Overheating/smell help!!!!

[PhillyV8Power]

My wife was driving my mounty and the temp gauge shot all the way right,the engine was steaming,she pulled over & let it cool off.She said the radiator cap had sludge around it & the rad was empty,she filled it with coolant,on the way home she noticed the heat was not working.So i throw a new thermostat in yesterday,and the heat seemed to be working right away.I drove it about 22 miles this morning,the temp gauge didnt go past the middle,BUT at every red light i could smell antifreeze pretty strongly.Its not leaking anywhere i can tell.I turned on the heat & it worked for a minute or two then went cool??.I could swear theres a fain smell of coolant coming from the heater vents!!!Either way it smells like antifreeze outside of the truck.Wtf is going on???

 

[pbnj22]

Are you still leaking coolant? If not you probably just smell the remains burning off the exhaust

 

[koda2000]

well, the coolant went some where. if you're still running the original radiator it's very likely leaking. get underneath and remove the four 10mm bolts that hold the plastic tray under the radiator. i'll bet that when you pull it they'll be antifreeze in it. it's very common for these rads to start leaking where the plastic tanks are sealed to the aluminum core. I just replaced the rad on my 2000 Mountaineer for that reason, and my 2001 Explorer has also had the radiator and w/p replaced.

 

[jremington59]

If it got that hot the head gasket could be damaged. All you can do is fill it, check for leaks and keep an eye on it. Hopefully it's just burning off the engine or exhaust.

 

[pbnj22]

well, the coolant went some where. if you're still running the original radiator it's very likely leaking. get underneath and remove the four 10mm bolts that hold the plastic tray under the radiator. i'll bet that when you pull it they'll be antifreeze in it. it's very common for these rads to start leaking where the plastic tanks are sealed to the aluminum core. I just replaced the rad on my 2000 Mountaineer for that reason, and my 2001 Explorer has also had the radiator and w/p replaced.

I believe they are 13 mm bolts? at least mine are... 00 5.0 awd

 

[koda2000]

I believe they are 13 mm bolts? at least mine are... 00 5.0 awd

I doubt the bolts are that large just to hold on a piece of plastic. i'm pretty sure they're 10mm, they could even be 8mm (Ford loves their 8mm bolts) but whatever size they are, there are 4 of them, then the plastic tray just pulls off.

 

[PhillyV8Power]

Ok what would cause the heat to blow hot at first and after a few minutes it gets cool?

 

[Joe Dirt]

I doubt the bolts are that large just to hold on a piece of plastic. i'm pretty sure they're 10mm, they could even be 8mm (Ford loves their 8mm bolts) but whatever size they are, there are 4 of them, then the plastic tray just pulls off.

Here they are. Just happened to be putting mine back on tonight. 10mm...

 

[Carguy3J]

Ok what would cause the heat to blow hot at first and after a few minutes it gets cool?

Well, you lost all your coolant when it overheated, plus you said you put a thermostat in it, so you could easily have air pockets still in the cooling system. They can sometimes be very difficult to bleed out.

Some cars, such as many of the mid to late '90s GMs with 3.1L, 3.3L, and 3.8L engines were notoriously difficult to bleed the air out of, because the radiators sat so low, relative to the motor, in most of those cars.

You could also have a bad heater control valve, a blend door problem (search for it), or an issue with the heater controls themselves. But, I would suspect air in the cooling system first.

 

[Joe Dirt]

As carguy said, I would suspect air also. I would check the heater core (thus the smell inside) the lines running to the heater core, the heater control valve also for leaks. HCV's are notorious for leaking... It is the black plastic valve right before the heater core in the engine compartment on the top line.

 

[koda2000]

yeah, it could be trapped air in the system, although I've never had this problem on a 5.0 (the 4.0 - yes). it could also be that the system is low on coolant, or that the overflow tank (or it's hose) is clogged.

 

[PhillyV8Power]

Well i found the problem.I go out to check on it this morning,and guess what? No coolant!!.I filled it up,and the rad is leaking midway down the passenger side.So at least i know where its going.Wheres a good place to get a radiator at???Ive found a few people parting out their explorers,but is a new that exspensive??

 

[koda2000]

Well i found the problem.I go out to check on it this morning,and guess what? No coolant!!.I filled it up,and the rad is leaking midway down the passenger side.So at least i know where its going.Wheres a good place to get a radiator at???Ive found a few people parting out their explorers,but is a new that exspensive??

I just got one from Auto Parts Warehouse. it was around $130 with free shipping. looks and fits like OE. i'm very happy with it. be sure to follow Joe Dirt's "Sticky" on how to install it. it's really not that hard to do EXCEPT for the A/C condenser slide clips. they're a PITA. if it weren't for Joe's instructions I would have broke something for sure.

they had a coupon code of MD13 to save 20% but I don't know if it's still active. it might expire today (5/31) at midnight.

Radiator CSF Radiator 2000 Mountaineer 5.0L V8
Price: $ 130.06
Part #: CSF3279

P.S. They just sent me a new coupon code of MORE15 to save 15% on orders over $100