Well this aint good...

[rusty ol ranger]

Well just went and picked it up.

Fired up, drove on trailer no problem lol.

I opened the radiator....no coolant to be found. I pulled the dipstick and it looks/smells like oil, and its roughly a quart low...so no magically increasing oil level.

The cap does have snot on it, not alot, but some, it looks like its only confined to the top of the filler neck/cap. The PCV valve is clean. I know that oil cap doesnt seal real well....and the snot is white not green. So im *hoping* its from condensation.

I have ZERO idea where the coolant went though, it did look like some runs down the fins on the fan side....but it also looked wet down around the petcock area. Failed tanks on the radiator maybe? I never seen any drips from it.

Initial testing makes me feel atleast slightly better about this.

 

[85_Ranger4x4]

Or was it just burning it off slow enough it couldn't get into the crankcase which scored the cylinders enough it developed a taste for oil as well...

 

[RobbieD]

I have ZERO idea where the coolant went though

Check the freeze plugs. Corroded-out freeze plugs are catching up to these old motors.

 

[rusty ol ranger]

Or was it just burning it off slow enough it couldn't get into the crankcase which scored the cylinders enough it developed a taste for oil as well...

Always gotta do that dont ys? Lol

 

[Snoranger]

 

[Bgunner]

Or was it just burning it off slow enough it couldn't get into the crankcase which scored the cylinders enough it developed a taste for oil as well...

Now you gone and done it, you jinxed his whole "this may not be that bad" outlook on it!!

 

[rusty ol ranger]

Now you gone and done it, you jinxed his whole "this may not be that bad" outlook on it!!

One day, i dont know when or how, i will destroy his hopes and dreams as well

 

[85_Ranger4x4]

One day, i dont know when or how, i will destroy his hopes and dreams as well

 

[don4331]

Well just went and picked it up.

Fired up, drove on trailer no problem lol.

I opened the radiator....no coolant to be found. I pulled the dipstick and it looks/smells like oil, and its roughly a quart low...so no magically increasing oil level.

The cap does have snot on it, not alot, but some, it looks like its only confined to the top of the filler neck/cap. The PCV valve is clean. I know that oil cap doesnt seal real well....and the snot is white not green. So im *hoping* its from condensation.

I have ZERO idea where the coolant went though, it did look like some runs down the fins on the fan side....but it also looked wet down around the petcock area. Failed tanks on the radiator maybe? I never seen any drips from it.

Initial testing makes me feel atleast slightly better about this.

Trying to be positive:

I put a rock through the radiator of a Dodge Omni years ago.

While most of the anti freeze drained out, as we were hiway driving, there was enough to keep the engine cool. I wasn't until we got into town that it started to overheat.

With a new rad and refill of fluids, the car ran fine. I gave it to a friend who also had an Omni for parts, but it was still running fine 2 years later.

 

[scotts90ranger]

To be on the positive side if you did get a radiator failure like it's kinda sounding like at 5 degrees out you might not have seen steam but the water pump could have been taking in air and not working right...

Back in my Geo Tracker days (it being a hooptie beater and me being young and cheap) I had insufficient coolant for the weather in it and it got down to like 9F one weekend, went for a drive and got a poof of coolant and it exploded the upper radiator hose, was about 5 miles from home and just kept starting and getting to like 30mph then shutting it off and coasting and so forth... can't guarantee what did it but the block ended up cracked (aluminum) and the head was cracked too apparently but I put another 2 years on it at that point...

 

[rusty ol ranger]

To be on the positive side if you did get a radiator failure like it's kinda sounding like at 5 degrees out you might not have seen steam but the water pump could have been taking in air and not working right...

Back in my Geo Tracker days (it being a hooptie beater and me being young and cheap) I had insufficient coolant for the weather in it and it got down to like 9F one weekend, went for a drive and got a poof of coolant and it exploded the upper radiator hose, was about 5 miles from home and just kept starting and getting to like 30mph then shutting it off and coasting and so forth... can't guarantee what did it but the block ended up cracked (aluminum) and the head was cracked too apparently but I put another 2 years on it at that point...

I guess ill top it off and put a pressure tester on it to begin with to see if that is indeed where its leaking.

Im sure there is atleast some coolant in it....i guess a head job isnt the end of the world.Still sucks if it cracked though....which means i finally got bit by the 2.9 bug

 

[Bill]

Id put a 2.3 in it before i did that

Here's one that will bolt right in:

 

[Roert42]

T stat i just replaced a couple months ago.

There your issue.

Never bought a parts store thermostat that worked.

the thermostat housing on the ‘03 exploded after 20 years and 250k miles. The new housing came with a thermostat installed.
I took it out and put the original in it.

 

[Bill]

There your issue.

Never bought a parts store thermostat that worked.

the thermostat housing on the ‘03 exploded after 20 years and 250k miles. The new housing came with a thermostat installed.
I took it out and put the original in it.

Mahle is one of the OE suppliers for many Motorcraft thermostats. I just took a look for the thermostat for the 2.9 on Rockauto and compared the pictures of the Motorcraft and Mahle thermostats. They're the same product, both made in Germany and the Mahle is a much less than the Motorcraft. Mahle also makes the thermostats for the 2.3 Duratec.

More Information for MAHLE / CLEVITE TX788D

More Information for MOTORCRAFT RT1161

 

[bobbywalter]

Ford 4.9 300 Long Block 1987 1988 1989 1990 91 92 93 94 95 96 1997 without Smog | eBay

This MABBCO® Remanufactured Long Block is for a Ford 4.9 300 motor, model years 1987-1997. This long block is intended for fuel injected applications anddoes not have smog holes in the cylinder head (i.e. emission holes).

www.ebay.com