I have a 2004 Ford Expedition. It seems to be driving smoothly, however the gauge goes to High within the first 3-4 miles of driving, after 3-5 seconds drops to normal. Also, when the heater is on for those first 3-4 miles, cool air comes out (I put the heater on at the same time I would have previously when the heat would come out hot). Once it goes to High and comes down again, hot air will come out of the heater and there are no more issues. When the check guage light comes on sometimes a message comes up 'low engine pressure' although through it all the truck seems to be running fine. Its not overheating, and the radiator seems fine. If it weren't for the guage I wouldn't think there was anything wrong. Could it be a head gasket or something with the cooling system? I've had to add coolant. I just had a new thermostat put in and a tune up done but neither has helped.

Thanks! -Dawn

 

Have you checked the oil to see if its turning a milky brown?

If the oil is okay, then I concur with your bad head gasket diagnosis.

 

The oil is fine, not milky. Approx. how much does it cost to repair head gaskets? Would you go to the dealer to repair?

Thanks alloro.

 

Do you have steam coming out of the exhaust pipe after the truck is warmed up?

 

At least $1,500 at the dealer. You can likely get it done for 1/2 that at a local mom and pop shop.

 

Its hard to tell bc its cold here and I'm not driving it far, but I don't think so. I'll check today. When the heat is on there is no smell of antifreeze or anything really.

 

No steam. My mechanic is going to try another thermostat and some other things before succumbing to head gaskets. I'll drop it off Thurs.

 

My 03 did the exact same thing. Ended up being the head gasket. About 1/2" of the gasket material corroded away on a area between the cylinder and a water jacket. One way they diagonsed mine was they could smell exhaust in the radiator fill container, plus they could see bubbles coming up in the resovoir. Had my done at Ford garage, cost me around $940 and had both sides done (since they had it that far apart). Good luck.

 

$940 for both head gaskets is a great price

 

yeah, I lucked out on mine. No antifreeze got into the cylinders, so only had to put on head gaskets (only one failed, did both for peace of mind, plus the tear down was already there). Mine happened at 120,000.