hasoan
Member
- Joined
- September 17, 2009
- Messages
- 32
- Reaction score
- 0
- City, State
- Westerville, Ohio
- Year, Model & Trim Level
- 1996 Ford Explorer XLT 4L
Hello all, I have looked into this site and read quite a bit, but not posted much.
I finally think I might as well just ask. I'll be as brief as possible with the background:
- Engine overheated mid December. turned on heat, which helped enough to get home (about half a mile)
- reservoir was spilling over. after cooling, reservoir was completely empty.
- figuring i was due for a flush and fill anyway, I took car to a shop without analyzing the situation further. (my first and biggest mistake!)
- shop ultimately replaced the water pump, thermostat, fan clutch, and hoses.
- car still overheated after i got it back, but not as bad. now it was just occasional spikes followed by suddenly cooling way down. In addition, the hoses would leak in a few spots seemingly only when overheating.
- I eventually found the hose to the heater control valve was going in the wrong side of the HCV. switched it and tightened a few loose hose clamps.
So, here's where i'm at now:
- If i run the car without heat on, it will get up to mid-guage temperature and more or less stay there.
- If I turn on the heat at that point, the temperature drops for a few minutes to about 20-25 percent, then slowly rises until about 80 percent. then it suddenly drops down to cool again.
- Leaks seem to be minimal now, but i am concerned about a small pool of coolant that sometimes appears on top of the RH intake manifold. there is also a tiny sporadic leak where the water pump gasket should be, but that I think is not as much of a worry.
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Yes, I found other people with similar issues on here, but most of them never come back and tell people what the problem ended up being. And yes, I have tried every method I could find to bleed the system (cap off, cap half-way, jack-up the front), and think that my effort has been sufficient unless there is a SERIOUS design flaw in this vehicle. My only current thoughts at the moment are 1) restricted radiator and/or heater core, or 2) thermostat opening too slow. the new thermo is a stant 195 with jiggle pin. I removed an tested it and it does work, but maybe poorly designed...
So here i am, wondering what to attempt next. Any suggestions? Anything is welcome, even telling me I bled the system wrong the like 20 times I tried
I finally think I might as well just ask. I'll be as brief as possible with the background:
- Engine overheated mid December. turned on heat, which helped enough to get home (about half a mile)
- reservoir was spilling over. after cooling, reservoir was completely empty.
- figuring i was due for a flush and fill anyway, I took car to a shop without analyzing the situation further. (my first and biggest mistake!)
- shop ultimately replaced the water pump, thermostat, fan clutch, and hoses.
- car still overheated after i got it back, but not as bad. now it was just occasional spikes followed by suddenly cooling way down. In addition, the hoses would leak in a few spots seemingly only when overheating.
- I eventually found the hose to the heater control valve was going in the wrong side of the HCV. switched it and tightened a few loose hose clamps.
So, here's where i'm at now:
- If i run the car without heat on, it will get up to mid-guage temperature and more or less stay there.
- If I turn on the heat at that point, the temperature drops for a few minutes to about 20-25 percent, then slowly rises until about 80 percent. then it suddenly drops down to cool again.
- Leaks seem to be minimal now, but i am concerned about a small pool of coolant that sometimes appears on top of the RH intake manifold. there is also a tiny sporadic leak where the water pump gasket should be, but that I think is not as much of a worry.
-----------------------
Yes, I found other people with similar issues on here, but most of them never come back and tell people what the problem ended up being. And yes, I have tried every method I could find to bleed the system (cap off, cap half-way, jack-up the front), and think that my effort has been sufficient unless there is a SERIOUS design flaw in this vehicle. My only current thoughts at the moment are 1) restricted radiator and/or heater core, or 2) thermostat opening too slow. the new thermo is a stant 195 with jiggle pin. I removed an tested it and it does work, but maybe poorly designed...
So here i am, wondering what to attempt next. Any suggestions? Anything is welcome, even telling me I bled the system wrong the like 20 times I tried
