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Overheating 2005 Ford Ranger 2.3L

Discussion in 'General' started by Boman Forklift, Jul 6, 2022.

  1. notbostrom

    notbostrom DaveK broke the interwebs

    Probably obvious but I assume you have looked through the grill to be sure a plastic bag or something isn't stuck to the front of the radiator?
     
  2. pickled egg

    pickled egg Tell me more

    He’s in Commiefornia. Ain’t no plastic bags allowed there. :Poke:
     
    969 and Boman Forklift like this.
  3. Boman Forklift

    Boman Forklift Well-Known Member

    It had a crack in the old plastic tank.
     
  4. Boman Forklift

    Boman Forklift Well-Known Member

    Yep all looks good.
     
  5. cav115

    cav115 Well-Known Member

    Sorry, missed the new radiator. If it came out like that, probably ok. A C02 test can fail also, but again, if you are sure you are not using coolant, not likely a gasket.

    You said it did it @ highway speeds, so not a fan issue.

    You may have to check/ replace the pump to eliminate it, as this problem isn`t showing obvious symptoms.

    But again, @ idle warm engine, there should be a temp drop if pump is working . thermal imager is best.
     
    Boman Forklift likes this.
  6. lopitt85

    lopitt85 Well-Known Member

    It's a bit of a shot in the dark but I would bet on the pump first, lower radiator hose second.
     
  7. sheepofblue

    sheepofblue Well-Known Member

    Hoses can suck closed but it is uncommon. If the hoses are spongy take them off and beat yourself with them.
     
  8. Boman Forklift

    Boman Forklift Well-Known Member

    Sorry I didn’t note this the hoses were replaced when they did the radiator.
     
  9. Boman Forklift

    Boman Forklift Well-Known Member


    When I get to work on it again, I will put it back together with water and do the thermal test you suggest.
     
    cav115 likes this.
  10. lopitt85

    lopitt85 Well-Known Member

    Then I'm definatley thinking pump/coolant flow. Either the vanes have eroded, impeller slipping, belt slipping (less likely), etc. I'd bet a new pump fixes the issue. Like others have said, it cant be airflow related because it happens at speed.
     
  11. Boman Forklift

    Boman Forklift Well-Known Member

    On another note, today I played forklift mechanic, we are short staffed. Went out to replace two sensors that read oil pressure and if it drops they kill the spark and the propane. On this Daewoo there is a pipe that goes in the block with a tee and the two sensors.

    It was leaking oil and my tech said replace them. I get there and it is leaking pretty bad so I start to remove them and you can see the switches are leaking. Then the tube snaps in the block. I’m in my Prius with a wide variety of tools to handle most things. But I didn’t bring an easy out set. So I go buy one and get that out and button everything up

    As I was doing that the owner said can you check the backup alarm it isn’t working. I wasn’t prepared for that, but borrowed some wire from him to make leads from the battery to test it. The alarm works.

    Fortunately I did bring my multimeter. Start testing and no electricity back at the backup alarm. Wish I had a test light but didn’t.

    Then I start checking fuses and following the harness. Remove the floorboard and the steering column covers to access everything. Start testing thing and haven’t found a short yet.

    Keep testing and can’t find the problem. Don’t have a wiring diagram, but in reality my guys never get them either on a problem like this.

    Test at the solenoids at tthe transmission, switch, every connection through the harness and find nothing. So I tell thee owner I will send a specialist in the next day or two to fix it.

    So I’m a little bummed I don’t find it, but honestly I haven’t been trained and just pick up stuff here and there. I had booked a 3 day electrical class for me and a couple of my mechanics prior to Covid for training mid March 2020 and the vendor cancelled it when that debacle happened.

    Anyway I clean every up and go to drive the forklift and the back up alarm is working. Must have just been a dirty connection. No wonder I couldn’t find a short.

