94 F150 Overheating issue
03-26-2015, 11:47 PM
#1
94 F150 Overheating issue
Normally ran pretty cool, beat the hell out of her today running around like a mad men letting off steam, engine gets hot, haven't been able to get it to run at normal temp, or anything under the L in normal on the gauge since. Help!
03-26-2015, 11:49 PM
#2
Also when i got home from work i noticed some steam so i popped the hood and it seemed like it was coming from under the fan shroud/the fins of radiator and the top hose (one with thermostat) made a boiling or gurgling noise.
03-27-2015, 01:30 AM
#3
Senior Member
you have a leak somewhere. radiator hoses, heater hoses ... could be a loose clamp or a damaged hose. The boiling noise is exactly that .... your coolant level is too low .... your thermostat may need to be repiaced ..... your thermostat gasket may be leaking ..... or the radiator cap is loose or failing
..... or maybe you have a blown head gasket, Or it could be the water pump!
If that is all foreign to you, fill the coolant bottle with water and head for your mechanic. If you don't fix, you risk serious damage
..... or maybe you have a blown head gasket, Or it could be the water pump!
If that is all foreign to you, fill the coolant bottle with water and head for your mechanic. If you don't fix, you risk serious damage
03-27-2015, 08:01 AM
#4
you have a leak somewhere. radiator hoses, heater hoses ... could be a loose clamp or a damaged hose. The boiling noise is exactly that .... your coolant level is too low .... your thermostat may need to be repiaced ..... your thermostat gasket may be leaking ..... or the radiator cap is loose or failing
..... or maybe you have a blown head gasket, Or it could be the water pump!
If that is all foreign to you, fill the coolant bottle with water and head for your mechanic. If you don't fix, you risk serious damage
..... or maybe you have a blown head gasket, Or it could be the water pump!
If that is all foreign to you, fill the coolant bottle with water and head for your mechanic. If you don't fix, you risk serious damage
03-27-2015, 11:11 AM
#5
Senior Member
a hose may be cracked or have a pin hole. It may drip or spray. A hose should resist if you squeeze it, but should not be hard, nor should it be "squishey". Leaks will likely show as wet spots and may drip coolant.
Rad caps loose their ability to maintain system pressure. Rad cap leaks can be difficult to spot, but your local Advance Auto (etc.) may pressure test it for you. The gasket in the cap may be torn or cracked.
Water pump leaks are difficult to spot early, but you can usually smell the evaporating coolant... Wet spots on the ground may be a coolant drip (leak!)
Radiators can leak, from cracks, holes, seams, etc. Will smell of coolant, often big wet spots. Repair usually more difficult. May require replacement
All coolant leaks should be viewed as "serious" as they can go from small drip to a system evacuating leak. Should not be left until the next oil change or service point.
Rad caps loose their ability to maintain system pressure. Rad cap leaks can be difficult to spot, but your local Advance Auto (etc.) may pressure test it for you. The gasket in the cap may be torn or cracked.
Water pump leaks are difficult to spot early, but you can usually smell the evaporating coolant... Wet spots on the ground may be a coolant drip (leak!)
Radiators can leak, from cracks, holes, seams, etc. Will smell of coolant, often big wet spots. Repair usually more difficult. May require replacement
All coolant leaks should be viewed as "serious" as they can go from small drip to a system evacuating leak. Should not be left until the next oil change or service point.
03-27-2015, 08:10 PM
#6
Senior Member
Spray any wet spots down with some brake cleaner. Make sure the entire radiator and where the hoses connect are good and dry. Fill the system up completely, put the cap on, then start it up and let it sit there and run. Once it starts getting hot start looking for anything getting wet again. That's the easiest way to do it without a pressure tester.
