My son's Ranger

[Adopted6cylinder]

Due to my son graduating to a bigger truck, I "inherited" his Ranger. After all, I had financed a rebuilt engine, and various other items while he attended college. As he grew out of the truck quite literally, at 6'-9", he needed more headroom and I got the little truck. I have been putting it into better condition, and fixing various things as I run across them. Currently I am messing with the heating and cooling, long neglected in favor of "running vehicle".

 

[alwaysFlOoReD]

Welcome to TRS. Feel free to post pics and or start a build thread. I find a build thread great for reminding me of what I've accomplished over the years.

 

[dvdswan]

Welcome to the site.

 

[Curious Hound]

Welcome to TRS!

 

[Adopted6cylinder]

Having a cooling/coolant issue right now. 3.0 liter vulcan spewing half the radiator out on a short drive. It had a water pump replacement after the engine was replaced by the donor engine. (No telling what ills were donated!) I am thinking that it is either a stuck thermostat, or the dreaded head gaskets. No ickies in the oil yet, so I am hoping for the best. I am going to pull the thermostat out today, and see if I can get it to quit puking fluid. Trying to avoid pulling the heads, if possible, as I want to get back to my Mustang.

 

[alwaysFlOoReD]

Search on site for the "glove test" instructions. That will tell you if gaskets are a problem.

 

[Adopted6cylinder]

I already have seen the glove test, and want to test the theory that the thermostat isn't opening. There is a chance, isn't there? Anyway, I can always wish... I am saving my "head pulling" ambitions for the old 351 Windsor.

 

[alwaysFlOoReD]

I already have seen the glove test, and want to test the theory that the thermostat isn't opening. There is a chance, isn't there? Anyway, I can always wish... I am saving my "head pulling" ambitions for the old 351 Windsor.

Yes, there is a chance. Once you pull it, put in a pot of cold water and bring to a boil. You can watch if it opens as it should.

 

[RonD]

Glove test will save you time

And you can just fill COLD rad up to top with water and leave cap off
Start engine
If water/coolant start to overflow and it keeps overflowing then it is a head gasket/cracked head issue
Coolant should just sit in rad until coolant warms up

Water pump just circulates coolant, cooling system has no internal pressure until coolant is heat up above 140deg or so
But a blown head gasket or cracked head pumps in 500+psi every time that cylinder fires, and that forces "air" into cooling system and coolant OUT
Which is how the Glove Test works, or just have the rad cap off after cold start

Thermostat doesn't block access to radiator, the lower hose is wide open to transfer pressure and coolant back into radiator

 

[Adopted6cylinder]

Dug into it yesterday. I chose to remove the thermostat, and refill it without the bugger, as it looked suspect. Lots of other things happening under there! (Shudder) Shade tree mechanics have nothing on the guys that were here before me. Check out my "new" mounting tube? for the temp sending unit. I don't think that this will be getting the right reading any time soon... Is there a place where I can get a look at what is actually supposed to be on the front of the engine for this little fitting? I am assuming that Ford did not use NPT at the factory. And is it available and not too costly? I feel good about the thermostat change, and will probably look for a 160 degree one around here, as the aluminum block is pretty cold in our winters anyway. (Red River Valley, Minnesota/North Dakota border boy)

 

[RonD]

Use a 190-195deg T-stat

Engine will overheat without a thermostat in place, so if you want to run with no t-stat then cut the old one's center out and just use the plate as a flow restrictor in the housing

With just an open hole to radiator, less coolant is sent thru the block and heads so engine overheats, but radiator stays cool, lol

 

[Blmpkn]

Using a cooler than factory thermostat is marketing hype/a band aid.

It's best to use what the motor came with. A hotter motor makes more power & is more efficient.

 

[RonD]

+1 ^^^

A working thermostat can never cause an engine to overheat
If there is a problem the 30deg difference between 160 and 190 thermostat = about 10 seconds of extra time, maybe, depends on the problem, but for sure not longer, lol

An engine is "officially" overheating at 231degF
Best operating temp for gasoline engines is 185degF to 210degF, keeps the oil cleaner and better combustion efficiency, so better MPG
Center line on Ford temp gauges is about 205degF

Pulling a load going up a hill engine can push close to 230degF which is fine

245degF is about 3/4 on the gauge and time to pull over and let engine cool back down, don't shut engine off unless of course a hose has broken or coolant has otherwise been lost
Without coolant, running the water pump/engine doesn't do anything to cool the engine, lol

 

[Adopted6cylinder]

Whew! I wanted to know about the sending unit, specifically. And maybe the actual fitting that is supposed to attach to the block.

Hell, I know enough about thermodynamics. I pulled the thermostat to check to see about the basic flow through the system and the condition of the pump itself. (Had one where the blades actually disappeared due to corrosion.) I'm not goingto run it this way for long. But if I run a cooler thermostat and it opens, it is then open, and stays open. One time, during start-up. If I drive a short distance, and it does not get to temperature, I am not using my complete system quickly enough here in the winter. (Bad!)

 

[RonD]

160degF thermostat doesn't mean engine warms up faster, maybe I misread that part

Warming up an engine means getting coolant above at least 175degF(180degF t-stat), ASAP, even then the oil is a bit cold to evaporate all the condensation, the white goop on underside of oil fill cap

185+ degF is best, thats from an SAE study done back in the 1970's, which is why we use 190degF t-stats now instead of the older 180degF that was common before the study

Doing short trips is of course harder on the engine's oil because it never gets hot enough to burn off condensation and blow-by contaminants
Using a Remote start can pay for itself in helping keep the engine cleaner, so warm up for 5min then a 5min drive will keep engine cleaner, and the driver warmer, lol

A block heater helps as well, shorter warm up time for short drives

The coolant is the coolant, 0degF or 200degF it doesn't matter, the oil temp is what matters, it needs to get hot enough or it just gets sludgy