Overheating issues big time!

[Chippy49]

Well, heres the scoop and i need answeres quickly! I took the Sport for a short drive today and the temp gauges pegged at High and the CEL came on. The upper radiator hose was only hot from engine heat. I let it sit for about 30 minutes, the gauge read normal when i started it back up. So i started back for campus and it pegged again. This time the uppper hose was hot as could be and fluid was in there. Let it cool again and went back to campus. Yet again it pegged, but when i made a turn to the right, it went down bellow H, but than back up. Any ideas??? I need some answers quick. I have the extended warranty so the dealership has to fix whatever it is, i just don't like having to pay the $100 deductible for something small. Thanks everybody!

 

[dman726749]

did you check to see if the lower hose was hot???? if it wasnt then it is mostlikely the water pump

also ford t-stats are notorious for failing....

 

[Chippy49]

I didn't check the lower hose the first time, but the second time it was only hot from engine heat so the coolant was getting cooled throught the radiator. Does that mean its the water pump than?

 

[pax]

When the engine is overheating, you can usually tell under the hood. You would hear a lot of metal stress sound when you shut the engine off and steam escape from the radiator cap and from the hose clamps everywhere. I had seem it and you can't miss it, you know it is overheating.
I am saying this because on my Ex. There is a problem somewhere in the temp gauge circuit giving me over heating condition on the gauge but it is really a false alarm. I had replaced the temp sender, but that wasn't it. Burped the air out of the system for a long time still didn't fix it,replaced the thermostat still the same. So I just ignore it now, it only do it once in a while.
I know mine is false alarm, because it sometimes happen in less then five minutes of driving and the air from the heater is not even warm yet. But the temp gauge is way up in the hot end. I can open the radiator cap and the coolant is still cold. But the gauge is sky high, it is weir.

 

[Chippy49]

The water pump is pushing the hot stuff out, but the thermostat is stuck closed now. Oh well, guess i'm going to have to fess up and drop the 100 bucks for them to replace that, might as well get an oil change while its there. Thanks everybody!

 

[dman726749]

thermostat is a really easy job

and you cna get the parts for less than 15 bucks

 

[Chippy49]

I'm limited on the tools i've got to do the job. All thats available to me is a screw driver set and a small socket set. The back bolt on the thermostat housing seems to be the pain in doing the job. If i had the tools and the time i could do it, but with finals in about 5 days, i'm limited on the amount of time i've got available to me. I'll take another look at it today before i head over to the dealership and see if i can get to that back bolt, if i can, then i might just do it out in the parking lot.

 

[savant]

This is about the time that I usually justify to myself that I need to the tools, since that's cheaper than taking it somewhere for someone else to do it. It seriously takes 15 minutes to replace the t-stat if you have the right tools (a 3/8th's ratchet, a 3-5 inch extension (more or less), the correct socket (metric, don't remember size), and a swivel/u-joint so that you can get the partially obscured bolt out).

I understand if you the whole not having a place to do things like this, being cold outside, etc. This is a super simple one though. Top the coolant off when you've got the t-stat in, and you're set. No problem, right?

 

[Chippy49]

I picked up the t-stat and the o-ring, so hopefully either later tonight or tomorrow i'll be able to get it done, depending on what the weather does. I'm just clearin this up, but i don't have to drain the coolant right? I know i'll lose some anyway, but thats an easy top off. Thanks!

 

[hunterdan]

When the engine is overheating, you can usually tell under the hood. You would hear a lot of metal stress sound when you shut the engine off and steam escape from the radiator cap and from the hose clamps everywhere. I had seem it and you can't miss it, you know it is overheating.
I am saying this because on my Ex. There is a problem somewhere in the temp gauge circuit giving me over heating condition on the gauge but it is really a false alarm. I had replaced the temp sender, but that wasn't it. Burped the air out of the system for a long time still didn't fix it,replaced the thermostat still the same. So I just ignore it now, it only do it once in a while.
I know mine is false alarm, because it sometimes happen in less then five minutes of driving and the air from the heater is not even warm yet. But the temp gauge is way up in the hot end. I can open the radiator cap and the coolant is still cold. But the gauge is sky high, it is weir.

Did you replace the right sending unit? Because there is a coolant temp sensor that tells the computer how hot or cold the coolant is, whether its in warmup mode or at normal operating temp. And there is a temperature sending unit that just works the guage. The one for the guage should thread in, not sure where it is on explorers, and have another threaded end for the guage wire. The senders for the guage are typically a single prong unit, while the ones for the computers are 2 prong or more.
As for the original poster, i would replace the thermostat. I did mine on my 98 in about 20 minutes. My lower harder to reach bolt was actually loose. But it did not leak. I lost about a gallon of antifreeze in the process though. I had the oppositte problem, it wouldnt warm up at all. Good luck and hopefully you'll save $85. Maybe find a buddy who has all the right tools to help.

Dan

 

[Chippy49]

Got the tools now, so i'm just waiting for it to cool off a little before i change it. Hopefully this will solve everything. I also picked up some coolant to fill up what i lose. I'll let yall know how it goes.


UPDATE: took longer than expected, but it fixed the problem. The o-ring i got from advance auto parts was the wrong size and would not sit properly on the thermostat. That caused a leak when i started the engine. I examined the stock o-ring and found it to still be good, so i reused that. Everything runs fine and the engine runs nice and cool. Drove it around for a good half hour to make sure everything was fine. Thanks for everybodys help! I may try my hand at making a write up for replacing the thermostat on a 2001 SOHC.