Cooling Issues

RotaryKlown

Registered User
Okay, I've been having some issues with coolant leak. I notice not too long ago that I was getting random billows of vapor from my engine bay when i was stopped. (mind you it didnt happen until it warmed up) Finally I looked at the problem.

I had coolant dripping from my upper radiator hose. I figured that the hose was old and needed replacing, but when I opened up my radiator cap, it was nearly overflowing. Not boiling over, just overflowing.

After talking to a few guys at work, decided that it's either HG, WP, or Tstat. Sensible thing to me is typically start at the cheapest and work your way up. As it so happens, I had already purchased a 180* tstat from SCP. Installed it, fired it up and didnt see any leaks. Took it for a short drive started getting vapor again. Pulled over and looked, I hadn't tightened my upper hose enough on the radiator side, so I tightened it.

When I pulled away, and for some reason started losing power (i.e. the idle dropped off steadily and stalled out). So I limped it home, revving it up whenever I had to stop.

Finally I get home, pop the hood. No more coolant leaked from the hose but I noticed it was dripping from the cap. I, of course, chose this time to do something stupid and opened the radiator cap...nice geyser as I quickly pulled my hand away.

So what do you guys think? Faulty thermostat or failing waterpump? I felt the upper hose, and it was hot, but I dont know if that was just because of the coolant boiling over.

Thanks for any help,

-Nate
 
Grrrr

Radiator cap has been replaced, but that didn't do the trick. So what does this leave? Only thing left that I can think of is HG...I can't describe how much I don't want to do the HGs lol
 
Several things come to mind. One, are you sure you installed the thermostat correctly? Two, might consider replacing the waterpump as it is not expensive and is easier than the headgaskets. Three, is it possible that your radiator might be clogged? Four, check the hoses on the oil cooler as they are most likely OEM and do go bad.

Best of luck!
Ray
 
when I opened up my radiator cap, it was nearly overflowing. Not boiling over, just overflowing.

I think you may have started down a wrong path. If you have steam when the engine is running or after shutting it off, and you are loosing coolant, you should try and track that down.

The radiator has a pressure cap on it which will allow the cooling system to develop up to 15psi of pressure above ambient. That means that anytime you remove the cap when the engine is warm the coolant will try and escape due to the pressure difference. In addition, some of that pressure is caused by the increase in volume the coolant creates when it expands due to heating. Your experience related to that, is not indicative of anything.

Start with making sure you don't have any leaks. Once you have the leaks taken care of, then start tracking coolant to see if you are loosing or gaining any.
 
where is the coolant currently leaking from? you might luck out and its just a matter of refreshing your hoses, cap and t-stat. however dont rule out the possibility of something worse. 1 thing you could try is drain a little bit of coolant into a clean clear container and inspect it for any sign of oil or fuel and check for any metallic particles. if that checks out as a go then open the coolant system(remove the cap) and disconnect your coil to perform a compression check. if there is a breach of compression into the coolant system the cap being off will make it more noticeable on the check.

NOTE: make sure that you bleed all the air out of your cooling system, as trapped air will expand at a higher rate then water that might cause overfull like symptoms. make sure to use the bleed air valve on the intake for this procedure and do it with and without the engine running.
 
Possible Progress?

Well, unfortunately with working long hours and having booked weekends, available daylight has been scarce. However, I did replace my temperature switch today. I now have an accurate temp reading. Also my fan turns on now, which is a huge help. As soon as it started heading toward the hot side, fan switched on and brought the needle to near dead center.

Upon inspection, I believe there to be a leak in, or near, the bottom of the radiator. There is also a small problem of the upper radiator neck being damaged. Somewhere along the line, someone bent it pretty much into a square. This makes a strong seal very difficult to obtain. I'm also going to have to redo the tstat because there is a small leak from there (my own fault).

So, anyone think this is a likely culprit?
 
...
I did replace my temperature switch today. I now have an accurate temp reading. Also my fan turns on now, which is a huge help. As soon as it started heading toward the hot side, fan switched on and brought the needle to near dead center.

...
So, anyone think this is a likely culprit?

sounds like you answered your own question. Did you have another?
 
switch

Its right on the side your thermostat housing. A med. depth or deep 18mm socket if i recall correctly. There's a small wire attached to it. I removed the coolant vent cap, and used a long extension. Vent cap is 13mm
 
Where is the temperature switch located. Mine car does not rise above C. lol

Yah, there's a TSB on pre-95 temperature sending units for the gauges - for ALL Fords.

A quick fix is to swap it for a new one.

If you're ordering from RockAuto already, you can buy one for under $6 (under $3 for the cheapie!). A loop or two of teflon tape before you put it in (it'll bit good enough to ground, and the tef tape keeps it from seizing for a later change), and presto! Instant higher gauge!

RwP
 
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