Help! Anti-freeze in over flow tank boiling!!!! | Ford Explorer Forums - Serious Explorations

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Help! Anti-freeze in over flow tank boiling!!!!

marka08

Member
Joined
December 11, 2010
Messages
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City, State
Bristol Va
Year, Model & Trim Level
1991 explorer sport
Hey guys, I need some help and advice with my cooling system on my 91 sport. First off I replaced my radiator, hoses and fan about a year ago so I no all of those are working properly. The problem I am having though is that if I have drove for awhile on the interstate or at all or pulled a trailer or something the anti-freeze in the over flow tank starts boiling and some time's boils over. I have no idea what this is or what is causing it so if anybody has any information at all on what it could be or how to fix it please let me know because its loud and stinks like anti freeze bad, plus I do not want it to lead to other potential problems. Thanks
 



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hows the temp gauge readings when this is happening
 






Its normal, that is one reason I cannot figure it out, and it does not overheat and start steaming or anything, just the overflow tank.
 






well i think the hose that comes from the res tank goes radiator just below the the radiator cap maybe the cap isnt holding pressure and the hot coolant is coming back up into that hose and heating the coolant in the tank causing it to boil?
 






I had this exact problem once on a company vehicle. I could drive around town stop to stop, but if I got out on the highway for more than an hour, my overflow boiled over.

Changing water pumps seemed to fix it temporarily, but we eventually figured out that we were really just doing a really good job of burping the system and the water pump never really had anything to do with it. It took 3 pumps and 2 shops to figure that out.

We found one of the electric fans didn't have low speed, but you have already done the fan stuff.

A third shop determined the head gasket had failed and was pumping exhaust into the cooling system. They produced a compression test that supported that claim. We went to another shop and without telling them anything, had them do a warm compression test, and they got the same result.

My employer took the car out of service at that point, and I purchased it for personal use. I got another 5 years out of it before it became undrivable.

My advise is to do, or have done, a hydrocarbon test on the coolant. Here is a kit on Amazon:

http://www.amazon.com/UVIEW-560000-Combustion-Leak-Tester/dp/B000NPDL76
 






You might want to replace the Radiator cap. As I understand it, the higher the pressure the higher the temp coolant boils at. So, if your cap is not holding enough pressure you will boil over even though your temp gauge is showing fine.

I had a similar problem when I bought my Explorer, and replacing the cap fixed it. Check out the thread below for my situation and see if it is similar.

http://www.explorerforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=288279
 






Radiator cap!!!!
 






First, check the radiator cap like is being suggested. Also, most shops can pressure test your cooling system.

If you have an air compressor, the easiest way to test for a blown head gasket is to pull your spark plugs and blow compressed air into the cylinders. You will need a rag or something to create some kind of seal between the nozzle and the hole for the plug. If you make bubbles in your coolant, you have a bad head gasket. You may have to crank the engine over slightly for the different cylinders so that the valves are closed.
 






First, check the radiator cap like is being suggested. Also, most shops can pressure test your cooling system.

If you have an air compressor, the easiest way to test for a blown head gasket is to pull your spark plugs and blow compressed air into the cylinders. You will need a rag or something to create some kind of seal between the nozzle and the hole for the plug. If you make bubbles in your coolant, you have a bad head gasket. You may have to crank the engine over slightly for the different cylinders so that the valves are closed.

I've found it's easier to turn the engine over by hand until your at TDC.
 






on the head gasket test with the air compressor do you have to pull all the spark plugs or just 1?
 






You should pull each plug. A leak may only be at one cylinder.
 


















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