My E150 Conversion Van overheats after a while on the road. Interstate speed makes it happen much sooner, but it generally takes 10-20 miles before it gets up there. On a cool day it takes longer.
It has a C6 in it and the transmission has been run low on oil which was noted when it started slipping bad. After that was taken care of, the overheating problem started.
Could this be related? I dont have a temp gauge on the oil line unfortunately.

When the engine temp gets high, the transmission starts slipping some when shifting into 3rd.

Any help and oppinions would be appreciated .. just not on the low oil level. That was too dumb.

Rgds
Steen

 

what year is the van a lot of new converson vans have trans coolers on them if it dont what might be happening is when the radiator gets hot so is your trans fluid because it flows through it you might want to try one of those 15 min oil change joints because they can flush the whole trans out and ad new fluid it might be worth a shot before you go to trans shop and they clean your pockets out also add trans cooler if you dont already have and find out why van runs hot so you dont have trans problems any more hope this helps bad 78 f 250

 

 

Where did the transmission fluid go? First pop the cap on the radiator and verify that the coolant doesn't look strange (pink or foamy.) The radiator shares cooling space with the transmission and the engine. If the coolant looks strange, it's probable that your radiator is at fault. If the coolant looks ok , pressurize the system and verify there are no leaks. If that checks ok, verify that your thermostat is opening - hose coming out the intake manifold to the radiator.

 

[updated:LAST EDITED ON 21-Mar-02 AT 11:26 PM (EST)]Well, we can put a cork in this one for now. I have rebuild the transmission and it did nothing for the overheating problem. It did, as expected, fix the slip problem in 3rd and in reverse, and with a shift kit added too, it also gave me a more positive shift as desired. But the overheating problem is still there.
I also added a separate transmission oil cooler, but chose to keep the radiator in the line as suggested by someone else.

I appreciate the suggestions you guys have offered, but all the classic bases were already covered. The transmission fluid slowly seeped out caused by a bad pan seal, it did not go internal. Cooling system is clean and nice.
Over the last 6 months, I have changed all cooling components as they have chosen to fail one after the other, so all parts are new. Still overheating.
Today I had a suggestion from someone who used to work Fords. He says that in 92 (year of my Van) there was a change in the waterpump area. Because of this, there are 2 different pump types. If the wrong one is installed, it will partially block the flow.
This seems likely to be the problem, since I have removed the thermostat and still see absolutely no water movement in the top of the radiator. Only other posibility would be a block in the system somewhere.
So .. tomorrow the, otherwise new, pump will come off for inspection. Then we'll see.

But the bottom line is that my original question about the posibility of the transmission causing these severe heat problems can be out to rest. That was not the problem.

Btw, the C6 renovation, using a $75 kit from NAPA, was easy. Takes a little time, but is easy enough to perform. No special tools were needed. I did the work off the garage floor with the Van on stands and found my ATV/Motorcycle floor lift to be extremely useful to get the transmittion off and back on again. This made it easy for me to do all work alone as the transmission rested in good ballance on the lift.
Getting a new #1 spacer to adjust the endplay was not easy though. The sparepart places I went to had no idea what I was talking about (NAPA, PepBoys, Advance Autoparts and a couple more). I didnt talk to FORD. I was saved by some extremely helpful guys at the local Mr. Transmission place who handed me a little selection of spacers and wanted nothing for the trouble. You gotta' appreciate people like that these days!

Rgds
SVM

 

Be sure to double check the rotation of the water pump. If you have no flow (with the thermostat removed), it sounds like the pump you have installed is the wrong rotation. I just put a pump on my '89 302 and had to double check the pump rotation before I bought a new, just to be sure I got the right thing.
You said it was a new pump, right? Did this start happening after it was installed?

Roger Lane

 

Roger

Yes the pump is only some months old. I replaced it when the old one disintegrated with no prior warning.
This has been a strign of problems with the cooling system and the overheating has probably been caused by different problems along the way. Even the temperature sender unit died!
The sympthoms has changed a little with every repair, but now with all parts replaced there is not much left to look into. Except .. a possible problem with the 'new' pump!

What do you mean by wrong pump rotation? Please clearify. Are there different types?? Any way to identify the type from the outside?

What I have been told, is that the pump casting might be blocking some of the channels if it is the wrong pump. I got it from Pepboys, but since I have basically NEVER gotten the right thing from them on first attempt, I have very little trust in the correctness of this pump either. (I have no idea why they have the Pep in their name!)
The other problem I have heard of, is that the impeller can go loose on the shaft if the pump has been really hot. This it has, so perhaps that is the problem. I will find out when it comes off later on.

Rgds
SVM

 

[updated:LAST EDITED ON 22-Mar-02 AT 02:30 PM (EST)]What I mean by wrong rotation is, 302's had a standard rotation and a reverse rotation pump. It all depends on how the belts are routed over the pullies. I don't know if you can tell the difference from the casting or not.

This is what I would do to determine if it is the wrong pump:
1st - See which way the pump is turning when the engine is running.

2nd - I would then remove the belt (I'm assuming it's a serp belt.), and the upper hose from the thermo housing.

3rd - I would then rotate the pump by hand, first in the direction it is supposed to turn, then in the opposite direction.

4th - Watch for the water to flow when you are turning the pump. If water flows when it's turned the right direction, assume the pump is Ok. If water flows when it is turned the opposite of normal rotation, you have the wrong pump. If no water flows at all, maybe the impeller did come lose from the shaft.

This will work best if you have already removed the thermostat.

I hope this helps.

Roger Lane