problems - water temperature on H
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Fleet Mechanic
Joined: Jan 2003
Posts: 1,810
Likes: 15
From: Central Ohio
problems - water temperature on H
Well, this is pretty much the first actuall problem that has me worried with my truck. Its a '99 V6. 120k on it no problems thus far. But...
Driving home from work today (it was cold) I was enjoying when the heat finally kicked on. But, all the sudden the hot air blowing out turned cold. I fiddled with the control **** (ac/def/panel/foot) thinking maybe something was screwy with it. It turned back warm. Then a couple minutes later it turned cold again. WTF. This time a red light kicked on the dash, the oil/water idiot light. Oil pressure looked normal, but after glancing at the water temp OMG it was in the red. I wasnt sure if it was a simple malfunction of the sensor or what. Next thing I knew, warm air, temp normal, no red lights. But one more time it happened, sitting on the exit ramp, I watched the needle go from setting normal and start rising up to H (took about 10 seconds). After sitting on the line for about 20 seconds it then slowly (10 seconds) dropped back to norm and remained there.
So what could this be? Any suggestions on were to start lookin?
Driving home from work today (it was cold) I was enjoying when the heat finally kicked on. But, all the sudden the hot air blowing out turned cold. I fiddled with the control **** (ac/def/panel/foot) thinking maybe something was screwy with it. It turned back warm. Then a couple minutes later it turned cold again. WTF. This time a red light kicked on the dash, the oil/water idiot light. Oil pressure looked normal, but after glancing at the water temp OMG it was in the red. I wasnt sure if it was a simple malfunction of the sensor or what. Next thing I knew, warm air, temp normal, no red lights. But one more time it happened, sitting on the exit ramp, I watched the needle go from setting normal and start rising up to H (took about 10 seconds). After sitting on the line for about 20 seconds it then slowly (10 seconds) dropped back to norm and remained there.
So what could this be? Any suggestions on were to start lookin?
Freshman User
Joined: Mar 2006
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When I worked at the dealership there was a lot of intake gasket failures on that engine. It's basically the same engine as the 3.8V6. One engine even hydrolocked, bent a rod and broke the piston skirt on one cylinder. We replaced the intake gaskets, one piston, one rod and bearing and I think that was it. That truck also had a lot less miles than yours. You could be getting air pockets in your coolant causing that problem.
Junior User
Joined: Jan 2007
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does the truck get warm at a stop, then when you proceede does it go cold again?could be a problem with the vacumm controls ,thermostat sticking or stuck open,I had several cars icluding my ranger do this to me because the thermostat was stuck open,but like the other guys said anything,but just for the heck of check the coolant and thermostat it is the cheapest solution.
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Fleet Mechanic
Joined: Jan 2003
Posts: 1,810
Likes: 15
From: Central Ohio
Well it just happen tonight, the three times I wrote. Was random. Havent done anything to it in a while, except a bit of rough housing during hunting season a few weeks ago.
BTW, I have heard of the hydrolock problem and the gaskets, thats pretty common, but everything I have read indicates that it was fixed half way though the 98 model year or something like that. Thats actually something I researched years ago to make sure mine wouldnt have that problem... or has it been now happening on 99's and up?
Let me ask something a different way... for whatever reason, could an engine really heat up from normal to in the red zone in under 10 seconds? That just seems awful fast to me - heck I didnt even think the guages could track that fast of a change. I just want to know if this is maybe a glitch or a legitimate overheating issue
BTW, I have heard of the hydrolock problem and the gaskets, thats pretty common, but everything I have read indicates that it was fixed half way though the 98 model year or something like that. Thats actually something I researched years ago to make sure mine wouldnt have that problem... or has it been now happening on 99's and up?
Let me ask something a different way... for whatever reason, could an engine really heat up from normal to in the red zone in under 10 seconds? That just seems awful fast to me - heck I didnt even think the guages could track that fast of a change. I just want to know if this is maybe a glitch or a legitimate overheating issue
Elder User
Joined: Nov 2001
Posts: 892
Likes: 1
From: Duluth, MN
could possibly be a short or rubbed wire? The temp gauge runs off resistance from the ECT sensor. And I believe the blend door actuators in this year were electric(i know some where vacuum in earlier models). If a wiring harness got rubbed through, it could be shorting the two wires and causing the temp to not only change, but also the door to open/close and change your HVAC vent system(between evap. and heater core)????