03-28-2015, 08:16 AM
#7
Having just replaced the radiator in my 95 F150 4.9I, here's a few of my observations:
-Radiator was leaking on both right and left side as evidenced by small amounts of green fluid pooling on the frame directly underneath the fan shroud. I could easily smell the coolant before opening the hood. I could also hear a trickling/gurgling noise coming from the hoses after turning the engine off. The coolant overflow container was far below the "cold level line"
-Forum members recommended replacing all the hoses and thermostat along with a new radiator. I had recently put a new thermostat in it months earlier, so this time, I just bought a new upper hose and new lower hose along with new hose clamps. Spend the extra $5 or so to get the best hoses. I'd say if your hoses are more than a few years old, or appear brittle/cracked, go ahead and replace them. I paid under $40 for a new, good pair. As a side note, when I replaced the lower hose, it had a large spring inside to keep it from pinching or collapsing. The new lower hose did not have this spring, so I pulled out the spring from the old hose and slid it into the new lower hose
-Against forum member advice, I got a traditional radiator (aluminum with plastic side tanks) due to the cost difference. I think I paid around $100 for the new radiator (single core). Replaced it a few months ago and it's still bone dry. Of course, we'll see what a blistering-hot Texas summer will do to it! Also got a new radiator cap as well, only around $12 or so for a good one
-Before changing out the old radiator and hoses, I bought a bottle of coolant flush and flushed the system according to the instructions on the bottle of Prestone Flush. Only after all that did I install the new radiator and hoses. Pretty simple process, just remove the upper and lower hoses and disconnect the old radiator. Don't lose the clips that attach the fan shroud to the radiator. Replace the new radiator in reverse order. Very easy. Tip for hoses: the lower hose where it connected to the engine had melted on there and I could NOT yank or pry it off. Have a box cutter handy so you can slice all around it and then peel it off that way. That'll save you lots of tugging, yanking and cussing!
-Another hose tip: my new hoses started to drip and leak because I originally tightened the new hose clamps with a screwdriver. That's not enough torque I guess in really cinching those clamps down. Instead, use a ratchet and socket for the little hose clamp and really cinch them down well. That resolved my leaking problem. Don't over look this idea!
-After filling the new radiator with 50/50 coolant/distilled water, run the engine for a while and slowly open the radiator cap after starting the engine (so the fluid is not hot) and slowly top off the radiator with coolant. Your coolant should NOT be shooting up with the radiator cap off, if it is, there's another problem somewhere. If you're able to slowly pour coolant, start squeezing the top hose and massage it. You'll see that you're "burping" the air out of the engine. This takes some time and is kind of tedious. This alone still doesn't work. Either raise your truck up or park on a pretty good incline, turn the engine on and carefully open your radiator cap to massage that top hose and burp out more air bubbles until no more come out. Again, this will take some time but is effective.
-Keep your overflow coolant tank filled to the cold fill line. You may have to open the radiator cap over a couple of days after driving and do a little more hose massaging. You'll know you finally got it right if the cold fill line in the overflow tank never drops any more AND you no longer hear the trickling/gurgling noise in the engine after turning the engine off
-Other items of note: I had some people tell me that while replacing the radiator, you might as well spend the $40-$50 for a new water pump and replace it as well while you have the radiator out of the engine. I did not do this since I have no evidence of leaking and because I didn't have the extra $50 at the time to buy a new water pump. Just a thought for you, though.
-Check your heater hoses (the two long, side-by-side hoses) while the engine is running. They should both be really hot to the touch. If not, you may have a clogged heater core. If one hose is hot and the other is not, then it's a sign of a clogged heater core. YouTube has plenty of videos on how to flush a heater core. Check for leaks from these hoses as well
-Last item of note: this forum has tons of advice and just click on "search this forum" to help find tips and advice. Also, you can go to YouTube and see many videos of repairs being done to our year models of the F150. Watch some videos, read the forums, and you can save a bundle doing it yourself. I am not mechanically inclined at all; however, with the help of forum members and YouTube, I've been able to do many of my own repairs with limited knowledge and limited tools. Lastly, I'd go out at night and shine a bright flashlight all around my engine which helped me find leaks and drips. Might be a good idea for you to try that to see if you can find exactly what it is that's leaking and where it's coming from.
Good luck with it and let us know what you find.
