure that's what's happening.
The spark plug check raised my eyebrow , what should I be looking for when I pull them? Thanks for the quick response arco777, I'm going to replace the hoses anyway just to be sure.

 

[arco777]

Check for a suspiciously clean or white plug that might indicate coolant in a cylinder. Compression and leakdown test may be a good idea too.

Have you considered replacing the heater core? It is literally a 10 minute job. Ford really did us a solid on that one, with the access panel provided. Not saying that will fix your problem but it would help a little.

Is your radiator cap sealing well? An old rad cap can cause overheating due to the system being unable to pressurize. I put a brand new rad in one of my Explorers and the new cap it came with was defective. I've had good luck with Motorcraft caps, and mostly good luck with Murray and Stant caps.

 

[Drummer1]

Heater core is that easy? then its gonna get done this weekend, I assumed it was a lot more entailed, is there a write up or is it self explanatory? Ill check the plugs when I do the heater core.
lol, I knew I forgot something, I did replace the radiator cap too! Thanks again arco777, I will post a follow up if I fix it and I'm sure I will be back here if I don't.

 

[arco777]

Yup, heater core is easy. There's a carpet-like cover in the passenger foot well on most models that just pops off, retained by trim style fasteners. Behind that is an access panel that I think is held by 4 small bolts. Remove that, undo the coolant lines under the hood, and the core just drops right out. Probably a write-up on here somewhere but it's easy enough without.

 

[Drummer1]

wow it is that easy, lol!

 

[Drummer1]

Update- I replaced all hoses, new heater core (very easy fix) and burped the system well, hearing bubbles in my overflow after she gets up to temp and the way she is getting hot is pointing at the head gasket leaking. I don't have the cash to fix her so Ill be trying the Blue Devil Head Gasket Sealer and hope for the best , Ill update my results and hopefully (fingers crossed) end this thread on a good note.

 

[arco777]

I used BARS Stop Leak back when I first got my 2dr Explorer. Heads were cracked and it was blowing so much coolant steam out the tailpipe it fogged the whole street behind me as I drove. A super hot jet of steaming coolant was also shooting at my firewall. Worst case scenario leak.

The bottle I used was the small one that has black pellets in a dark liquid solution. BARS Stop Leak. Shook it up, added to cooling system, cycled it through. Jet of coolant slowed and stopped after a few cycles. Quit blowing coolant out the tailpipe too!

Not long later I replaced the heads with aftermarket ones just to be safe. If yours are original, ditch them and get aftermarket ones (not reman'd, they'll just crack again). 40k miles later I have still had no ill effects from the BARS Stop Leak - no gunk in my cooling system and not a single part of the system has been replaced since then either.

I'm not sure I'd trust other brands of Stop Leak. Too many horror stories of the products sludging up the cooling system. The BARS stuff worked.

 

[Drummer1]

Thanks arco777 I was thinking of seeing what the Bars could do,I tried the Blue Devil-its now blowing white smoke at start up only so possibly just a leaking gasket, I will update on my results. Cool as a cucumber without the a/c on , turn a/c on and it starts to climb-turn the heat on and she cools down, so I guess its not near as bad as it could be.

 

[Drummer1]

Hey arco777 did you have to drain the cooling system prior to adding the bars? or can it go in with the coolant?

 

[arco777]

Hey arco777 did you have to drain the cooling system prior to adding the bars? or can it go in with the coolant?

I just dumped it in with the coolant as the directions stated. I know they make a few different products under the BARS name, and I know the one with black pellets in a black liquid solution was the one that worked.

 

[Drummer1]

awesome , thanks!

 

[Drummer1]

ok so its gonna be 115 here in hell tomorrow and I still cant figure out why my truck is over heating,even with the heat blasting! I added Bars head gasket fix and no change what-so-ever, pinging like crazy when I give it throttle. I did notice some coolant loss. If anyone has any idea as to what else could be causing this ,I am all ears.
I don't think she can take the drive home in 115, she is fine in the morning but when it comes time for the drive home at 4 o'clock I don't see her making it.

 

[Bobmbx]

Start with the basics here: You know its cooling, just not all the time and especially when its hot. Its got coolant, and the pump works. Overheats when the A/C is on, or when the ambient temp is really high.

You're not getting rid of the heat fast enough.

Check your radiator cooling fins for clogs. Get a radiator brush or head to the car wash and blast the crud out of it and the A/C condenser too. Check the fan.

Then make sure your coolant/water ratio is correct for your climate. It sounds like you might be boiling.

 

[arco777]

I am wondering if your cooling system has a physical blockage. Might be worth using a garden hose to flush through your block, radiator, etc and see if the water input matches the water output (flow rate and color). You had mentioned crud in your first post, I wonder if it is crudded up somewhere?

A compression tester can test individual cylinders for major leakage into the cooling system. A cooling system pressure test kit could help you find leaks too.

Some of the old 302s had issues when people replaced water pumps, because there were standard and reverse rotation pumps. Not sure if that's a possibility in your case unless there was some fluke like an incorrect impeller being installed at the factory. Got me thinking, though, did the overheating start after replacement of any parts? Maybe a preventative maintenance part that was defective?

I have heard good things about Water Wetter coolant additive. It wouldn't fix your issue but just another small helping thing.

 

[Drummer1]

That's what I was thinking too Bobmbx, its an air flow issue ,but , replaced the radiator and in the process cleared any obstructions at that time, so that should not be the case, I was thinking the condenser was causing this too-looked clear to me , but, I think I'm gonna blast it with the hose anyway(maybe some oven cleaner would get any grease out), so it too can be ruled out.
arco777, yep flushed her out good when this all started, thought I could still have some kind of blockage ,but, seems to be flowing fine, I am losing coolant and had white smoke on start up just twice (not everytime ) so I was assuming head gasket, the over heating is what started this this whole fiasco when I turned the a/c on.
Thanks for the quick replies , its very appreciated.

 

[Drummer1]

update-72 degrees this morning and she got hot, kicked the heat on when I got to work and she cools right down (well past the 1/4 mark on the dummy gauge, she can idle all day with the heat on and be fantastic, I think she is ok when the fan is on ,but, get her past the 45 mark and the gauge starts the creeping up to about mid way.
I'm thinking of just pulling the t-stat just to see if she cools better. If pulling the t-stat doesn't work does anyone know how to cool the desert down to 75 degrees?

 

[Bobmbx]

update-72 degrees this morning and she got hot, kicked the heat on when I got to work and she cools right down (well past the 1/4 mark on the dummy gauge, she can idle all day with the heat on and be fantastic, I think she is ok when the fan is on ,but, get her past the 45 mark and the gauge starts the creeping up to about mid way.
I'm thinking of just pulling the t-stat just to see if she cools better. If pulling the t-stat doesn't work does anyone know how to cool the desert down to 75 degrees?

Something has to be blocking your flow to the radiator. If you're cooling with the heater core, you're not really overheating...you're undercooling (if that makes sense).

I've heard that releasing vast quantities of R12 will bring on the next Ice Age.

 

[Drummer1]

lol Bobmbx! I swear Las Vegas should fund air conditioners in the trees for us out here! I'm still gonna pull that t-stat and try to flush her out-I may just go get me another ex ($1000) to drive for now and park this one and fix her up for my son to drive (he loves her too).