Hey there, new guy here, new to working on stuff myself..

Bought a 98 ranger 2.5 auto. Drove it home, 40 miles or so.. temp gauge didn't work, motor didn't feel excessively hot, took it easy and drove it.

Changed thermostat, noticed a crack in radiator, changed that too, changed water pump while I was at it..

So, brand new thermostat, water pump, and radiator.. flushed heater core because heat won't blow hot..

Gauge shows overheating after about 5 minutes high idle...

Trying to figure out what to do next..


Thanks for any help!!

Hi,

I've had to deal with cooling problems not too long ago.


When you say the gauge didn't work, I assume you really mean the thermostat was stuck open so the gauge never got up to temp and was fluctuating a bit. That's different than the gauge itself not working.

Maybe the new thermostat isn't opening as it should (did you get Motorcraft or an aftermarket one? Is your thermostat electric?), or one of your fans isn't working optimally: The fan clutch of your belt-fan might need replacing or the auxiliary fan might not be coming on like it's supposed to.

Do you have the AC turned on when the overheating happens?

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Didn't have ac on... only 1 fan, no auxiliary fan... auto zone thermostat with the 2 prongs to clip it in to place..

Just pulled it back apart because someone suggested I had thermostat in backwards but it can only go 1 way..

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I'm gonna try to get to store to get a new fan clutch tomorrow and try that.. I gotta put it back together and drive it to get to store..its my only transportation.. napa is about 5 minutes away.. I think I can get there without overheating.. or I'll stop and let it cool down..

if the temperature gauge was not working when you got it and it is now, It was likely very low on coolant.

If your heater is not working you may still have air trapped in the cooling system.

make sure to purge the air properly.

while your at Napa I would suggest getting a cooling system pressure test kit, as a loaner ( you get your money back when you return the kit )

Pressure test the cooling system while the engine is cold and purged of air. it should hold pressure. if it does not inspect for leaks.

since it was and is overheating it may be a good idea to perform a compression test to check for a blown head gasket or a cracked head.

you can also get a loaner compression test kit as well from Napa.

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2002 Ford Ranger 2 Dr Standard cab 2.3 5 SPD 7.5 373 gears

Marshman, before you start throwing parts & money in a guessing game, try to check and see if your fan clutch seems ok or not. With the truck cold & turned off, spin the fan and let go: it should come to a quick stop. If it keeps spinning after you let go, then the fan clutch needs replaced.

When you say "overheat," is the needle just creeping up slightly....or is it going up all the way into the red?

Regarding the thermostat you bought, many people believe that if you buy an aftermarket thermostat that you'll be sorry - it's recommended to get Motorcraft.

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The reason to avoid aftermarket, except "known" brands, is that they are of low quality. With a Stant, Motorcraft, Robertshaw, etc, you can look and see the quality of material used, and have a bit more confidence it will work as advertised.
Check the heating of the engine. From a cold start, the upper radiator hose should stay pretty much cold and then BAM should start to get hot. If the thermostat is working it will keep the coolant pretty much static in the cooling jacket surrounding the cylinders.
The sender for the temperature gauge is on the side of the block, above and to the right of the oil filter. It has one wire. It can go kerfluey, and report HOT when the engine is barely warm. The Lima doesn't need a lot of radiator to survive, and won't really put out a lot of heat as some others will. If you ground the sensor wire, key ON, the gauge should peg, right now. If someone put in a sensor for the temp light, instead of gauge, it would peg once warmed up a bit, rather than move partially. Might have the wrong sending unit. It has pipe threads, and you have to drain the system to avoid a big mess if you replace it. Teflon tape or pipe dope on the threads before assembly, and don't tighten too tight...
You may have to 'burp' the heater core hoses to get heat. Air can get trapped in the core & hoses. You can loosen the heater core hose that feeds the heater(from the water pump, I think), then warm the engine up, remove that hose slightly until you get coolant coming out, and replace it on the tube, tighten clamp. You can force the air to the high spot by depressing sections so the bubble will move. Walk that bubble up to the highest spot you can.
tom

I'm reading and taking all of this in.. thanks.. not sure how to respond yet..

I chose not to try and drive it.. didn't want to put it back together just to pull it apart again..

I'm throwing parts at it I guess..

Walked 3.4 miles to napa this morning..waiting on a new fan clutch to be delivered, and I got new sensor and sender... (the 2 that are on thermostat housing). I had no clue there's another cooling sensor on block near oil filter..

