Help!Hotter than the hubs of Hades and climbing

[Drummer1]

so if I was to try and remove a "blockage", how would I go about it? just the hose or is there a way to clean it out somehow?

 

[Drummer1]

ok so I go out to pull the t-stat and find my upper radiator hose is completely collapsed flat, pull the cap and it almost as if it were sucked down tight and overflow full of coolant. I cant even begin to imagine what is causing this. This crap is driving me .insane and its not a very long ride to begin with

 

[Drummer1]

Update- top rad hose is completely collapsed when running, uh..... help .....anyone?

 

[surf]

If the hose is collapsed it is either a bad radiator cap or a bad upper hose. The fact that it is collapsed when the motor is running seems to indicate a blockage of some kind because you said you replaced the hoses. Usually if the cap is bad the hose will collapse as the engine cools down. You may want to check if the hose to the overflow tank is clogged.

 

[surf]

One other comment. I put stop leak in my cooling system and had two radiator caps fail. I used the lever style Stant radiator caps and it seemed they would clog and not allow coolant to be drawn back into the system causing the upper radiator hose to collapse. I replaced the lever style cap with a regular cap and have had no problems since.

 

[Drummer1]

getting new cap today-t-stat removed and she is running cooler (heat on full blast, the plus side of all this is I think I've dropped a few pounds), but, still getting hot, I think I'll flush again also.

 

[jmdirk]

It might be a long shot, but don;t neglect your transmission in the diagnosis. the tranny cooler sits right in front of the rad and could be causing a lot of heat soak into the cooling system.

Just a thought.

 

[Drummer1]

Thanks jmdirk , but , It's a 5 speed stick.

 

[Drummer1]

Update-Ok so I'm looking at a 120 degree ride home (with the heat on) (people actually live in this heat) , new rad cap, hose still sucked flat and cap real hard to get off when cools down, overflow full. She wont overheat, she is ,as Bobmbx said in a previous post, undercooling.

 

[jd4242]

I would say you have a cracked head or blown head gasket.and its hard to tell but I bet money she is WAYYYY overheating.you just can't see it on the dash gauge because the water is getting blown out the motor so quick.if there is no water or very low water then you are overheating.what does the water look like and smell like? How does your oil look?

 

[jd4242]

One other comment. I put stop leak in my cooling system and had two radiator caps fail. I used the lever style Stant radiator caps and it seemed they would clog and not allow coolant to be drawn back into the system causing the upper radiator hose to collapse. I replaced the lever style cap with a regular cap and have had no problems since.

water does not get sucked back into the radiator like some has stated.it is an overflow tank not a pressurized tank system.once your radiator pressure reaches a point the spring in the cap collapses and lets fliud out till the pressure drops to where the spring closes and reseals.water can not flow back into the cap, its not a two way valve....its either closed or open and if its opened its releasing pressure till it closes.I may be wrong but pretty damn sure, its not like the newer cars that have pressurize systems with radiator reservoirs.


The reason yours is working is because your "new" cap is bad and you still have a leak either in the head or gasket.with a bad cap it doesn't build a lot of pressure so your stop leak is holding the leak in the head or gasket to a minimum allowing some water to stay in the radiator and or be sucked back into it.

 

[jd4242]

Both of you should rent a coolant system pressure tester.it will show you have a cracked head or bad gasket.also you can rent a cylinder leak down tester, that will show if its a gasket also but not a cracked head.

 

[Drummer1]

Well, gonna go look for another ex today, just gonna park the old girl.Me and the boy will rebuild her when the weather is not so hot (now i'm kinda lookin forward to workin on the truck with my son, all the dads out there know what I mean), I paid $800 for her 6 years ago so I cant say I didn't "get my moneys worth". Thanks to all of you for your quick replies ,Bobmbx,arco777, surf they were all helpful-I

 

[Drummer1]

Ok so I fixed it! With a 2001 Explorer Sport Black w/ Charcoal gray interior, white face gauges, 127K miles, clean inside and out-I tried to post a pic ,but , was unsuccessful. The temp gauge stays put and it's a/c is coooold! It was the first one I looked at and knew the second I saw it, it was comin home with me , so I guess Ill be changing my vehicle stats and hangin round here with you guys for a few more years if you'll have me. This forum has helped me sooooo much over the past 3 years, a lot of great knowledgeable people here and I didn't wanna leave the family, thanks again y'all!

 

[arco777]

Good deal, congrats on the new X! Hope you get around to fixing the old one with your son. Kids tend to appreciate a car more when they have to put their own blood and sweat into it.

 

[Drummer1]

I agree arco777 and we are already making big plans for her!