Thermostat help?

[DeanMoriarty]

I need some quick help if anyone has advice.
Just changed the thermostat on 2.3 Ranger. When I started it up, there's in intermittent high-toned knocking sound, first it seems to come from near the thermostat, then it seems to move all over, change tone, etc.
The old thermostat had fallen apart and I'm worried a piece may have made it's way into the engine... even though I thought I'd gotten it all out.
I read a couple threads of people with air in the system causing it to make noises. If this could be it, how do I get the air out?
Also, I'm not sure I even got the thing seated properly... anyone else have experience with these?

 

[Capt Jay]

Make sure you've gotten all the pieces out. Just look at the parts you took out and make sure they are all there. If you didn't get them they could cause a restriction and cause over heating problems.

If there is air it should work it's self out. Just gun it a couple times and get some water pumping.

If the thermostat isn't seated correctly you'd know buy the water running out.

 

[DeanMoriarty]

Thanks for the reply.
The only difference in pieces that I noticed was a large metal "O" that backed the rubber seal on the new one. I assumed either the piece had shot off somewhere when the spring shot out, or that the old one simply hadn't had it. I guess I'll dismantle the thing tomorrow again and poke around in it to be sure.
It's not leaking, but the thermostat didn't seem to want to seat properly inside of the housing... It's not like other cars I've changed them in where it would be installed flush on top of the engine, and the housing would lay on top.
In afterthought I'm wondering if it should have locked in there somehow. I had to pry the end piece of the old one out.

 

[DeanMoriarty]

Ok.... Now I'm puzzled. Granted, I'm not vastly experienced with auto repairs by any means.

I ran it this morning, same noises, sounding more towards the back and down in the engine now. I ran the heater on high, left the cap off and the coolant level in the radiator never went down, also, the temp gauge never moved. I tried squeezing air out through the hoses, but it's still doing the same thing. I'm pretty sure the noise I'm hearing is coolant bubbling around, but it won't suck any more up. Any ideas?

 

[Capt Jay]

How long did you run it and did the temp ever come up to with in operating range? If not, let it warm up for a while and see what it does. As for the part you couldn't find, I wouldn't worry about it. As for the thermostat not seating correctly, I wouldn't worry about it if it's not leaking unless it really was not fitting at all. It's been a while since I had a 2.3 but didn't the thrmostat sit in the housing and not the block?

 

[DeanMoriarty]

Yup, it sits in the housing. I'm thinking it was supposed to lock inside there somehow, but it was just sort of loose. I let it run for a good 20 minutes, temp gauge never moved. I'm going to pull it back apart tonight, put a different thermostat in and give it a good flush. How would be the best way to flush so the water comes up and out of where the thermostat sits, just in case a small part escaped my attention and made it in there? From the bottom radiator hose?

 

[MAKG]

Are you sure you didn't just drop a piece of something loose into a drivebelt pulley, and it's slowly working its way down?

 

[Capt Jay]

When you ran the truck did the hoses or radiator warm up.

As for flushing, I don't see why you couldn't reverse flush it through the bottom hose.

 

[DeanMoriarty]

Agh...
Ok. Here's what I have.
I pulled the thermostat back out and reinstalled it today... I'm certain that it's seated correctly now. I also tested it to make sure it worked before I put it back in.
I flushed out the block from the bottom and flushed the radiator.
Still making the same sound. It sounds like someone is randomly tapping a wrench around the inside of my engine... sometimes softer, sometimes louder. *ting* ting* *TING* *ting* *ting* *TING* It's driving me crazy.
I had two guys listening to it with me today and we couldn't figure out where, exactly it was coming from.
I drained the radiator and undid the lower hose and drained from it. When I filled it back up it took 1 1/2 gallons of coolant and the level in the radiator never went down running the engine for awhile, driving it, running the heater...
The upper hose gets hot, the engine gets hot to the touch BUT, the temp gauge in the truck won't move unless I turn the heat off and switch the thermo to cold, then it gets almost up to normal. When I switched the heat back on (not blowing, just on) the gauge dropped back down again after a few minutes.
One thing is, I took the drive belt off and the noise stopped. I'm pretty sure it's not something in the pulleys though.
I appreciate the help, I just dropped lots of $$$ putting a transmission in this thing 3 weeks ago... It's my DD and always been a great truck, I hope it's not falling apart on me now.

 

[Hahnsb2]

If it stops when you take off the belt it's obviously one of the belt driven accessories.

 

[kunar]

If it stops when you take off the belt it's obviously one of the belt driven accessories.

im not a 4 banger guy, but my first thought was water pump.

 

[DeanMoriarty]

I thought that too... Then I wondered if the coolant not surging around the thing with the pump not running is what stopped the noise.
Wouldn't the engine be getting hot if it were the water pump?

 

[khooper]

your water pump may be getting ready to go bad, I would watch it to see if it starts leaking or the noise gets worse, it may be a fan belt idler that has a bearing about to go bad, you might want to look into changing this idler if the noise gets louder. If this Idler goes out it will tear up the fan belt, the insulation under the hood, wrap broken fan belt around other thing under the hood and maybe tear up other things too. So I would have this idler checked out, it will save you money in the long run! Good Luck!
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[DeanMoriarty]

Well... I figured out today the tensioner is bad, leaning towards the engine a bit and causing the belt to wear on the back side, the idler looks okay. It looks like the tensioner should be simple to take off but I can't find a bolt in the front or back, any idea if this thing takes a hex bit or something? I need to wait till tomorrow to find another one anyway.
The alternator pulley is wobbling slightly, but spins well.
The AC pulley is wobbling very slightly.
The power steering pump pulley has some drag when turning it, not sure if this is normal?
I'm not sure how to check the water pump beyond checking the weep hole and checking for the hoses being hot. I'm thinking about changing it anyway since a reman is dirt cheap, is it a pain in the a$$ to do?
I did replace the belt with a gatorback recently... could this have caused problems?
What do I need to do?
Sorry for being such a pain in the a$$ with all the questions... I'm trying to learn. Thanks guys.

 

[kunar]

any pulley that 'wobbles' is not good. end play would be acceptable, but a noticeable wobble is a sign of bad bearings.