Today on a little road trip about 250 miles everything was going well then towards the end i was about to arrive when the temp gauge rose about a quarter inch from where it normally runs and i stopped at a gas station and all my coolant started rushing and boiling out of the top of my resivoir, i let the truck cool down and removed the cap and i lost all the coolant in the resivoir i bought two jugs and filled it back up and fired her up and the temp is back to normal and was not leaking from anywhere. Hit the road again for the rest of the roughly 35 miles of the trip to my camp no smoking or lack of power then through a little sand and mud and she stayed cool. I was towing a small single axle utilitly trailer with a atv and was going 65-70 whole way. Truck has never had a problem with anything in the year and a half i have had it. Just hit 250k. What could this have been? Its holding all the coolant its been in there for a couple hours now without leaking. Thermostat maybe stuck for a second? Or a air bubble? Please let me know of any ideas

 

Usually the cooling fan sounds like a jet engine before that occurs. Did the fan kick in? If you say "I'm not sure", then it didn't... it's hard to not notice. I suspect cooling fan clutch, but that depends on your answer.

 

Yeah i didnt hear anything that loud. And funny thing is a friend of mine coming on the same trip. Just a few hours behind me had the SAME exact thing happen to him on the same exact truck. And he filled it up with coolant again and it ran fine.

 

Fan clutch failure is not uncommon. A member recently discovered this same problem only after sharing data logs of his engine temps.

 

When i get back home i plan on changing the thermostat, putting a new resivoir, and doing a complete coolant change. The thermostat is probably original or at least hasnt been changed in years. My radiator is probably original as well.

 

That's well and good, but if the problem is the fan clutch, have you fixed the problem?

 

Yeah i guess ill have to do that as well.

 

Looks like you have a plan. Might I suggest you don't overlook a defective Cap? Antifreeze/Coolant will expand xx based on the pressure being exerted. So, a defective cap will allow expansion and subsequent "dumping".

Tom

 

I'd prolly do a new cap and reservoir, prime suspects to me. Some bad experiences reported here with aftermarket parts so I'd stick with genuine Ford parts. You could shotgun it and replace all those other parts too for max maintenance/longevity, but you'll be fixing some stuff that ain't broke.

So both trucks overheated in the same place? Any obvious reason why that location, like a 10% grade with switchbacks?

 

Yes, Yes I did- thanks to ya'll who pointed out the "it's a slight concern that you might want to watch"

I started watching my EOT and it was climbing a little too high and as far as the clutch fan..."What do you mean a loud rushing sound, did I not notice it?" Translated means: Buy a new clutch fan!

About $165. But here was my reasoning

EVERYTHING that cools depends on air moving through the grill and to the engine. Radiator for coolant, Transmission cooler, A/C, etc

If anything overheats it isn't good at best, can cause damage (ie trans) at worst.

I had a choice of a couple different pick-n-pulls, but decided it is a CRITICAL component, so bit that bullet.

Want to see what I went through to come to that conclusion? See this thread: https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/1...oling-fan.html

It definitely proved to be the right decision for me, as evidenced on our camping (towing) trip a few days later

Maybe some of this can help you evaluate your situation.

 

May want to change hoses. I seen several older hoses collapse when hot and return to normal as engine cool.

 

Good point! Replace the upper hose with the "Dual Alternator" version that routes AROUND the serpentine belt, not through it.

That way you don't have to remove your radiator hose to change the belt in the future

Use ONLY MOTORCRAFT THERMOSTAT! I didn't, mine leaked. I changed it, no leak.

The Motorcraft TStat has a gasket around the TStat plate, not just on top or on bottom.

I didn't read that part before doing mine and had to throw away the Stant I bought out of convenience

I also replaced my water outlet with OEM (metal part that goes on top of the TStat housing and attaches the hose).

 

Agreed!! That neck is weak, and I personally believe it is made for a one time use. Anytime I change a thermostat, or water pump too for that matter, the thermostat housing gets replaced along with a new thermostat. I also replace the intake tube on the pump when doing the water pump.

 

Both upper and lower rsdiator hoses are only a couple months old the resivoir cap is new too. I had to drive it back home today and she did fine the whole way again and towards the end about an hour from home i caught the gauge rise about an eight of an inch so i instantly pulled over and opened the hood and this time it wasnt rushing out like a volcano bur was bubbling inside the resivoir and then bubbled out maybe a cup of coolant then i put a little more, let her cool down and went on my way and it didnt get hot again.

 

My nieghbor who is a good friend of mine he was a mechanic at ford for abour 15 years. He was with me when this happend and once i put this post up and people said the fan clutch he said he didnt think so because at high speeds like we were going (65-70) all the air rushing through the grille should be sufficient along with the fan going at a normal speed. It did not kick into "hyper speed" before it happend. He said i would over heat at slow speeds if it was the clutch. Not sure though. Im gona do the thermostat and a resivoir and look into the fan clutch and maybe new radiator due to mines age its a little beat up