-Radiator was leaking on both right and left side as evidenced by small amounts of green fluid pooling on the frame directly underneath the fan shroud. I could easily smell the coolant before opening the hood. I could also hear a trickling/gurgling noise coming from the hoses after turning the engine off. The coolant overflow container was far below the "cold level line"
-Forum members recommended replacing all the hoses and thermostat along with a new radiator. I had recently put a new thermostat in it months earlier, so this time, I just bought a new upper hose and new lower hose along with new hose clamps. Spend the extra $5 or so to get the best hoses. I'd say if your hoses are more than a few years old, or appear brittle/cracked, go ahead and replace them. I paid under $40 for a new, good pair. As a side note, when I replaced the lower hose, it had a large spring inside to keep it from pinching or collapsing. The new lower hose did not have this spring, so I pulled out the spring from the old hose and slid it into the new lower hose
-Against forum member advice, I got a traditional radiator (aluminum with plastic side tanks) due to the cost difference. I think I paid around $100 for the new radiator (single core). Replaced it a few months ago and it's still bone dry. Of course, we'll see what a blistering-hot Texas summer will do to it! Also got a new radiator cap as well, only around $12 or so for a good one
-Before changing out the old radiator and hoses, I bought a bottle of coolant flush and flushed the system according to the instructions on the bottle of Prestone Flush. Only after all that did I install the new radiator and hoses. Pretty simple process, just remove the upper and lower hoses and disconnect the old radiator. Don't lose the clips that attach the fan shroud to the radiator. Replace the new radiator in reverse order. Very easy. Tip for hoses: the lower hose where it connected to the engine had melted on there and I could NOT yank or pry it off. Have a box cutter handy so you can slice all around it and then peel it off that way. That'll save you lots of tugging, yanking and cussing!
-Another hose tip: my new hoses started to drip and leak because I originally tightened the new hose clamps with a screwdriver. That's not enough torque I guess in really cinching those clamps down. Instead, use a ratchet and socket for the little hose clamp and really cinch them down well. That resolved my leaking problem. Don't over look this idea!
-After filling the new radiator with 50/50 coolant/distilled water, run the engine for a while and slowly open the radiator cap after starting the engine (so the fluid is not hot) and slowly top off the radiator with coolant. Your coolant should NOT be shooting up with the radiator cap off, if it is, there's another problem somewhere. If you're able to slowly pour coolant, start squeezing the top hose and massage it. You'll see that you're "burping" the air out of the engine. This takes some time and is kind of tedious. This alone still doesn't work. Either raise your truck up or park on a pretty good incline, turn the engine on and carefully open your radiator cap to massage that top hose and burp out more air bubbles until no more come out. Again, this will take some time but is effective.
-Keep your overflow coolant tank filled to the cold fill line. You may have to open the radiator cap over a couple of days after driving and do a little more hose massaging. You'll know you finally got it right if the cold fill line in the overflow tank never drops any more AND you no longer hear the trickling/gurgling noise in the engine after turning the engine off
-Other items of note: I had some people tell me that while replacing the radiator, you might as well spend the $40-$50 for a new water pump and replace it as well while you have the radiator out of the engine. I did not do this since I have no evidence of leaking and because I didn't have the extra $50 at the time to buy a new water pump. Just a thought for you, though.
-Check your heater hoses (the two long, side-by-side hoses) while the engine is running. They should both be really hot to the touch. If not, you may have a clogged heater core. If one hose is hot and the other is not, then it's a sign of a clogged heater core. YouTube has plenty of videos on how to flush a heater core. Check for leaks from these hoses as well
-Last item of note: this forum has tons of advice and just click on "search this forum" to help find tips and advice. Also, you can go to YouTube and see many videos of repairs being done to our year models of the F150. Watch some videos, read the forums, and you can save a bundle doing it yourself. I am not mechanically inclined at all; however, with the help of forum members and YouTube, I've been able to do many of my own repairs with limited knowledge and limited tools. Lastly, I'd go out at night and shine a bright flashlight all around my engine which helped me find leaks and drips. Might be a good idea for you to try that to see if you can find exactly what it is that's leaking and where it's coming from.
Good luck with it and let us know what you find.