Overcooling problem
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Overcooling problem
Hi,
I have a 1995 Ford Econoline Van. This problem has been driving me crazy. Here is how is started. When I first bought the van, I noticed the temperature guage was not getting up to the proper level. So I figured one of two things, termostat or Temerpature sensor. I fixed the thermostat first and still no change. I noticed that the Radiator cap gasket was quite worn, so I replaced the cap and now the temerature gauge works fine. The problem is, the coolant certainly does not get up to the right temp. When I feel the hoses, they are warm at best. I even popped the radiator cap after the van has been idling for about 20 minutes and the coolant is just warm. Now I've been burned by hot coolant before, so I know this isn't right. The real problem is, I don't have any heat inside the passenger compartment. Will a coolant sensor fix the problem, or do I have a worse problem? It has the rear air option, but I've been looking at that, I don't see an auxillary heater core or anything. Any advice would be very helpful. Thanks, Brian
I have a 1995 Ford Econoline Van. This problem has been driving me crazy. Here is how is started. When I first bought the van, I noticed the temperature guage was not getting up to the proper level. So I figured one of two things, termostat or Temerpature sensor. I fixed the thermostat first and still no change. I noticed that the Radiator cap gasket was quite worn, so I replaced the cap and now the temerature gauge works fine. The problem is, the coolant certainly does not get up to the right temp. When I feel the hoses, they are warm at best. I even popped the radiator cap after the van has been idling for about 20 minutes and the coolant is just warm. Now I've been burned by hot coolant before, so I know this isn't right. The real problem is, I don't have any heat inside the passenger compartment. Will a coolant sensor fix the problem, or do I have a worse problem? It has the rear air option, but I've been looking at that, I don't see an auxillary heater core or anything. Any advice would be very helpful. Thanks, Brian
Elder User
Joined: Nov 2002
Posts: 543
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From: South East Texas
You could try and find a higher temp termostat and see if that helps. As far as the rear heater core goes, on my conversion the core is behind the panal on the left side looking into the van from behind with a vent that looks like a speaker grille. The A/C core is up in the overhead box.
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Yeah... sounds like a T-stat issue. I will say that the gauge in my van will often read in the lower side of normal - especially when cruising on the highway at 60 mph or so with low load... However, lack of heat hasn't been an problem... even when I run the rear-heater.
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Hi,
Its been about 3 years since I last posted on this thread. I tried just about everything to get heat with no luck. I've changed the thermostat, heater core, temperature sensor, water pump and gave it a do it yourself garden hose flush. I figure, it must be a clogged or bad radiator. But then someone told me about a hot water vavle? Is there such a thing? The coolant doesn't exactly get hot and the temperature gauge will often fluctuate while driving. Any new suggestions?
Thanks.
Its been about 3 years since I last posted on this thread. I tried just about everything to get heat with no luck. I've changed the thermostat, heater core, temperature sensor, water pump and gave it a do it yourself garden hose flush. I figure, it must be a clogged or bad radiator. But then someone told me about a hot water vavle? Is there such a thing? The coolant doesn't exactly get hot and the temperature gauge will often fluctuate while driving. Any new suggestions?
Thanks.
Lead Driver
Joined: May 2004
Posts: 5,017
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From: Maryville
I plugged system will overheat, and the gauge is not acurate, it's not really meant to be, that's why many people swap in a manual gauge, I hope you put in a 195 degree and not a 160. You could have either a plugged heater core or the door to the heater box is not functioning, they have an electric motor actuator, not vacuum controlled like the older vans, some go bad and hold the door that closes the heater core off from blowing in the cab. My blender door motor went out on full heat, so while temps were in the 80's, I was sweltering, turning on vent, even Ac resulted in hot air, and rolling down the windows was no help, I just had to spend $65 on the motor. If it's a plugged heater core, forget flushing it, it doesn't work, and if you put anything in to clean the system, you'll likely end up unstopping a leak that was sealed by the blockage, been there, done that, just need to replace it. The blender door motor is on the side, you can reach up the side of the heater box and locate it, it's a 4"x4" thin square with a wiring harness coming out of the top, it just clips in.
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Sorry, I forgot to mention that I already checked the blend door, which is working fine. The heater core was replaced and I used a 192 degree thermostat.
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Lead Driver
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From: Maryville
Either restrict the air the radiator can pull in, many truckers have a cover that snaps over their grill, I had a Tradesman with one for winter due to the radiator being to efficient, but a piece of cardboard works, put it up from the bottom behind the bumper. Make sure not to block the entire radiator, just a portion of it, you could also replace the engine driven fan with electric fans, they have a heat switch that turns them on when the temp reaches a designated point, unlike the stock engine fan that pulls air just about the entire time the engine is running.
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Check the valve that cuts off the heater core. Not entirely sure you have one, but you probably do.
There will be a valve in the heater core hose, that is controlled by vacuum. When vacuum is applied, it opens. It may or may not be a 3-way, as in it bypasses the heater core and returns coolant back to the engine instead of just shutting off the coolant flow.
Check if it's getting vacuum when you turn the heater on. If it is, there's a good chance it's stuck and won't open.
If you're not getting vacuum there, figure out why...
Of course, ignore all this if there isn't an inline valve for the heater core
There will be a valve in the heater core hose, that is controlled by vacuum. When vacuum is applied, it opens. It may or may not be a 3-way, as in it bypasses the heater core and returns coolant back to the engine instead of just shutting off the coolant flow.
Check if it's getting vacuum when you turn the heater on. If it is, there's a good chance it's stuck and won't open.
If you're not getting vacuum there, figure out why...
Of course, ignore all this if there isn't an inline valve for the heater core
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From: South East Texas
As I understand it, your main problem is that the engine coolent isn't getting up to normal operating temps. You stated in the original post that the coolent in the radiator just feels warm after the motor has been running for a while and has been that way since you got it. I have a 92 E150 302ci. Some time back the clutch fan self destructed and I was a little short on cash so I got one from the local used parts dealer. The original was a five blade fan and the one they gave me had a bigger clutch and has seven blades. I'm not sure what it came out of, but I've noticed since then that the temp gauge needle only gets into the very low range of normal. On the rare occasion here that it gets really cold, I've had to put a piece of cardboard in front of the radiator blocking half of it to get enough heat out of the heater.
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I am running out of options. I may have to go see the big, bad dealer soon. It seems that the van comes up to regular temperature, but then something opens or turns on and the temperature drops. If you are familiar with a van temperature gauge, the needle gets to the N in Normal, then it dramatically cools down below the normal range. It continues to cycle like this for the whole ride. And when it happens, the heater temperature changes as well. As you can read above, I've changes every cooling system component except the Radiator, so I am stumped.
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