Coolant Problem

[kaised]

Heres the low down... About a month ago I replaced both the heater core and thermostat on my 93 exploder, since my heat had stopped working (not a good thing during the winter in Maine) I refilled the coolant system and bled the air from the radiator. and everything worked like new. Now 1-2 months later I go to start my car this morning and it just turns over. I finally get it going and drive to work, noticing that the engine is running hot. After work I check my radiator for coolant and find it almost empty. Just a week before I had checked and it was fine. I have been told that there is a sensor that will keep the engine from starting if there is no coolant in the system. So I get home, fill up the radiator with antifreeze, and watch it all come POORING out everywhere, at least a gallon for each "spew". I tried this multiple times to no avail. It would just burp it all up again, and I finally gave up. Does this just mean that there is air in my system, or is there something very very wrong with my poor vehicle? Any suggestions / comments / solutions? Thanks

 

[JDraper]

You might want to look for compression leaks from cylinders to the water jacket. One of the symptoms is blowing h20 out the radiator when it's running and the cap is off (don't try it when the engine is hot!!) Pull your dipstick and oil filler cap and check for white foam. If you have it, that means there is water in your oil and then some possibilities are either a gasket let go, you warped a head, or you have something cracked.

To do a compression check, pull all your plugs, disconnect your coil pack and check each piston. They should all read about the same ±5%. If two are low next to each other, you may have a blown head gasket.

This is one possible starting point. Since I can't look at your engine, it also could be something really simple, like a thermostat in backwards or a blocked hose

 

[SprinklerMan]

where is the new anti-freeze "spewing" from, hole in your radiator?, is the little valve open?, water pump shot?, try using just water to find the leak and go from there, Radiators aren't that expensive, neither is a water pump, and it's not that hard of a fix

 

[kaised]

The new antifreeze was coming from the radiator fill hole, I had taken off the cap (when it was cool) to try and bleed the air from the system. I would fill it up, it would run for a bit, and then barf it all back up. Then I dumped another gallon of mix in, and it happened again. I know the t-stat is in correctly, and I haven't seen any foam in the oil.

 

[yob_yeknom]

You're not letting it run long enough to heat up are you? My Explorer heats up to operating temp in NO TIME AT ALL.
Also, what happens if you put the cap on?
Do you have the tool to do a compression test on the coolant system? (not the cylinders)

 

[BRN2FSH]

Hello,

Take your explorer to a radiator repair shop and have them test the coolant for the presence of exhaust gas. My explorer was doing the same thing. I took it to a radiator shop and they confirmed the presence of exhaust gas in my coolant. This test cost me $20.00. I then did a compression test and found one cylinder at 120 psi while all of the others were at 150 psi.

My problem ended up being a blown head gasket. I removed the heads and replaced the gasket and this totally cured the problem. While the heads were off, I took them to a machine shop and had them pressure tested just to make sure they weren't cracked.

Scott