Overheating problems?

[Rob216]

Im having problems with my 02 explorer overheating, it heats up when Im driving in traffic, the coolant reservoire bubbles, there is no leaks, and it has been in and out of the shop for the past 3 weeks. so far the thermostat has been replaced twice, coolant has been checked, reservoire cap has been replaced, and a new water pump was put on today, 15 minutes after i left the shop the temp guage went up again, i dont let it overheat, i turned off the a/c and switched to max heat and the temp went down. it does not seem to overheat when it is idling even when it is 95 degrees outside. the mechanics i use are at a loss, and can not figure it out. this is driving me crazy, someone please help!!! also thermostat housing has been replaced.

 

[TheTurk]

taking the air out of the coolant system completely and cleaning condenser and radiator by blowing air is couple of things you can try.....

 

[Rob216]

thanks

have you ever had this problem before, it seems like it only happens when the a/c is on, and im in stop and go traffic. im trying it without a/c today and see what happens

 

[01sporty]

have freeze out plugs been replaced lately if so and a plug has been left inside the block it will cause it to overheat.

 

[Rob216]

interesting

I did have a freeze plug done a while back from the back side, it blew out and i had coolant everywhere.

 

[Roadrunner777]

Welcome! I can think of 2 things... one so easy they probably checked it... the fan. Not sure if this has a mechanical or electric fan, but that needs to get checked out.








And then way down here, I am going to whisper I had the same issue with a ford contour and it ended up being a leak in a head gasket. Your mechanics should know how to test for that. If not, and I'm sorry if one of them is your brother, but you need to talk to some other mechanics.

 

[Rob216]

appreciate the help

yeah i checked the fan this weekend, it appears good, it kicked in while i was at auto zone. i dont think its the fan. i hope its not a head gaskett. it heats up when driving stop and go and it does not matter if a/c is on or not. i turned the heat on to keep temp down and it went down, then i turned off the heat and it stayed normal so to test it did some fast acceleration and it heated up again. ???

 

[BrooklynBay]

Welcome to this forum! I've moved your thread into the stock 2002-2005 section. It either has a partially clogged radiator or the fan clutch is bad.

 

[cross6]

have you ever had this problem before, it seems like it only happens when the a/c is on, and im in stop and go traffic. im trying it without a/c today and see what happens

Fan clutch. You can rent the tool from autozone or advance auto. Only buy a Motorcraft unit, four seasons and the other brands are junk.

 

[BrooklynBay]

http://www.explorerforum.com/reviewpost/showcat.php?cat=all&stype=1&si=fan+clutch

 

[Rob216]

hey thanks

thanks for the input, the fan appears to be working, its kicking in. dont know about the radiator yet though. would a pressure test tell if its clogged?:exporange

 

[cross6]

thanks for the input, the fan appears to be working, its kicking in. dont know about the radiator yet though. would a pressure test tell if its clogged?:exporange

The fan will still spin if the clutch is bad or weak.

 

[Exproblems]

>>>>>>>>

thanks for the input, the fan appears to be working, its kicking in. dont know about the radiator yet though. would a pressure test tell if its clogged?:exporange

>>>>>>>>>>>

I'm not 100% sure, but I don't think a pressure test will tell you if a radiator has a clog in it. Pressure tests are more for finding leaks by a loss of pressure in radiators. With these Explorer radiators not having fill caps directly on them, not sure how they would do a pressure test on one of these radiators, unless they can hook the pressure tester pump up to the Expansion tank fill cap lid and pressurize from there. Could you have gotten a defective new water pump that is not pumping correctly? BTW, you mentioned you turned off AC and switched to heat, to keep from overheating. Are you getting hot air coming out of the dash vents when switched to heat or hot temp? If you do get heat, the air should have been bled properly from the coolant system. If you don't get hot air coming out of the vents, you probably have air still inside of the cooling system and that needs to be bled out.

 

[Rob216]

hey

when i turn on the heat i get hot air, and when i turn on a/c its cold. the mechanic who switched out my water pump said my old one looked good and he would have put it back in, but i told him since he took it out my as well put in a new one. i dont believe its a water pump.

 

[D Hook]

thanks for the input, the fan appears to be working, its kicking in. dont know about the radiator yet though. would a pressure test tell if its clogged?:exporange

Fan is not electric.

Radiator can be checked by doing a flow test. Had a clogged one once on a Crown Vic. Dealer found by doing a flow test.

 

[Rob216]

unknown overheating

thanks for the info, i will have that checked to.

 

[Rob216]

still overheating

today the fan clutch was replaced, and still overheated, did not go into the red but it was up. maybe the radiator but was told radiator appears to be circulating???

 

[cross6]

today the fan clutch was replaced, and still overheated, did not go into the red but it was up. maybe the radiator but was told radiator appears to be circulating???

Glad the fan clutch helped. Sounds like multiple problems, then. Could be obstruction. You need to look between the radiator and condensor for crap buildup. The condensor can appear perfectly clean.

 

[merrick]

check the rad for blockage by using an infrared thermometer. hit the rad every 4 inches up down left right at operating temp. also check the inlet and outlet temps of the rad and thermostat housing.

 

[Rob216]

thanks, its fixed

well i just replaced the radiator and problem solved, i guess it was clogged. im just glad it was not a head gasket. thanks to all for assistance. this is a good site.