racprops
Well-Known Member
- Joined
- January 25, 2019
- Messages
- 255
- Reaction score
- 99
- City, State
- Phoenix AZ
- Year, Model & Trim Level
- 2003 Explorer XLT 4.6 4WD
Well, I cannot tell what happened. Wed. 7/14/21 My 02 Ford Explorer with the V6 4.0 Truck overheated over 1/2 way between the 101 and home (I17).
Check Gauge light came on and temp gauge was pegged, scan gauge read 248 degrees so I drove it home this was around 59th Ave to 29 Ave.
She was not boiling over, no steam, no water.
Once home I left it idling and hit radiator with water from the hose, she would not cool down no matter what I did, scan gauge read 260 when I shut her down.
Again She was not boiling over, no steam, no water.
My best guess at this time was failed thermostat so Thursday 7/15 I bought a replacement Safety Stat and started the repair. I began pouring fresh distilled water into the engine via the thermostats housing/opening and got a little over a gallon in when it was full.
I then installed the thermostat and filled the overflow tank when I noticed water dripping/running out the front part of the engine, and then looking father found water leaking/pouring out at the rear of the engine. This leak is right above the starter.
The engine starts and makes no noise. My guess is either a cracked block, head and or blown head gasket.
At this point I cannot say what happened. Did the new thermostat (replaced about a month ago) fail on the road and close and cause the engine to overhear that then cause the leaks, OR did the leaks happen on the road causing the engine to overheat.
Never heard or had a thermostat CLOSING in a HOT engine…stuck thermostats happen but they cause a hot engine on first startup and will start to overhear within blocks of your first drive, not close after an hour of driving.
I cannot find the water leaks I saw when the Explorer overheated the day after.
I jacked it up and filled it with water and ran it up to operating temps of 200 degrees and NO LEAKS...WTF???
This is insane.
I KNOW I cannot trust it for any day trips even if these weird problems do not show up anytime soon.
I believe this will be the final report on the Blue 2002 Ford Explorer: IT IS JUNK.
Got a radiator pressure tester, and first I pumped it up to a full 15 pounds PSI and let it sit for about an hour. She lost 2.5 pounds.
Then I dropped the tester pressure to 5 pounds and ran the engine at idle for ½ hour and then at 2000 for 15 minutes.
These problems are the worst kind, intermittent, the day after she ran hot there were seemly three leaks two in the back of the engine and one in the front.
I cannot seem to cause them to happen again. Today I was only able to see was one little one at the rear and it seemed to be dead center…
One thought is that there is a water hose of some kind under the intake manifold near the rear of the engine that could be the source of all leaks??
Any one run into this kind of weird problem??
Rich
Check Gauge light came on and temp gauge was pegged, scan gauge read 248 degrees so I drove it home this was around 59th Ave to 29 Ave.
She was not boiling over, no steam, no water.
Once home I left it idling and hit radiator with water from the hose, she would not cool down no matter what I did, scan gauge read 260 when I shut her down.
Again She was not boiling over, no steam, no water.
My best guess at this time was failed thermostat so Thursday 7/15 I bought a replacement Safety Stat and started the repair. I began pouring fresh distilled water into the engine via the thermostats housing/opening and got a little over a gallon in when it was full.
I then installed the thermostat and filled the overflow tank when I noticed water dripping/running out the front part of the engine, and then looking father found water leaking/pouring out at the rear of the engine. This leak is right above the starter.
The engine starts and makes no noise. My guess is either a cracked block, head and or blown head gasket.
At this point I cannot say what happened. Did the new thermostat (replaced about a month ago) fail on the road and close and cause the engine to overhear that then cause the leaks, OR did the leaks happen on the road causing the engine to overheat.
Never heard or had a thermostat CLOSING in a HOT engine…stuck thermostats happen but they cause a hot engine on first startup and will start to overhear within blocks of your first drive, not close after an hour of driving.
I cannot find the water leaks I saw when the Explorer overheated the day after.
I jacked it up and filled it with water and ran it up to operating temps of 200 degrees and NO LEAKS...WTF???
This is insane.
I KNOW I cannot trust it for any day trips even if these weird problems do not show up anytime soon.
I believe this will be the final report on the Blue 2002 Ford Explorer: IT IS JUNK.
Got a radiator pressure tester, and first I pumped it up to a full 15 pounds PSI and let it sit for about an hour. She lost 2.5 pounds.
Then I dropped the tester pressure to 5 pounds and ran the engine at idle for ½ hour and then at 2000 for 15 minutes.
These problems are the worst kind, intermittent, the day after she ran hot there were seemly three leaks two in the back of the engine and one in the front.
I cannot seem to cause them to happen again. Today I was only able to see was one little one at the rear and it seemed to be dead center…
One thought is that there is a water hose of some kind under the intake manifold near the rear of the engine that could be the source of all leaks??
Any one run into this kind of weird problem??
Rich
