Overheating 97, 4.6L Expy
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Mountain Pass
Joined: May 2004
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Overheating 97, 4.6L Expy
I was driving down the highway and I turned on the heater, the air was warm, then it got cold. I looked at the temp gage and it was redlined all the way!! I pulled over and there was coolant allover, it came out of the storage tank cap, there was still coolant left in the tank. I restarted the engine and the temp was back in the normal range (2min time frame) I just had the system flushed filled about 6 months ago, along with a thermostat change. This overheating has happened to me twice this week. I figure that I have a blockage in the system or a faulty thermostat, I can hear a running water sound coming out from the dash. I am not sure what to do.
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I was driving down the highway and I turned on the heater, the air was warm, then it got cold. I looked at the temp gage and it was redlined all the way!! I pulled over and there was coolant allover, it came out of the storage tank cap, there was still coolant left in the tank. I restarted the engine and the temp was back in the normal range (2min time frame) I just had the system flushed filled about 6 months ago, along with a thermostat change. This overheating has happened to me twice this week. I figure that I have a blockage in the system or a faulty thermostat, I can hear a running water sound coming out from the dash. I am not sure what to do.
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on second thought, I just realized you said after you turned the heat on! It's possible it's not circulating through the heater core. Makes sense, you prob just started using Heat because of the seasons changing!
Hope you get it figured out!
Hope you get it figured out!
Fleet Owner
Joined: Apr 2008
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From: 0,0,1
It sounds like the t-stat is sticking closed. Allowing it to sit for a couple of minutes got it warm enough to pop open and allow coolant to circulate. The running water sound is due to air circulating with the coolant through the heater hoses and heater core. Once the overheating issue is resolved and the system refilled, that noise will go away.
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Mountain Pass
Joined: May 2004
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I watched the mechanic put take the new termostat out of the box and put in the new one. So I should go back and have them do it again?? Should I do a flush and fill again? Could it be the heater core, how would I tell if it is the heater core? I am at a loss, now that I remember this same thing (temp gauge going all the way up)happened to me about a year ago, and that is when I noticed that running water sound, and the heat coming out of the heater not being as hot as it was before. I'll take it back and have the T-stat changed and a flush and fill. I'll post on the status of the repairs. Thanks everyone for all of the tips. As well as a compression test.
Fleet Owner
Joined: Apr 2008
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First you should talk to them about it instead of just having them do it again. Maybe they'll want to first pressure test it for leaks or check for a blown head gasket.
No you shouldn't need to flush it, but you will need to gravity test and then refill the system with the correct AF/Water mix after it's fixed.
Heater cores do one of two things, they clog up and you get little to no heat, or they leak and you get AF leaking onto your floor, a sweet smell inside, and a foggy windshield.
Senior User
Joined: Jan 2008
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From: Greenwood Indiana
New parts can be junk to directly out of the box, especially Stant products, seen this a thousand times, also a coolant flush in ford engines really helps move alot of the debris thats in the engine circulate and cause havoc later down the road, coolant can be so bad in these engines that it can become caustic and even develope current like a battery! A dead fish smell to your coolant is a good give away its time to change!
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Are you sure that they installed the thermostat correctly with the right side up? and properly placed gasket in the right order?
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Thread Starter
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Mountain Pass
Joined: May 2004
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Would the thermostat cause the system to overheat, I thought that if it malfunctioned it was suppose to stay open (in theory) Also I have had this running water sound in my dash for a year. Could there really be air stuck in the cooling system for that long??
Fleet Owner
Joined: Apr 2008
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Air would not be stuck in the cooling system for that long, unless the heater core hose are reversed. Is it definitely a running water sound or could it be a sloshing around sound, like a pool of water is trapped in there?
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Mountain Pass
Joined: May 2004
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I had some trial and error, there was a small leak in the heater core. The floor was wet under the blend box. However, upon removing the dash I broke the plastic tubing for the shift cable and I can't shift the transmission. Plus I also broke the blend door
Live and learn, as soon as I get all of the repairs done I'll let you all know the outcome.
Live and learn, as soon as I get all of the repairs done I'll let you all know the outcome.
Posting Guru
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I had some trial and error, there was a small leak in the heater core. The floor was wet under the blend box. However, upon removing the dash I broke the plastic tubing for the shift cable and I can't shift the transmission. Plus I also broke the blend door
Live and learn, as soon as I get all of the repairs done I'll let you all know the outcome.
Live and learn, as soon as I get all of the repairs done I'll let you all know the outcome.
Thread Starter
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Mountain Pass
Joined: May 2004
Posts: 226
Likes: 2
Yup, pretty sure I broke it, when I tried to pop off the shroud that the blend door is attached to, I pulled too hard on it and I snapped off part of the piece that goes over the cross shaped, so the door would not move when I moved the temp from hot to cold. I got everything back together, minus a few extra screws.
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Mountain Pass
Joined: May 2004
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My Expy is still boiling over, I am not sure what to do. When I got home from work (8 mile drive) I felt the upper radiator hose and it was cold, the lower hose was warm. The 8 miles that I drive are mostly highway miles (65mph) so it had plenty of time to heat up. Could it be as simple as the cap, or as bad as the water pump. I have over 215k miles on my girl and it probably is time to get a new water pump in it. Any ideas out there as to why it is still boiling over? When I opened the hood there was coolant all over the air filter, the coolant tank and underneath the coolant tank. It is going to start getting really cold here in Colorado and I need to take care of this ASAP. Thank you all for you help.
GO BRONCOS!!!
GO BRONCOS!!!