Overheating issues has me baffled....

[rugman1969]

I have a 2007 Ford Explorer 4.0L. Parts changed:
Thermostat
Radiator
Coolant
I can drive this thing for hours with no problem for days./ All of a sudden one day it will just start to overheat. The gauge will move towards H, will lose power, so have to pull over and let it cool off. Most of the time after it cools, I can drive it for as long as I want to with no more overheating problem. I am banging my head for a solution. No milky water, no leaks, nothing obvious thats causing this. Can anyone please help or at least give me a direction to go in? Thank you so much.

 

[digifoss]

From previous similar experience with other vehicles I would first suspect that air was trapped in the coolant circulation system and figure out how to burp it, or displace any trapped air with coolant. Next maybe a bad thermostat - a new thermostat doesn't always mean a good thermostat.Then possibly a head gasket. I have only had my 07 explorer two months and haven't done any work on it yet so I'm sure someone with a lot more experience with these vehicles will be along soon with some more / better ideas.

 

[rugman1969]

From previous similar experience with other vehicles I would first suspect that air was trapped in the coolant circulation system and figure out how to burp it, or displace any trapped air with coolant. Next maybe a bad thermostat - a new thermostat doesn't always mean a good thermostat.Then possibly a head gasket. I have only had my 07 explorer two months and haven't done any work on it yet so I'm sure someone with a lot more experience with these vehicles will be along soon with some more / better ideas.

Thanks. How do you burp it?

 

[07EddyB]

Park it facing uphill to get the radiator higher than the rest of the system. Run it with the front and rear heat on with the cap off.
Is there any pattern to this? Does it overheat on days that you drive it longer? There is really no answer to what you are describing unless you can say 'It does it when.....'. Think hard about a pattern - it will help. Everything about the cooling system is mechanical and doesn't work one day and not the next. There has to be a difference for when it does and when it doesn't.

 

[Beachcomber86]

Thermostat housing might be cracked. It can crack but not leak enough to show up. However, it will allow enough air in the system to peg the temp gauge.

Mine (RIP) had a head gasket leak into the cooling system that would sometimes cause he same thing. K-seal helped some. Does your coolant have an exhaust smell to it?