94, E150 Club Wagon 5.8 I just replaced the thermostat and upper radiator hose. Went on a long trip today, Got hotter than usual on the way. On the way back it started to really get hot, I had to keep stopping and letting it cool down, The hoses were hard as a rock and felt like they would burst any second but I made it home, right as I pulled in the driveway I can hear bubbling, the overflow was full and blasting water out. Barely made it home, LOL If the hoses are very pressurized does that mean the thermostat did not open? I did install the thermostat the correct direction and theres no leaks. It does not overheat or get hotter than normal driving to work, Approx. 3 miles, It seems to only get hotter than normal when I go on long trips and has never overheated before. Thanks.

 

This wont help much as I don't know much about the 94s but my 85,, I replaced the thermostat because it was overheating when pulling up long grades.. Bought a new one from NAPA. Within a week it was doing the same thing.. Replaced it again and solved the problem.. Yes I was a bit upset!!

My 88 e150, I will be replacing the thermostat in it too. While it sometimes runs on the cool side according to the dash gauge, other times the gauge is straight up between the R and M on NORMAL. But I have noticed if I sit at a light for a long time, the needle moves over the M just a bit till I start off..

The one on the 85 was sticking partially opened or not opening all the way not allowing full flow when the engine was under a load.

Have you checked the fan clutch?
Perhaps the radiator is partially clogged not allowing good flow under long periods of being under a load..
I think i would check the fan clutch and replace the thermostat again before digging deeper.
I have heard of hoses collapsing and causing one to over heat. Doesn't make much sense when you stop and feel of a pressurized hose as hard as a rock.. But perhaps it could collapse until it gets to the point where it over heats..

 

I am leaning towards a partially clogged radiator. After It spewed about 2 quarts of antifreeze from the overflow and it cooled down I removed the cap and the radiator is full. The overflow was full of antifreeze before I left, not gonna do that again

I have not checked the fan clutch, how is that accomplished?


I used a OEM/Motorcraft thermostat, I know its possible that the new one is bad but the van is doing the same thing it did before replacing the thermostat.

Thanks.

 

Happy friggin turkey day

Try running water through the rad and see if it is restricted. I'd kind of laugh if it was the t-stat because of your previous post about OEM quality.
Also run the van with the cap off and look for bubbles.

 

When I changed the coolant a few weeks ago I did flush it out and water did flow through but dont remember how well.

I do remember trying to run the engine with the cap off and the 3 times I tried the coolant would overflow out of the radiator so I had to put the cap back on, I have always thought you could see the coolant flowing that way after the thermostat opens. Is that an indication of a clogged radiator or something else?

Next chance I get Ill try to check for air bubbles again.

Thanks.

 

Yes happy turkey day ALL! forgive my bad manners there..

you might want to try a combustion leak test just for the heck of it.. All the local part stores have the tester in the loaner tools. Call then first and see if one of them supplies the test liquid so you wont have to buy a bottle like I did and later learned another store supplied it.. Also check the tester while at the store. Put the suction bulb on the top and make sure it draws air through the tester. One i rented was stopped up and I had to go back and exchange it..
here ya go if you have never done it.

Ok the fan clutch,, With the engine off reach in there and rotate the fan. It should have a llitle resistance on it. If you try to spin it fast and let go of it, it shouldn't turn a full turn by itself. Check it for side to side play. If it has play in it then the bearing is shot.. Crank the engine and shut it off. Look for the fan to keep spinning immediately after shutting the engine off. It shouldn't turn more then a turn or two before stopping after the engine is turned off.
Next start the engine and let it warm up. The fan should freewheel slower then the engine is turning at first. After the engine starts to warm up the fan clutch should engage and the fan should spin at the engine rpm. So if the fan clutch is bad and not spinning fast enough, that too can cause overheating especially under a load or sitting in traffic..

Hope that helps..

 

Wow, that was an informative video, thanks annaleigh! I know how to check for blown head gaskets, but I've never seen that type of test.

 

I have done that test on the last 2 vans I bought, thankfully the test was negative.. But it is a easy to verify if you have combustion gas getting in the cooling system.

This is my 85, e150, 302 in the winter time on a cool damp morning.
<a href="http://s472.photobucket.com/user/Annaleigh_123/media/NewImage3.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i472.photobucket.com/albums/rr88/Annaleigh_123/NewImage3.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo NewImage3.jpg"/></a>

I am still not comfortable with that much smoke but the test showed negative.. When you crank the van (cold) it takes about a minute or two before it starts smoking. As the engine heats up, it stops smoking. it does not do it when the the outside temps are warm and dry.. Maybe the cat gets moisture in it and burns off as it heats up.. Am thinking about taking the cat off and adding true duels. That will tell me if there is a problem and with what side.. Plus sound better! But for now Ill just drive it and see if it gets worse or what..


One thing the video did not mention completely,, It mentioned the fluid has a 2 year shelf life. None of the bottles of liquid I have see have a date on them.. After running the test and with the blue liquid still in the test tool, I went to the tail pipe and let it sniff in some of the fumes.. The liquid turned yellow like it should.. So that verified the liquid was good.

 

Is that smoke or steam?

 

I think steam.. You can see it just rained and the outside temp was maybe 45f
The van sat all night and was started for the first time for the day. This is after about 2 or 3 minutes of running
<a href="http://s472.photobucket.com/user/Annaleigh_123/media/NewImage4.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i472.photobucket.com/albums/rr88/Annaleigh_123/NewImage4.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo NewImage4.jpg"/></a>


This is after the engine started to warm up, maybe 5 minutes of running..
Once up to temp, it goes away..
<a href="http://s472.photobucket.com/user/Annaleigh_123/media/NewImage1.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i472.photobucket.com/albums/rr88/Annaleigh_123/NewImage1.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo NewImage1.jpg"/></a>


If I hop in it and take right off on a cool rainy day, it will smoke till I get to the first light about a mile down the road.. The rest of the day it doesn't smoke..

 

That is just condensation in the tailpipe. Nothing to worry about.

 

Thanks Vettex.
I hope Nicksan gets back with us soon.. Didn't mean to hijack the thread..

 

No Problem, Thanks for the vid. Have not had time to work on the van. I hope Its nothing as severe as a head gasket, I wasnt even considering that. Thanks.

 

Hopefully it's not a warped head, generally that shows when the motor heats up, not the other way around, but still possible.

 

Lets hope you don't have a head gasket problem!! I just do the test whenever I have a overheating problem to rule out a head gasket.
I didn't know about this test when had my 90 Lincoln TC. The only symptoms i was having was the temperature gauge would rise very quickly to almost hot then drop down to normal.. I drove it like that for over 6 months before it got worse..
Turned out to be a broken head bolt. The leak was on the left side where the hot gas would pass by the temperature sending unit. As soon as the thermostat opened, the temp went to normal and stayed there..