210 to 220 degrees too hot?

[aeidian]

89 2.9 4x4 Ranger.

I put an aftermarket sunpro gauge on, and until recently its been running around 195. It would shoot up to 210-220 during the first 10 or 15 mins of driving and then level out at 195. Now its summer time and its between 90 and 100 outside most days, but is it still in the norm for the operating temp to 210 to 220?

Solved: Radiator was clogged up with about 5 pounds of gunk Changed the radiator, fan clutch, upper/lower hoses, water pump, thermostat, did a backflush. I could have probably gotten away with a just a new radiator, but I did the whole nine yards.

 

[TimR]

sounds like it's working good to me, maybe just a little sticky on the thermostat first opening, but okay, once it does.

 

[aeidian]

Rereading what I posted I don't think I was clear enough. Whereas it used to level off at 195, it now levels off at 210 to 220. So its running at 210 to 220.

 

[jhammel85]

My thermostat does the same thing. It always levels out to 195 though and doesn't go higher. If you are worried about it, just change the thermostat.

 

[aeidian]

Just put a new one in 2 months ago, I just wondered if the rise in outside temp would make the truck run hotter like that, this is the first summer I've drove it in. Wondered if anyone else with this motor in these temps experienced the same thing.

 

[Vanner1993]

My truck does that on hot days, gets real hot like 210 then will just stay there.

 

[aeidian]

Temp shot up to 230 tonight while driving home, over that when I parked for a bit to run in Taco Bell. No heat coming from the heater, only cold air. Checked the heater core hoses, the one that runs from the heater core to the water pump isn't hot, but the other one is. I'm waiting for it to cool off so I can pull the hoses and see if the heater core is clogged. Is the hose that runs from the heater core to the water pump the outlet or the inlet for the heater core?

 

[RyanL]

Temp shot up to 230 tonight while driving home, over that when I parked for a bit to run in Taco Bell. No heat coming from the heater, only cold air. Checked the heater core hoses, the one that runs from the heater core to the water pump isn't hot, but the other one is. I'm waiting for it to cool off so I can pull the hoses and see if the heater core is clogged. Is the hose that runs from the heater core to the water pump the outlet or the inlet for the heater core?

It just sounds like your water is just a little low. Take the radiator cap off (when cold) and top it off. I would investigate why it's low though. After replacing the thermostat, did you flush the system with cleaner and check the radiator level after running it a while?

 

[aeidian]

Bypassed the heater core, ran a garden hose spray through the heater core (still in vehicle) via the hoses, it flowed through, though not as much as I think it should have. Hooked the hoses together, topped off the lost fluid and took it for a 20 min ride. Seemed fine to start with, but the temp gauge climbed up to 210, then 220, then 230 by the time I got back to the house. I put one of those relief lever radiator caps on it awhile back, still not sure if I like that thing. Pulling the lever up, the water flows back to the reservoir and it's boiling for sure. All hoses are hot, top and bottom radiator, two heater core hoses hooked together, all have pressure. I did flush the system out back when I changed the thermostat, for about 2 hours. I've lost a few other vehicles to blown heads and I get paranoid about this shit. I have regularly checked the fluid level on the system, and it hardly ever needed any added. I'm inclined to think that the water pump is just worn out, just because of process of elimination. Tomorrow I'll pull the thermostat and look it over to see if it's fine, but I'm sure it is since I've just replaced it a couple months ago. After that, I'll pull the water pump and check it out. Should I end up replacing the water pump, what else is good to replace while I'm there? Timing chain? The 5 digit odometer says it's 95K, but I have no way of knowing if that's 95, 195, 295, or so on. I bought the truck used so I'm betting it's probably 195K.

 

[RyanL]