    Lolol
     
    beac83, 5axis, lopitt85 and 2 others like this.
  12. TurboBlew

    TurboBlew Registers Abusers

    did you ask @Dave K if he would like to be a member of your short staff? :)
     
    Boman Forklift and ChemGuy like this.
  13. Boman Forklift

    Boman Forklift Well-Known Member

    So to continue. I replaced the water pump Thursday night and did a thermal test. I decided to replace the pump since I had everything apart and it was only around $50.

    The thermal test was odd, probably because of air bubbles? I did do what you tube videos suggested by reving up to 3k rpm and then idle for awhile, etc. I didn’t find any high area bleed like most cars have, so I disconnected the top overflow tube and it pumped air for awhile before water came out. It didn’t get that hot per the thermal gun. But it was finally getting hotter 130-160 on the upper hose and cooler on the lower hose.

    I was expecting to see 185-195 as that is the supposed thermostat temp but I guess it may hit that inside the engine, but the gun outside on the hose sees less?

    Drove the Ranger this morning and no overheat.

    I did notice in one of the small pans I put down to catch coolant when I pulled the thermostat, a little jelly. Not much, but it must have been caused by my guy using standard green coolant or a bad flush?

    I put in radiator flush and straight water and am still running that, as the directions said it was best to run for 4-6 hours. Plan to drain that after a few round trips to work.

    @cav115 or anyone else is there any reason to use the more expensive G05 coolant? We stock the green stuff and if it is all the same I would rather use that, because if one of my guys tops off the parts truck it won’t be an issue.

    Thanks everyone for all the help and ideas.
     
  14. sheepofblue

    sheepofblue Well-Known Member

    Use the spec'ed stuff. Consider the time and aggravation you just spent. Do the job right, once. Oh and you should not need to 'top off' a system.
     
  15. cav115

    cav115 Well-Known Member


    Green is fine.

    And yes, if there was air in system, you might need to top off.....or, the bubbles were instead head gasket.

    Did you check for temp drop at front of radiator surface?

    If you need to, I`ll get you my number and we can talk.
     
    Boman Forklift likes this.
  16. Boman Forklift

    Boman Forklift Well-Known Member

    Yes send me your number and I will try and call when convenient to you. I actually was trying to learn, so I was checking everywhere. Plastic tank on each side by the hose area. Also on the hoses, the head, the thermostat housing, overflow tube. On mine the first place it got pretty hot was the top hose coming out of the engine. but at the radiator it was still cool for quite awhile. Also when I finally checked at the thermostat housing, as i recall the large lower hose from the radiator was cool for awhile too, but the little hose....not sure the proper name was hot. I'm guessing that is the bypass hose?

    I will try to remember to grab the thermometer when I get home tonight and check it, but I suspect it is working fine now.

    I realize it shouldn't need topped off, but if a hose leaks or something else happens in a year or two, I can easily see one of the guys throwing in what we have in stock on the shelf and a few gallons stocked in every service van.

    We also stock Toyota red coolant, but I believe that is also different than the Ford stuff they suggested.
     
    Last edited: Jul 11, 2022
  17. cav115

    cav115 Well-Known Member

    Use the thermal imager on the front surface of the radiator for consistent emissivity.

    Should see a temp drop as coolant flows through.
     
    Boman Forklift likes this.
  18. Boman Forklift

    Boman Forklift Well-Known Member

    Will do, thank you.
     
    cav115 likes this.
  19. Kurlon

    Kurlon Well-Known Member

    Correct me if I'm wrong, but he's not using a FLIR, he's using a 'laser' thermometer?
     
  20. Boman Forklift

    Boman Forklift Well-Known Member

    You are 100% correct. :oops: It didn't even register with me that @cav115 was talking about something else. I just used his term "thermal imaging" thinking of the deal I had. FLIR, I actually didn't even know that acronym and had to google it. I am using the cheap ($20-40) point and shoot laser thermometer.

    At least when Ty was racing I bought the good Longacre probe type thermometer for tire temps. :)
     
    cav115 likes this.

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