way over heated bronco II

[roughranger]

ok my rough truck is getting over heated. i have always had this problem since i have had it. i run 50/50 antifreeze so its not that. i took the thermostat out and that helped. i run an electric fan from the front of the radiator. it was running right at 200 all last season. so this year i got a radiator from a 91 explorer with the 3.0 in it. bigger radiator, so i thought it would help. now i took it for a spin tonight and it is running 230 when i got it back. it doesnt have water in the oil nor vise versus. the only thing i can think of is the head is cracked and letting compression in. i dont want to spend a lot of money on it. so i need a cheap, easy fix that will last awhile. i was thinking about some stop leak to hopefully patch it for awhile.

 

[dangerranger83]

Dont use stop leaks, they may clog up your cooling system. Ive been told that radiator hoses colaps and cause over heating, or your water pump might be bad. Or (i doubt it) your temp guage is lieing.

 

[roughranger]

the hoses are new and i have popped the hood and the hoses are not collapsed. the water pump is a possibility. i will check it thanks

 

[85_Ranger4x4]

The thermostat acts as a restriction giving the coolant some hang time in the radiator to dissapate heat. Without it, it cycles thru the radiator and back into the engine quickly and isn't given as much time as it should to pass off heat.

I have heard the earlier 2.8's with the thermostat in the lower position has a special fill process to prevent air bubbles which will mess with you too.

 

[ranger1911]

I have heard the earlier 2.8's with the thermostat in the lower position has a special fill process to prevent air bubbles which will mess with you too.

They do... However, I don't know what it is since my sticker under the hood is all worn off and I can't read it.

 

[creepinjeepster]

Did you flush the radiator you put in when you installed it, being it came from a JY and who knows how long it sat there? May just be build up restriction from the get go that was never cleared.

 

[cckc135r]

Something else you may want to look at as at one point I had some of the same troubles. The 2.8 can have a thermostat in either the lower position or where the upper radiator hose goes into the water neck on the intake manifold. When I bought mine it had two thermostats in it and one was installed backwards.

On the hose collaps issues, you would need to make sure that your rig is at operating temp. and run the engine up to a cruising RPM because normally the hoses don't collaps at idle. Also, you should check to see if the lower radiator hose has the spring installed in it whick will keep the hose from collapsing.

You could also run down to you local parts house and rent a cooling system pressure tester which would tell you if you cooling system has any leaks. Hope this helps you get your rig running right, and keep us posted.