Explorer getting hot offroad

[JDLCA]

hey all,

Through a friend I've discovered some off road trails somewhat close to my house, it is the first time I have ever taken my own 4x4 off road and it's been a blast, been going as much as I can just having a blast, steep descents, steep inclines and lots of situations with 4 low. However, when I'm out there the Explorer tends to get hot, which I would assume is natural, it'll emit that burning smell you would get from an old car that hasn't run for a long time but has just started up again and and while I never get to the "H" on the temp gauge I get a little past the "L" on "Normal". Last night I went with a buddy and we tore through the trails but she was getting hot so we decided to pull over and lift the hoods to let them cool, I heard a bubbling sound coming from my plastic coolant reservoir, don't know what that's about now.. :S

I don't like the idea of it getting so hot so I was wondering if anyone on here has put in electric fans on the radiator? Any methods for transmission cooling because I know that's probably getting hot too and I'd hate to shorten the life on this trans you know? Anyone have some advice or tips? Or input on the bubbling I heard? Other than that she has been nothing short of a trooper.. For an all stock truck she has surprised me with what she can tackle. Thanks guys!

 

[BKennedy]

When was the last time the transmission fluid was changed? Might be the burning smell, and if the trans is overheating it will heat up the coolant through the radiator. I had over heating issues a while ago. I replaced every part of the cooling system (all hoses, fan, fan clutch, water pump, radiator), except for the heater core, and it went away.

As far as electric fans, do a search on the forum. There are many threads on that subject.

 

[natenkiki2004]

Definitely go through and replace items as BKennedy said. Get yourself a Severe Duty fan clutch and see how that goes. They're by far cheaper and more reliable than a fan system which can take a lot of fiddling to get right.

If I were you, I'd add another auxiliary cooler and a trans filter if you're going to be offroading a decent amount. See my signature for the filter idea and it'll get you thinking about coolers as well.

 

[BKennedy]

A few more things; I replaced the transmission cooler with a much bigger unit from Summit Racing. Originally, I added the Summit cooler under the OEM trans cooler but it was restricting air flow. When I removed the OEM cooler, the trans temps remained the same. Heat kills transmissions.

The replacement radiator is at least twice as thick as the OEM unit. If your Explorer did not come with a tow package originally, you have a smaller radiator. If I was going to do it again, I would see if there are still all aluminum radiators available.

The fan clutch I have now is a severe duty unit.

I also run a cooler thermostat than OEM. There are mixed opinions about them, but it works for me because I don't care too much about fuel mileage and am willing to trade that for a cooler running engine.

 

[MrShorty]

There was a time when I had very similar symptoms (getting extra hot at low speeds). Upon further inspection, I discovered that my fan clutch was going bad. Replaced the fan clutch, and all was well again. Replacing a worn fan clutch with a new, functional fan clutch is easier (and, I expect, cheaper) than installing electric fans.

Testing a fan clutch is pretty easy. Remove fan clutch, disengage the thermostatic "spring" on the face of the clutch and rotate 1/4 turn (CCW??) and reinstall. This will cause the fan clutch to be fully engaged. If this resolves the overheating/getting too hot issue, then the fan clutch is bad. If the issue continues, then check elsewhere.