So status at the moment, waiting on fan clutch..

I'll get fan clutch put on this afternoon and thermostat back in(in fact, I'm gonna go on and buy the motor craft while I'm at napa)

That will get me at: new fan clutch, new thermostat, sensor, sender(on thermostat housing), already have new radiator and water pump in...

And I got 2 more jugs of coolant to replace what I've lost pulling thermostat last night..

After reading and searching a lot, im kinda thinking I may have just had air trapped.. but I'm ok with having all new parts.. im doing homework at the moment to figure out how to be sure I purge air fully and correctly...

Sorry if I sound dumb..I work construction in plants(PipeFitter). I've never worked on cars before other than brakes or alternator, so I'm learning as I go..

Thanks so far...

Ok... fooled with it all afternoon..

Took a while but it did go hot...

Heat does blow hot now..

Gauge stayed normal temp for quite a while and then just crept on up to the hot zone..(not red, but way up close to hot)

I drove it around the block just to see if air movement would help, got more hot quicker.. got back to house and there's a hiss and a touch of steam blowing lightly under intake manifold. I'm guessing that's the pcv blew..looked like it was coming from a tubing/hose tho.. PCV looks to be down lower..

I don't know what else to do..

Brand new, radiator, water pump, thermostat, fan clutch, sender and sensor(I don't know which is which.. it's 2 fittings with electrical plugs on thermostat housing... I changed both)

Gonna just send it to a mechanic... I'm in over my head..

Might just junk the whole damn thing.. I know I have an oil leak, valve cover gasket I believe but I wanted to get the cooling taken care of so I can at least drive it until I'm ready to the valve cover gasket.. it's my only transportation..

I'm no expert but here's my take:

The coolant system is supposed to be a completely closed system, so if you are hearing hissing and seeing steam, then you have likely sprung a leak somewhere due to the pressure & heat, and you need to locate the vulnerability and fix it: tighten a hose clamp or replace a part. Rent a pressure test kit at Advance and get under the vehicle with a flashlight and maybe a mirror and identify where the coolant leak is coming from. Had your coolant levels dropped when this overheating w/ steam & hissing happened yesterday? Your truck may have been pissing coolant at the leak source and it's landing on a hot part of the engine and burning off into steam.

I assume you burped the system after you refilled with coolant. If it wasn't burped then you might not have had enough coolant in your system. Find the correct coolant capacity for your truck, and if you're filling it up way below that capacity, then you know you're not getting enough coolant into your system so not able to cool sufficiently; proper burping is the key to being able to add the full capacity of coolant.


If you have the right capacity of coolant and are not losing any coolant - if your coolant level seems stable and your fan is working as normal but is still overheating - then your radiator is not cooling the liquid sufficiently or your thermostat is not opening right or there's a blockage in the system prohibiting flow. Some of us have found those electric thermostats make it too hot in there and have gotten rid of them in favor of a regular mechanical thermostat (the connector plug will hang loose in that case and cause the CEL to come on until you wire in a resistor).

As someone who 6 months ago started working on fixing my vehicle myself, I'll say that it seems like you jumped in and are doing a huge number of repairs. You said you are new to working on your vehicle. If that's true then you should be watching Youtube videos and reading "how to's" about each individual replacement project instead of just jumping in and doing lots of replacements at a time. Who knows if in rushing through all of these repairs, you've actually done them correctly? Slow down, and use logic and problem-solving skills to hone in on the actual, specific source/s of the problem instead of just quickly rushing to replace every possible thing.


(But you should replace your radiator/overflow caps while you're at it, they lose the ability to hold pressure with time & wear.)

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I've been away a few days, my bad. Been busy with other stuff and truck on back burner..

Radiator and cap are brand new..

Newest leak is under intake manifold.. can't really tell if it's the manifold itself or not without taking it off... the whole motor is coming out this weekend.. got a buddy coming to help me and a new low mileage motor on the way..

All my cooling system parts are brand new so I'm just saving them for new motor.. new motor is coming with new intake..

I have a shopping list of stuff to get to change while swapping..

I will do oil pan gasket, intake/exhaust gaskets, valve cover gasket, timing belt, spark plugs/wires, oil/filter, reat main seal...

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Mike Breaux
'98 Ranger XLT 2.5L
Slidell, LA