Overheating

[Brownpsu78]

So she overheated on the way home from work
Turned the air on hot to bleed some heat bad that didn’t seem to blast any heat?
There is a crack in the radiator that was dripping,
But also there was a high pressure squeal that sounded farther back near the ac on the passenger side of the engine?
Thinking thermostat and thermostat housing?
Reservoir is plenty full

 

[masospaghetti]

If the thermostat was bad you would still get heat. Are you sure the radiator is full? If the overflow tank outlet is plugged (can happen easily, debris can get caught in the bottom of the tank and act as a check valve) the tank may be full but the radiator could be partially empty. The hose from the tank to the radiator cap can also get plugged or collapse. Otherwise sounds like maybe a bad water pump if there's no flow through either the heater core or the radiator.

 

[Brownpsu78]

If the thermostat was bad you would still get heat. Are you sure the radiator is full? If the overflow tank outlet is plugged (can happen easily, debris can get caught in the bottom of the tank and act as a check valve) the tank may be full but the radiator could be partially empty. The hose from the tank to the radiator cap can also get plugged or collapse. Otherwise sounds like maybe a bad water pump if there's no flow through either the heater core or the radiator.

Well it is thebfactory water pump

 

[Brownpsu78]

If the thermostat was bad you would still get heat. Are you sure the radiator is full? If the overflow tank outlet is plugged (can happen easily, debris can get caught in the bottom of the tank and act as a check valve) the tank may be full but the radiator could be partially empty. The hose from the tank to the radiator cap can also get plugged or collapse. Otherwise sounds like maybe a bad water pump if there's no flow through either the heater core or the radiator.

As a side note what is the stock temp thermostat?

 

[MAS Tequila]

For a 5.0 it's 192.

I couldn't tell you what the uses.

 

[Brownpsu78]

As a side note what is the stock temp thermostat?

If I’m going there and having the water pump replaced?
Should I also replace the thermostat hoist and t stat?

Is there a better than stock radiator option?

 

[J_C]

"Usually" if the water pump fails, the first thing to go is the seal and as it fails it will weep coolant out the hole in the housing. If the bearing totally fails it will probably lock up and you'll hear it for a moment before it throws the belt or destroys it.

You can take tension off the belt or take it off, to check play in the pump bearing and whether it turns smoothly. If you ran too low, out of coolant from the leak, it will likely damage the pump so first thing to do is check coolant level. If very low I'd plan on replacing the pump eventually (or immediately if it's leaking or wobbly bearing) but otherwise, especially if paying someone to do the work, you don't necessarily need to replace the thermostat housing or thermostat now, as it is not any easier to get to them from changing the water pump or radiator which obviously needs replaced since you reported a crack in it.

It would be good to replace the hoses to the radiator while you're at it, considering their assumed age.

Do you "need" a better than stock radiator? I mean if it is now 18 years old, that is not a bad run (will the vehicle last another 18 years?) and I wouldn't think it gets all that hot in Connecticut in summer. Looks like Rock Auto has Denso, which usually makes good parts, CSF which others have reported were a good value, and Spectra which I vaguely recall is the same thing that Autozone sells for higher cost... then there's the crazy expensive Motorcraft which at near $400 is more than I'd spend.

Stock T-stat temp is bound to be somewhere around 190F-195F.

 

[Brownpsu78]

Thanks for the input!
CT oh boy that’s been years
Houston traffic gets hot during the summer, but the Explorer AC Runs Cold!