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Timing Belt Job and Related Stuff


Good news and bad news. I fired it up and the truck didn't explode! There was a bit of clatter concerning me coming from the engine but after a few minutes it went away. The bad news is I have no heat and the temp gauge stays on "C".

I replaced the thermostat with an OEM Motorcraft one, I replaced the water pump, and I flushed the heater core from the inlet side (the one on the right...I think that's the inlet). The upper rad hose gets pretty warm as does the inlet heater core hose. The outlet heater core hose is not so warm. I'm not sure what to do. Since the upper rad hose is hot, does that mean the that t-stat is working properly?
 
Good news and bad news. I fired it up and the truck didn't explode! There was a bit of clatter concerning me coming from the engine but after a few minutes it went away. The bad news is I have no heat and the temp gauge stays on "C".

I replaced the thermostat with an OEM Motorcraft one, I replaced the water pump, and I flushed the heater core from the inlet side (the one on the right...I think that's the inlet). The upper rad hose gets pretty warm as does the inlet heater core hose. The outlet heater core hose is not so warm. I'm not sure what to do. Since the upper rad hose is hot, does that mean the that t-stat is working properly?

Oh no not the dreaded over cooling problem!!!!!

just went through this with my 2.3liter 5 sp


what temp 180 or 192 tstat?


go check out my thread on over cooling.

I did burp it a couple of times maybe thats what fixed mine.
 
Overcooling eh? Yeah that about sums it up. I have a 192 degree t-stat and I'm on my way to find your thread right now.
 
keep me posted I courious as hell.


I would block the front of the radiator and let it warm up until it gets close to the top of the guage then shut it down and let it cool and add water to top it off. then take the cardboard out and try it.


I also would make sure it has 50/50 anti freeze mixture and no more even a little less would be good.
 
I'm going to read up on burping the system better and hope that's it. I can't imagine that I installed the t-stat wrong. It only goes in one way! I'd rather not have to take the t-stat housing off again cause it's kind of a PITA. I don't understand how having air in the coolant system would prevent me from reaching the right operating temp, but there's a lot I don't understand about automobiles.
 
keep me posted I 'd like to hear what you come up with. mine ran great this morn temp guage right where it should be. plenty of heat and purring like a kitten.
 
So I went to the truck today. Before starting, I took off the rad cap and some air came out somewhat forcefully so I guess there was/is air in the system. I started it up with the rad cap off and let it warm up. I don't know if any more air was released. Temp gauge stays on C and heat is just barely warm. I drove it a mile or so and the temp gauge moves up a bit and I have heat! I park it still on and the temp gauge drops below C. I can apply and keep on the throttle and watch the gauge climb to a bit above C and my heat gets pretty hot. I let off the gas and it goes back down. Haynes manual says something like "if the upper rad hose is hot but the temp gauge stays cold, the t-stat is stuck open.".

Does that sound right? If so how could that happen? Did I install it wrong? There's like only one way for it to go in the housing!
 
So I went to the truck today. Before starting, I took off the rad cap and some air came out somewhat forcefully so I guess there was/is air in the system. I started it up with the rad cap off and let it warm up. I don't know if any more air was released. Temp gauge stays on C and heat is just barely warm. I drove it a mile or so and the temp gauge moves up a bit and I have heat! I park it still on and the temp gauge drops below C. I can apply and keep on the throttle and watch the gauge climb to a bit above C and my heat gets pretty hot. I let off the gas and it goes back down. Haynes manual says something like "if the upper rad hose is hot but the temp gauge stays cold, the t-stat is stuck open.".

Does that sound right? If so how could that happen? Did I install it wrong? There's like only one way for it to go in the housing!

that exacty what mine was doing. how hot is the hose? you shouldn't be able to hold it very long with out it being uncomfortable.


I put cardboard in front of rad and drove it around until it started to go past the mid way point on the temp guage then I let it cool and topped it off.
its been running great since.
 
Sometimes you can pull the heater hose off the therm housing and "burp"the system that way,it usually always is just air trapped in the system somewheres
 
So I went to the truck today. Before starting, I took off the rad cap and some air came out somewhat forcefully so I guess there was/is air in the system. I started it up with the rad cap off and let it warm up. I don't know if any more air was released. Temp gauge stays on C and heat is just barely warm. I drove it a mile or so and the temp gauge moves up a bit and I have heat! I park it still on and the temp gauge drops below C. I can apply and keep on the throttle and watch the gauge climb to a bit above C and my heat gets pretty hot. I let off the gas and it goes back down. Haynes manual says something like "if the upper rad hose is hot but the temp gauge stays cold, the t-stat is stuck open.".

Does that sound right? If so how could that happen? Did I install it wrong? There's like only one way for it to go in the housing!

give us a report!!!! did you get it figured out yet?
 
Well, I wanted to drive it for a week or so before giving any final judgement, but heat has come back, my temp gauge is approaching what i think is normal (somewhere in the middle, but it's not quite there yet) and every time I remove the rad cap about an hour after a drive it burps! I don't remember this happening before but i never took the cap off all that often. I can't really notice any change in driving characteristics (it's still slow! lol) but I do have a dresser in my bed until i figure out what to do with it.

So I definitely think I had/have air in the system.
 
Is my fan supposed to be on all the time? I start the truck and go around front and it's on. Could this be the cause of my over cooling?

I'm having two random possibly unrelated issues. I have twice (once before and once after timing belt, water pump, t-stat replacement) noticed a small amount of coolant pooled near the core support and under the bottom of the hood on the driver's side like it splashed upward. I can find NO trace of a leak. I was going to work today on the highway and noticed a squeaking that sounded like a belt that went away after about 5 minutes. I concluded that maybe some coolant leaked from somewhere and got on the belt. Well it happened again on the way home but didn't go away. I saw no new leaked coolant and the belt seemed dry. The squeak/squeal seems to be coming from the somewhere around the serpentine belt area. It's not really noticeable at idle but increases with engine speed and gets kind of loud. Again the fan is always on as well.

I have Thursday and Friday off this week. I'm about to take it to a shop down the street, describe my weird issues and see if they can give me some info without it costing hundred$.
 
The fan will spin anytime the engine is running, assuming it has the stock clutch-type fan still in place.
However, the fan should be spinning at less RPM than the engine, until the radiator gets to a certain temp. With the engine shut off, try spinning the fan. It should spin with a little resistance. If it doesn't, then the clutch is locked up and needs replaced. If it spins real freely, the clutch may be worn out needing replacement, but this condition usually only shows up in warmer weather, causing the engine to run too hot at slow speeds.
 
Yeah it seems to spin but not too freely.

I got some squealing on the highway again about half way to work. I opened up the hood and saw new coolant splashed up under the hood and some on the battery even. Even though the belt looked clean, I feel like the coolant getting on it made it squeak. I sprayed some Armor All on the idler pulley/belt and the seemed to shut it up. I can NOT tell where the leak is spraying from. It would make sense if it were coming from the t-stat housing or water pump seal because that would explain how the coolant got on the belt, caused the squeak and got thrown toward the driver's side in the engine bay by the belt. I can't see any leaks though. It doesn't leak while sitting or while I'm standing there looking at the running engine, revving it by hand.

If I can't figure this out by Thursday I'm going to have to take it somewhere and see if they can just locate the leak. I wonder if I should tell them that I just changed the T-Stat and Water pump...
 
The water pump has a weep hole that drains onto the inside of the pulley. That could be your leak and squeek.
 

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