00 Ex overheating....perplexed
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If it is actually overheating enough to cause the check engine light to come on, the PCM goes into fail-safe cooling strategy mode and starts to shut down injectors. This causes the disabled cylinders to be used like air pumps to cool the cylinders. You will notice a loss of engine power. If the engine reaches a critical temperature the engine is shut down. The CHT measures the metal temperature. The ECT is what measures the temperature of the coolant. Try a new ECT sensor.
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Ok, husband is on 12-16 hour shifts so he is only able to do small things on a daily basis. Took out the thermostat today, stuck in pot and brought to boil. T-stat was barely open while sitting in boiling water(that had been boiling for atleast 3 minutes). So, for now he is going to replace that...and see what happens from there. With the radiator as gunked up as it was, and I believe it was actually overheating(because of the loss of coolant, boiling) then he is wondering if the t-stat went bad? Regardless going to buy one and put it in and hope that solves the problem(I doubt it will). He will also be putting on a new cylinder head temperature sensor on, just because we bought it and can't take it back. Figured it can't hurt.
Posting Guru
Joined: Jan 2008
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From: Trenton, MI
I had that issues with my 94 explorer.
cheap or aftermarket theromstat on ford engine is NO NO. I finally learn my lesson.
Go to ford dealer or auto part store and request Motorcraft theromstat which is OEM for that V10.
Have you try coolant tester pressure? I would pump to 10-13 psi if that rad cap say MAX 16 psi then 10-13 psi should be enough ok. Leave there for about 1 hour then see how much psi it drop.
cheap or aftermarket theromstat on ford engine is NO NO. I finally learn my lesson.
Go to ford dealer or auto part store and request Motorcraft theromstat which is OEM for that V10.
Have you try coolant tester pressure? I would pump to 10-13 psi if that rad cap say MAX 16 psi then 10-13 psi should be enough ok. Leave there for about 1 hour then see how much psi it drop.
4wd Low
Joined: Jul 2011
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OK, I was just fortunate enough to find a PDF of the owners manual on line. ( I bought truck used and did not come with it). From what I am reading Shepherd2 looks to be on the money. The other lights coming on are the truck indicating it is in fail safe cooling mode. I am not familiar with the brains in these things so I don't know if a single bad sensor (ECT) could send it in to fail safe or not. I don't know about OEM pricing from dealer but Advance has ECT sensors for under $20 and Stant Thermostats for about $10. So, assuming it is one of those two, things could have been a lot more expensive.
Fleet Mechanic
Joined: Nov 2007
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From: Colorado
It does seem that the engine isn't actually overheating, or the gauge wouldn't reset so quickly to a safe operating temperature. Have you ever smelled overly hot coolant during any of these times? I would replace the thermostat anyway (had a buddy that got several bad ones in a row) but look to electrical means to fix the problem.
Senior User
Joined: Dec 2007
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overheating
ok i had the same problem my self my excursion would go in limp mode like ur saying i replaced t-stat clyinder head sensor temp sensor water pump it turned out to be a bad inst. cluster panel the temp guage was shorting out so now i have a used one its been good not going into limp mode because the guage goes up to redline then u have to turn truck off then restart it then its fine try that 
4wd Low
Joined: Jul 2011
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I would replace the thermostat just as a maintenance item. Some manufacturers say it should be done every couple of years anyway.
I think our diagnostic key here is going to be the speed at which the guage is moving. If the motion is a smooth sweep at the same speed as warm up from cold to normal it could be a cooling issue. If the needle jumps from normal to way too hot in under a second that is going to be electrical. The speed it is going back to normal after shut down is leading me to believe we are looking at electrical fault.
Miniaci, are you still losing coolant? If so how much?
I think our diagnostic key here is going to be the speed at which the guage is moving. If the motion is a smooth sweep at the same speed as warm up from cold to normal it could be a cooling issue. If the needle jumps from normal to way too hot in under a second that is going to be electrical. The speed it is going back to normal after shut down is leading me to believe we are looking at electrical fault.
Miniaci, are you still losing coolant? If so how much?
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FIXED IT!
Okay, I believe it is fixed now. We did replace the t-stat. When replacing it, the husband realized he had the o ring from the other t-stat on wrong. Instead of on top, he had it on bottom. Whether it was that, or the actual t-stat I guess we will never know...since it was replaced. NO overheating as of yet though....
Okay, I believe it is fixed now. We did replace the t-stat. When replacing it, the husband realized he had the o ring from the other t-stat on wrong. Instead of on top, he had it on bottom. Whether it was that, or the actual t-stat I guess we will never know...since it was replaced. NO overheating as of yet though....
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