Cooling question
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From: St. Peter
Cooling question
What would make my ranger not cool the engine like it should. this is what happened, i drove the truck a couple of miles, then stopped at the bank, when i came back out to it, there was coolant leaking from the radiator. So i rushed over to our local Ace Hardware, and bought some peak 50/50 pre dialuted, and some BAR radiator stop leak (granual form). Pulled off the cap, put in the BAR in and filled the radiator and the overflow tank up. ever since that it has been running hot, and its starting to overheat. I was wondering if maybe the BAR clogged up somthing it wasnt supposed to, or if i did somthing wrong when fillling things up. or if i have a bad waterpump or somthing like that.
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From: St. Peter
I'll check the thermostat, i'm assuming that the procedure is in the haynes manual,
Otherwise, no it hasent snowed, its been nice weather in the 70's, and it wasnt left running, say if you start it up in the morning, when the engines cold, and drive it, the thermostat will be on C, then it will creep its way up to the middle of NORMAL, then it will start to go up to the L of NORMAL, sometimes it will start to get even hotter, say going up a hill at 60 mph, then once on the other side going downhill, when the engine doesnt have to work, the gauge will start going to the middle of NORMAL, where it should be. The BAR did a pretty good job of stopping the leak. i havent lost any more coolant, and i dont see it leaking anymore. thanks for the help so far!
Otherwise, no it hasent snowed, its been nice weather in the 70's, and it wasnt left running, say if you start it up in the morning, when the engines cold, and drive it, the thermostat will be on C, then it will creep its way up to the middle of NORMAL, then it will start to go up to the L of NORMAL, sometimes it will start to get even hotter, say going up a hill at 60 mph, then once on the other side going downhill, when the engine doesnt have to work, the gauge will start going to the middle of NORMAL, where it should be. The BAR did a pretty good job of stopping the leak. i havent lost any more coolant, and i dont see it leaking anymore. thanks for the help so far!
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From: N. Florida - The "No 4x4
Man, it sure sounds to me like:
"General Gunk Syndrome"
If I was you I would hot foot it to the nearest radiator shop and get the whole dang thing ~super flushed~.
. . Have you read any of the currently numerous threads on here about cracked heads?
Preventative maintenance is a whole bunch cheaper than repair in the long run.
"General Gunk Syndrome"
If I was you I would hot foot it to the nearest radiator shop and get the whole dang thing ~super flushed~.
. . Have you read any of the currently numerous threads on here about cracked heads?
Preventative maintenance is a whole bunch cheaper than repair in the long run.
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From: St. Peter
Hey, thanks for the info, i think i'll just go and buy a radiator flush kit, its probalby filled with junk and the leak stopper probalbly didnt help unclog the junk. but what is the best kit to use, anything i should look for, and what is the best coolant to use, i have never done this before, any pointers owuld be good!
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From: South Jersey
I would get it flushed out and get a new radiator since the old one was leaking and it will probably leak again after the flush.
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From: St. Peter
about how much is a new radiator?, because it almsot looked like it was leaking out of the threads on a metal hose that goes into it, or around it at least, but its the upper one right under the radiator cap. i didnt see any physical cracks on the radiator, and also how hard are they to install, and should i get an aftermarket one with better cooling power or will the OE one work just fine
Post Fiend
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From: South Jersey
If I'm think about the right connector you have an auto tranny and that metal line it has tranny fluid running through it not coolant. I would suspect the end cap for a coolant leak in that area and the stop leak might hold there. Why don't you try a home radiator back flush and see if it helps. I would also check the thermostat and the coolant flow through the radiator.
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From: St. Peter
ok, i flushed the radiator, it still overheats, might it be the thermostat? would the engine physically overheat if it was that, or would the thermostat just say it was getting hot? Also my gas mileage is crappier than normal too? it idles a little rough, with a bumb, bumb, every now and then between the steady tone of the exaust. exaust smells gasy also
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From: N. Florida - The "No 4x4
The thermostat can *definitely* cause it to overheat - yes.
. . but do not just take it out and throw it away.
You can remove it and see if your truck stops overheating - but put a new one back when you are finished.
The hicups in the idle can be caused by a number of things and unless it is very consistent (at this point) I would not consider that a serious symptom . . . yet.
An overheating engine will really use up some gas, so again, that in and of it's self is not a good indicator of a problem.
I strongly recommend a compression test, and (TEMPORARY) removal of the thermostat.
HTH.
. . but do not just take it out and throw it away.
You can remove it and see if your truck stops overheating - but put a new one back when you are finished.
The hicups in the idle can be caused by a number of things and unless it is very consistent (at this point) I would not consider that a serious symptom . . . yet.
An overheating engine will really use up some gas, so again, that in and of it's self is not a good indicator of a problem.
I strongly recommend a compression test, and (TEMPORARY) removal of the thermostat.
HTH.
Originally posted by Peter94
ok, i flushed the radiator, it still overheats, might it be the thermostat? would the engine physically overheat if it was that, or would the thermostat just say it was getting hot? Also my gas mileage is crappier than normal too? it idles a little rough, with a bumb, bumb, every now and then between the steady tone of the exaust. exaust smells gasy also
ok, i flushed the radiator, it still overheats, might it be the thermostat? would the engine physically overheat if it was that, or would the thermostat just say it was getting hot? Also my gas mileage is crappier than normal too? it idles a little rough, with a bumb, bumb, every now and then between the steady tone of the exaust. exaust smells gasy also
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From: St. Peter
ok, i think i'll try that, cause i did an ohm test on it and it read about .432 k Ohms, and i guess when its cold its supposed to read around 75 ohms, so i'll start with this, thanks alot for all the help
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From: N. Florida - The "No 4x4
Originally posted by Peter94
ok, i think i'll try that, cause i did an ohm test on it and it read about .432 k Ohms, and i guess when its cold its supposed to read around 75 ohms, so i'll start with this, thanks alot for all the help
ok, i think i'll try that, cause i did an ohm test on it and it read about .432 k Ohms, and i guess when its cold its supposed to read around 75 ohms, so i'll start with this, thanks alot for all the help
Follow the top radiator hose until it terminates at the engine.
You will notice the hose is slid (and clamped) onto a flange that is held in place by two bolts.
~Between~ that flange and the actual engine block is the thermostat. It is recessed into a little groove cut in either the engine block or the inside of the flange, or both, so you have to pull the flange off the block before you can access the thermostat. And . . it doesn't have any wires connected to it.
*NOTE* The thermostat has a "FRONT" and a "BACK". It can be installed backwards . . . in most cases. That would be a bad bad thing.
Last edited by ctfuzzy; Oct 22, 2003 at 09:03 AM.
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From: St. Peter
ok, but why arent the ohms on the sending unit right? or was i just measuring it wrong? i took the positive wire from the multimeter, and put it on the top of the sending unit where the wire hooks on, then i grounded the black to the intake manifold. i think in the haynes it said to ground it to somthing on the engine. but i'll check the temp sensor. and from what i understand from the above post, the thermostat is inside the metal flange that the hose is clamped onto, and that is bolted onto the engine block with 2 bolts, does this sound right?