I'm going insane. Overheating again.

[NickRT]

and a few days later its back. I drove it multiple times to the shop, and back to my house. Let it sit for 2 days and it happened again.

 

[donalds]

Have you tried to drive it without a thermostat

 

[NickRT]

Have you tried to drive it without a thermostat

I have, just came squirting out the housing even with the gasket.

 

[RandomNerd2000]

I thought that when the clutch failed it stuck or didn't engage as needed in traffic, since the airflow through the rad moving down the road keeps the coolant cooled. Have the hoses been changed? Any temp swings from day to day?

 

[NickRT]

I thought that when the clutch failed it stuck or didn't engage as needed in traffic, since the airflow through the rad moving down the road keeps the coolant cooled. Have the hoses been changed? Any temp swings from day to day?

Well, it does fine in traffic but as soon as i got on the main road today it started overheating as i got up to speed, and the bypass hose has been changed but IDK. It pushes all the coolant into the reservoir and over fills it.

 

[koda2000]

I had a SOHC Expl that would push lots of coolant into the overflow tank once in a while. I knew it had a head gasket exhaust leak, because it would blow bubbles into the overflow tank. I found that if I let the engine warm up idling in my driveway it would fill up the overflow tank and overheat. If I just jumped in, started the engine and drove off it would be fine, never overheating or filling the overflow tank with coolant. I guess heating my engine up quickly blocked off the head gasket leak with the metal parts expanding where allowing it to warm up slowly while idling allowed exhaust to displace the coolant and push it out.

Anyway, my point is have you considered that you might have a head gasket problem? You've pretty much changed everything else. I was just thinking maybe you had a sticking t-stat, but I re-read your thread and you say you've changed it twice already. What brand of t-stat did you install? I had a problem with aftermarket t-stat and returned if you a Motorcraft.

Other than my above thoughts, I'm stumped.

 

[donalds]

Don't you say them dirty things like head gasket



To be honest I have read a lot of threads about this problem . Pressure test
Try k seal

 

[RandomNerd2000]

Just dump some K-Seal in, I got my 01 Eddie Bauer with a head gasket leak I wasn't aware of, it'd BUST thermostat housings, I dumped K-Seal in first day and it lasted 12K miles and then it ran a tiny bit warm and then wouldn't stop overheating, then it all made sense. Give K-Seal a shot.

 

[imp]

and a few days later its back. I drove it multiple times to the shop, and back to my house. Let it sit for 2 days and it happened again.

@NickRT
Get a "coolant tank" sniffer which sucks in a bit of the vapor above the coolant in either the catch bottle, or radiator neck. If combustion gas is present in the coolant, the sniffer will identify that.

Then, it's time to accept the unbearable! imp

 

[koda2000]

I'm a big fan of using K-Seal for the timing cover gasket leak on the 5.0L and other small coolant leaks, but it won't work if you have an exhaust leak into the cooling system due to a blown head gasket because cylinder compression is 150-160 PSI and your cooling system pressure is only around 15-16 PSI at best, so there's no way the sealant is going to get pushed into the head gasket.

One way it might work is if you can determine which cylinder is the culprit and you remove the spark plug, disconnect the fuel injector and run the engine with the plug out. That way the sealant might get into the gasket and seal the leak, but that's just a "maybe" and IDK that K-Seal would be the best choice for that Hail Mary.

 

[RandomNerd2000]

My leak was an exhaust leak though, it'd blow visible bubbles in the radiator once it finally gave completely out.

 

[imp]

My leak was an exhaust leak though, it'd blow visible bubbles in the radiator once it finally gave completely out.

@RandomNerd2000
Exhaust leak is a combustion leak, right? Your exhaust leak was exiting where, do you know? An exhaust leak can occur in a bunch of places: at the pipe to manifold, at the manifold gasket of one cylinder, in the EGR system, between cylinder to cylinder in the case of a head gasket, head gasket leak to water jacket, head gasket leak to outside the engine, head gasket leak between two adjacent cylinders. imp

 

[massacre]

@RandomNerd2000
Exhaust leak is a combustion leak, right? Your exhaust leak was exiting where, do you know? An exhaust leak can occur in a bunch of places: at the pipe to manifold, at the manifold gasket of one cylinder, in the EGR system, between cylinder to cylinder in the case of a head gasket, head gasket leak to water jacket, head gasket leak to outside the engine, head gasket leak between two adjacent cylinders. imp

Yeah but which of those locations blow bubbles in coolant?

 

[roscoe 0202]

if you think it is leaking in the combustion chamber get the engine warm pour in the k-seal put on the radiator cap let it build pressure then shut the engine off and let it work into the crack without all the combustion pressure pushing it back out
roscoe

 

[imp]

Yeah but which of those locations blow bubbles in coolant?

@massacre
One of the common locations for combustion gases to be forced into the coolant jacket was a cracked valve seat, usually an exhaust valve seat. Today's engines have hard seat inserts, and I don't know if the same situation exists with them. A cracked seat meant throw away the head.

Other locations, maybe more common, are cylinder head gasket, crack in cylinder wall. imp

 

[massacre]

@massacre
One of the common locations for combustion gases to be forced into the coolant jacket was a cracked valve seat, usually an exhaust valve seat. Today's engines have hard seat inserts, and I don't know if the same situation exists with them. A cracked seat meant throw away the head.

Other locations, maybe more common, are cylinder head gasket, crack in cylinder wall. imp

It was a rhetorical question.
My heads were cracked between the valves, thanks for the info

 

[koda2000]

@massacre
One of the common locations for combustion gases to be forced into the coolant jacket was a cracked valve seat, usually an exhaust valve seat. Today's engines have hard seat inserts, and I don't know if the same situation exists with them. A cracked seat meant throw away the head.

Other locations, maybe more common, are cylinder head gasket, crack in cylinder wall. imp

@imp - I agree that cracked heads and valve seats are common paths for exhaust gas leaks into the cooling system, but you tend to see this more with cast iron engines (like the 4.0L OHV). The 4.0L SHOC being all aluminum, head gasket leaks are more often due to a warped head as a result of overheating. The OP has the SOHC engine, which has apparently overheated to some degree multiple times according to his on-going description of his issues. At this point IDK what his problem is, but it seems like he's addressed all the common part failures that lead to overheating (thermostat, radiator, water pump, hoses). I've been reading most threads posted to this forum since 2011 and I do not recall ever reading about a cracked head/valve seat on a SOHC engine. I'm not saying it can't happen, but if the OP's issue is due to exhaust gas leaking into the engine's cooling system I think it's more likely due to a warped head. JMO.

 

[donalds]

My shoc has a cast iron block aluminium heads

 

[bigewalksalone]

Don't you say them dirty things like head gasket



To be honest I have read a lot of threads about this problem . Pressure test
Try k seal

Man same problem here... Started with crack in radiator housing,changed out thermostat stuck
and blew out top radiator hose,new trermostat gasketand it is still losing water somewhere??

 

[donalds]

Man same problem here... Started with crack in radiator housing,changed out thermostat stuck
and blew out top radiator hose,new trermostat gasketand it is still losing water somewhere??

Look in the engine valley with a flashlight for coolant may be leaking from back of your thermostat housing
Did you replace your radiator cap