Elder User
Joined: Nov 2001
Posts: 892
Likes: 1
From: Duluth, MN
Bring it in and get it scanned also. Just because you don't have a CEL on, doesn't mean you don't have pending codes that could indicate an issue.....
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Fleet Mechanic
Joined: Jan 2003
Posts: 1,810
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From: Central Ohio
Ok, so it happened again this morning. I would have drove my bronco but i was running late for work and it was 17 degrees out (bronco missing back window and not very good heat). Had a late night last night and didnt get a chance to check into anything 9went to bed 1:30am, got up 5am ughhh!).
I was fine till I was most way to work. Again, suddenly cold air blowing, and the temp started rising. Took 10-20 seconds and it hit H and the red idiot light went off. ****** I am thinking hoping it would go down soon but it didnt. Then my yellow serv eng soon light poped on and the engine started loosing power. After about 10-20 seconds I started smelling something and got nervous so I shut off the ignition. I let it coast for about 10 seconds and fired it back up, after it fired back up it was all back to normal.
I will get the computer scanned, check the coolant levels, and do a thourough inspection tonight.
I was fine till I was most way to work. Again, suddenly cold air blowing, and the temp started rising. Took 10-20 seconds and it hit H and the red idiot light went off. ****** I am thinking hoping it would go down soon but it didnt. Then my yellow serv eng soon light poped on and the engine started loosing power. After about 10-20 seconds I started smelling something and got nervous so I shut off the ignition. I let it coast for about 10 seconds and fired it back up, after it fired back up it was all back to normal.
I will get the computer scanned, check the coolant levels, and do a thourough inspection tonight.
New User
Joined: Sep 2006
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All good advice here so far..I'll add a little more. It sounds like everything is fine untill the thermostat opens. I bet the degas tank is filling up and the level is dropping in the engine first to the point of no heat( heater core is pretty high up, almost even with the degas tank) Is the degas tank filling up and over flowing? Maybe your radiator is not draining as quick as it is filling up. It could be partially clogged .There is a small tube at the top of the radiator that flows to the degas tank. The coolant is probably entering the degas tank at the point because it is not draining to the lower radiator hose. The water pump could also be in bad shape(corroded/plugged) and not flowing as well as it needs to.
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Fleet Mechanic
Joined: Jan 2003
Posts: 1,810
Likes: 15
From: Central Ohio
Could it be as simple(?) as the thermostat? Could it be stuck closed off, causing the engine to overheat and also no heat from my heater? Whatever it is it seems to have a problem then fix itself. Is that the characteristic of a bad thermostat... and if so when I go to the parts store is there a particular temp to get or is thier only one choice for this engine? Sorry, I havent ever messed with cooling systems before.
Freshman User
Joined: Mar 2006
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I don't believe a thermostat would cause lack of heat. Wiring problem causing gauge problem and heater control problem is way too much of a coincidence I say no way. Not sure if they eventually fixed the 4.2 for real, we didn't see enough of them in trucks to know for sure. The Windstars 3.8 still had problems long after 99 though and they are similar engines. If you lost power and CEL came on I say it probably is getting hot though and not just air pocket. Anyways get it checked out and let us know.
Junior User
Joined: Jan 2007
Posts: 72
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yes it would because if it free flowing when it is moving it never gets a chance to warm up untill it sits not moving cool air through the radiator,my ranger is a 2000 and it did this when we took out the thermostat it was stuck open and you could not close at all, same thing with my honda that i owned if you do not believe this you do not believe in the impossible then you are going to get a big surprise in life!!!!,but serious it really can happen,trust me.
Senior User
Joined: Feb 2006
Posts: 265
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From: Candler, NC
I spend most of my time over on the powerstroke forum, but a friend of mine has a '98 F-150 with the 4.6 motor. He is having these exact same symptoms and asked me to look into it. He put a thermostat in his and it didn't change anything