overheating trouble, help!

[hokie87]

Just bought a 96 XLT from a friend, temperature gauge reads very high whenever it's driven for more than a few minutes. It leaks fluid (which i'm pretty positive is coolant...but I'm an automotive moron) after it's run for a while, and also smells like burning coolant in the engine. The weird part is...I haven't noticed any drop in the coolant level itself.

Also, the friend I bought the truck from (who's also an automotive moron) had just gotten the over heating problem fixed at a shop a few weeks prior to all this nonsense.


Any ideas? I'm completely lost.

 

[Anime]

It's possble the thermostat is either stuck partially closed, or is on it's way to being completely stuck closed. It could be something else, but that depends on what work the shop did.

My suggestion would be to take the truck, along with your friend, back to the shop that fixed the problem before and let them know what's up. Most places will warranty their work and fix it again if they didn't get it right the first time. You needn't mention the truck is now yours.

 

[Glen4X4]

Yeah...that does sound like a thermostat issue, that would be my first guess Anime is right about the shops, if its something they recently fixed they should fix it, if its the thermostat they replaced and it is the problem then the thermostat itself should be warrantied

 

[Hokie]

It leaks fluid (which i'm pretty positive is coolant...but I'm an automotive moron) after it's run for a while, and also smells like burning coolant in the engine. The weird part is...I haven't noticed any drop in the coolant level itself.

Where is the coolant leaking from?

Overheating is caused by not enough coolant in the system (bad radiator hose, leaky radiator, water pump on the way out, etc) or a stuck thermostat.

See what the previous shop did, make sure to tell them specifically about the leaking coolant.

Thermostats and cooling system hoses are cheap.

 

[hokie87]

okay, I just found out that all the shop did when they supposedly "fixed" the over heating problem was flush the coolant and charged my friend like 400 some dollars...

I have a friend who works on cars and also owns an explorer, so I may just get him to check it out, I'm not trying to pay THAT much money

 

[Mbrooks420]

Be careful about overheating the motor. Do it enough times and you'll crack the heads. First step is a t-stat.

 

[Hokie]

okay, I just found out that all the shop did when they supposedly "fixed" the over heating problem was flush the coolant and charged my friend like 400 some dollars...

I have a friend who works on cars and also owns an explorer, so I may just get him to check it out, I'm not trying to pay THAT much money

A flush isn't a bad idea. Scaling inside the radiator can significantly reduce cooling system effectiveness. $400, however, is too much for a coolant system flush.

Get a new T-stat and get your leaks fixed pronto