Yeah, I'm in the same boat with my odometer, no clue how many miles it actually has on it but I'm about 90% sure the motor that's in it is a replacement or has been rebuilt. Just so you know, the overflow system doesn't work that well with these trucks unless there's no air in the cooling system at all. In other words you can't tell if it's full after filling it up just by looking at the overflow tank. In some vehicles it's sealed much better or something because it works as intended. Every time I've drained mine and refilled it (I've must've done it at least a dozen times between changing the heads, water pump, and flushing it out various times) I usually fill the radiator to the top, put some into the overflow tank, start it up and rev it a bunch until it warms up to make sure that coolant gets to every part of the motor. It will usually take an additional couple of quarts of antifreeze after it's cooled in the radiator. The cooling system does not work if the antifreeze is even just a little low in these motors. I don't know why the coolant is so stubborn about getting everywhere in these motors, it just is. Whatever happens to the air stuck in this system, I believe that an air pocket gets stuck in the water pump making it not cool effectively (water pumps don't work unless they are submerged). Anyway, I seriously doubt that your water pump is "shot". Unlike some vehicles out there now with plastic impellers, the 2.9's water pump has metal impellers so I don't see how it could "not be working". What usually happens with these water pumps when the bearing goes bad is they leak coolant out of the weep hole on the top directly behind the pulley. Sometimes they make noise before they start leaking. If you don't have either of those symptoms I would leave the pump alone and look elsewhere for your problem.
EDIT: Just looking at your post above one more time, I would throw away that radiator cap. I doubt that it's causing all of your problems, but might be contributing slightly. It might be rated at the wrong pressure (I think that they have different PSI ratings, maybe they gave you the wrong one or something). I don't think that you should have to release that lever for overflow to flow to the overflow tank (it should do that on its own when it's under pressure which it sounds like it is).

 

[RustedRanger]

Just because the coolant boils when you flipped the lever on the cap doesn't necessarily mean it over heated.....just as antifreeze raises the boiling point of water so does being under pressure.

 

[aeidian]

Did a flush of the system today, hooking the hose up to the tee on the heater hoses and back flushed it. I put that radiator cap on while I did it to see if it was actually holding back pressure and it isn't, the water just squirts out around it, so I know that cap wasn't sealing the system. I replaced that junk lever cap with a OEM replacement one, it doesn't leak around the seal now. I also changed out the thermostat again, and it's still overheating. The water pump appears to be working, I can see the water cycling in the radiator. As much as I flush the system, I can't get the brownish orange color out. I bought some more radiator flush just now, gonna drain the system and use it, then run it a bit and flush it again. I'm not versed in how the fan clutch on these trucks work, but it seems like it's not working like it's supposed to. There is slight resistance when I turn the fan, but not alot. It also has a slight wobble on the shaft if I move it forward and backward with my hand. I thought that thing just ran all the time, but I guess that's what the clutch is for? It'll kick on for a little bit, but then it'll kind of like....stutter. Meaning it'll run a second then not, then run a second, then not. Once the temp gauge gets up to 215ish, it doesn't run at all. I'd think that it would be running full then, right? My experience is with electric fans that kick on when a car reaches a certain temp, so I don't know how this clutch thing is supposed to work, but it seems like most of the time, it's not working.

 

[RyanL]

Welcome to fan clutches. They are garbage and work opposite of how you think they should run. I think that they should "lock up" when they are hot, and loose when cold but no it's the opposite of that. Electric fans work much better (as long as they are large enough and have some sort of a shroud) and put less drag on the motor. Even if your fan clutch is toast, the vehicle should cool off once you get moving. If it's not, I would say that your radiator is all gummed up (it can happen from severe neglect). I never did it to mine, but many guys replace their factory radiators with Explorer ones. Maybe someone else can chime in and tell you exactly which year or model Explorers you can steal. I think that it's a direct bolt up and the only thing you need to change is the top radiator hose (I think that you may have to cut a couple of inches off of each end). If you can get one for about the same price as an the 2.9L one, then it's a no brainer.

 

[--weezl--]

ryan, you've got it wrong, the clutches are a dual purpose clutch, they are thermostatically AND centrifugally controlled clutch, so once the ratiator reaches a certain tempature, it locks it up, somewhat (it's not solidly locked) and once you hit a certain RPM, the clutch disengages so the fan will never spin faster than say... 2500 rpm

this problem seriously sounds to me like the radiator is not doing it's job, it might be plugged inside, or outside... if it's caked in mud, dirt, dust, bugs, rocks, or even if the vanes are bent over, the air won't flow through it properly and it won't cool properly, feel the upper and lowe rad hoses, there should be a significant difference in temperature, if they feel pretty close, your rad's not doing it's job... for the price of a new rad now a days, just go get a new one... they come with warranties, and they will work way better than a cleaned one will...

 

[aeidian]

The fan clutch did seem to move more air, and I couldn't get it over 200 sitting still, so I think that was a noticeable improvement. The bearing on the old one was definitely shot, it sounded like rocks when I turned it once I got it off. I came to pretty much the same conclusion as the last two posts after I took it for a ride and it jumped back up to 230-235 when running down the road for about 20 mins. It's got to be the radiator. Both hoses are hot and lots of pressure. I'm gonna pull it out tomorrow and take it to the car wash and spray it out. I'm going to check into prices for one. A quick check shows Advance selling one for almost 600 bucks, I'll pass on that. Rockauto had one for around 70, so I might go that route.