E250 Overheating

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Dec 18, 2003 | 10:15 PM

Paul Lazarro

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From: Oregon

E250 Overheating

E250 overheated on Wednesday and had it towed to the dealer. They said the T-stat was stuck closed and they replaced it.

Next day...same story... going up same hill...overheated...check engine light comes on...coolant leaking out of the fill reservoir. Towed it in again...now they say the radiator is 25% blocked and they say they will put a new one in tomorrow.

Is this possible? Year 2000...59,000 miles...always serviced regularly.

Any thoughts?

Thanks

Paul

Dec 18, 2003 | 10:21 PM

Ultramagdan

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From: Kansas

Hello Paul and welcome to FTE!

How do they know the rad is 25% blocked??? I would ask for some clarity on that. Have you changed the coolant prior to this? Seems odd to me.

Dec 18, 2003 | 10:30 PM

Paul Lazarro

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From: Oregon

Dan

Thanks for your reply. Sounds odd to me also. As I said, only 59,000 miles on this van, regularly serviced, coolant always tested fine.

The service mgr told me they took the radiator out and had it tested at a radiator shop. Said they are going to put a new one in tomorrow to the tune of $460.00.

Am I missing something here? Could there be some other problem that they are mis-diagnosing?

Paul

Dec 19, 2003 | 03:42 PM

L_Lucas

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Yes, there could be other things causing it to overheat. Too rich, too lean, timing too retarded or too advanced. Hopefully your dealer checked these things first, before starting to swap parts.

Dec 20, 2003 | 02:26 PM

Paul Lazarro

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From: Oregon

Now has a New Radiator

They put a new radiator in yesterday and told me it's working fine now. I asked them to give me the old one.

I plan to open the old one up. Will I see a physical blockage?

Thanks

Paul

Dec 20, 2003 | 04:24 PM

Ultramagdan

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From: Kansas

At 25% blockage I would expect to see something. Depending on how you cut it apart it may be difficult to see stuff but 25% should be enough to show buildup.

Let us know what you find.