Temp/Heat/Radiator ?'s

[BrianDye]

My rear brake line went out on the 92, so I drove the 95 for the rest of the day, and next day, but got a brass "plug" for the master cylinder to block off the rear lines, so I could temp. drive it to school and work, until I got the line replaced. It sat for 2 days basically, about 35-45 degree weather, brand new batt. in January, never let me down even in -10 degree weather last winter. It was dead. Jumped it, and let it sit for about 5 mins idling, then drove around the block, then down the street, had been running maybe for 10-15 minutes now, and noticed the temp gauge all the way on the "A" in "NORMAL." Its NEVER, even in the 100 degree days this summer, gone past the "O." (It was about 37 degrees out last night when this happened)

If I drove it faster, it would go down to about the "R" and "M" but slowing down, and idling, it would get up to the "O"

Today, running to the store, when my heat finally got hot after about 5-6 minutes, when I stopped, after about 20 sec's it would get COLD! And then when i'd take off, it would start getting HOT again.

Im waiting right now for it to cool down so I can check the coolant level and whatnot, is there anything else I should be looking for?

ALSO, the trans, when I would go about 45 earlier, would go from "5th" gear, and like downshift kind of, from 1500 RPMs, up to about 1900 RPMs, then back down every quarter mile or so, but OD still worked fine (shifted into OD and RPMs went to about 2200 or so.)

Im really looking to saving for this 92 I found, for 500$ it looks like mint from the outside, he said it needs a trans, so I figure I could buy it, and swap trans' with my 92, and then sell mine for a couple hundred at least.

Idk, but its like after it sat for the day and a half, it went to sh*t!
(Also, came out today to a completely dead battery, after I drove it last night around 11)


Thanks for any input guys, please no trash talking or anything, this is my DD and I gotta figure something out!

 

[BrooklynBay]

Don't drive without any rear brakes! It could be dangerous, and will ruin your existing brakes. Never open a hot radiator to check the coolant level. Wait until it cools down.

 

[BrianDye]

Don't drive without any rear brakes! It could be dangerous, and will ruin your existing brakes. Never open a hot radiator to check the coolant level. Wait until it cools down.

I know about the radiator haha, learned that the hard day once when I was like 9 or 10....

But that can really damage the brakes??
Ive heard from numerous people that it wont affect anything besides not having rear brakes, and they said its like an 80/20% ratio (front/back)


I know its not "safe" and reccomended, but how can it damage my fronts?

(Im goin out right now to check the coolant, its been a good hour)

 

[BrooklynBay]

80/20 is for front wheel drive. 60/40 is for rear wheel drive. The brakes are working twice as hard since you are stopping only 2 out of 4 wheels at a time.

 

[BrianDye]

Just went out and checked it, its cool, and the fluid is literally about halfway down in the radiator...is that normal?

Also, pulled my oil dipstick out and cleaned it just so I could see what the fluid looked like, and its...idk, like a very thin brake fluid. (Its not brake fluid, just something to compare looks with) It barely left a mark on the towel I was using to wipe the stick, and the little it did leave was like a light LIGHT LIGHT brown...closer to tan I think.


DEFF. time for a radiator "drain" at least, whats the best way to drain one to refil it, and whats the best choice? (Theres antifreeze, coolant, 50/50, green, red etc)


thanks a million guys

 

[BrooklynBay]

The radiator has to be full. You might have a coolant leak. Get a cooling system pressure tester from Autozone's tool loaner program, and check for leaks. Install a flush "T" to clean the cooling system with a garden hose.

 

[BrianDye]

I seen a little kit at Kmart, yea I know its kmart, but it had the T connector, and clamps and all kinds of little gadgets for a good radiator flush, for like 4$ i might go get that tomorrow.

Where do I connect the "T" though? and what 3 lines would I use? Hose to a bucket for the old coolant, and what other 2 haha.


Or do you know of a writeup that I could check out? ill search for one right now

 

[BrianDye]

Brooklyn, I found one of JLSparky's great how-to videos, his is for his 96, but im sure its relitively the same for mine. Im gonna go ahead and get the stuff tomorrow, and then actually do it wednesday, (Gotta work tomorrow 5-10) so I wont have time.

What fluid do you reccomend? 50/50? Green?

I have a gut feeling this will fix my heat issue too :

 

[explorerguy89]

preston 50/50 long life id recomend and before you fill you mind wanna do system flush with preston flush to get any debris out before it becomes a problem

 

[BrianDye]

Yea, in JL's video, he tried that, with no results, then used a mix of CLR and water, and it cleaned it out to pure clear coming out of it after 2 flushes.

Thanks Brooklyn and ExpGuy89

 

[MrQ]

If your radiator is half full then you have a leak. Rent a tool at autozone to pressure test. Look at the hoses, radiator, water pump, heater core, and thermostat housing. Any one of those fail you could be looking at some serious coolant loss.

 

[BrianDye]

What we do for the ones we love.
Lol.


Im really hoping that guy with the other 92 emails me back, that would be my dream to have my 92 with no rust, or any body damage lol

 

[BrooklynBay]

I have a thread on cleaning the cooling system in # 22 in my list of useful threads: http://www.explorerforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=162848

 

[92exp4x4]

Did you say your oil is light brown? Is it clear or milky brown? If the oil is milky looking, you may have coolant in the oil which means a cracked head or blown head gasket. These engines are notorious for cracking heads when overheated.

 

[BrianDye]

No milky oil....
But I drained the coolant, it was still for the most part green, not like "neon" green like it should be, but it looked really clean actually, then I filled it up with all water, and ran it for about 15 minutes, heat blasting, so when I get home im gonna drain it again, I didnt have the time to run out to AutoZone today, but hopefully ill get it tomorrow,


and yeah, when i was in my driveway after about 10 min's of it running and warming up, my heat was coming out CONSTANT so that was a plus

 

[mikeinri]

How is the gauge working with the full radiator? Low fluid could definitely cause it to jump around.

Mike