Ford - Explorer :: 2003 - Keeps Overheating A Lot
Nov 29, 2011
My family has a 2003 Ford Explorer that overheats a lot. We have taken it to 16-17 garages and they cannot find out what's wrong with it. It overheats when its hot outside, or when we are going up hills. The temperature gauge does not gradually go from C to H It goes straight to H. Then we have to pull over and wait for it cool down, when it finally goes back to C we start to drive again. One time this happened 11 times in 1 day! We put an average of 45,000 miles on this car every year. We need a solution to this problem.
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I have a 2003 sport trac that is leaking water like a hose but don't know if its a hose or water pump. How can you tell?? I have the water pump housing to change but when I fill the radiator and look under truck I see the water dripping out by the back side of the engine. Since I don't know where the water pump would be I don't know how to fix. I don't get taken to the cleaners when I get it fixed.
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my 2001 Ford Explorer has started overheating but there is no steam or water running out and when I turn the heater on I get slightly warm water what can I do? the temp gauge will go to hot and after a while will drop down then go back up to hot what kind of damage am I doing to my car?
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My 2010 Ford Explorer experienced a radiator leak between the radiator and the plastic tank on the top, so I replaced that, we were still not experiencing any heat while driving it. I watched a couple of videos on how to "burp" the system, to no avail.
Next I replaced the thermostat, and "burped" it again, still no heat, so I drained and flushed the system yet again and still no heat. What else is there to check? I have the Haynes manual and did the flush and fill the way the book said and still have no heat I am about to lose my mind.
The blend doors sound like they are opening. They are not clicking like they are broken.
The heater is on full the entire time, I have not rotated the dial since I started this.
I unplugged one of the hoses on the heater core and blew into it, the hose was bone dry and I blew into the end of the hose and fluid came out of the cabin side metal tube. I also plugged a water hose into the tube and ran water through it to make sure it wasn't clogged, it is not. Front and rear heater cores.
Here is everything thing I have done from the start:
- Replaced Radiator.
- Replaced Thermostat.
- Drain and flush and re-service.
- Checked for leaks out of the water pump weep hole (none) and operation of pump, the upper hose gets hot and I feel water go through it when the thermostat opens.
- Check the radiator cap for pressure, it opens at 20psi and hold between 17-19psi. Replaced radiator cap anyway.
- Removed supply hose and ran coolant to purge trapped air.
- Ran water through the supply and return hoses on the heater core. On the front and rear.Check operation of heater control valve, works.
- Turned vehicle on while watching the exhaust pipe, a small amount of water on initial start up in the morning but no smoke.
Problems still occurring:
-Drive vehicle it over heats but returns to normal at idle I also get the coolant light that extinguishes when the car returns to idle. Even though it says its overheating the car has not pushed coolant into the expansion tank.
- The car will not take any more coolant, and only overheats after the fan comes on. And still no heat.
Should add, 4.0L engine, no oil in water after flush and the engine oil looks like engine oil not milky. Next step was a water pump???
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I had to replace the temp gauge in my 1996 Explorer. I also replaced the sending unit. Now, it is overheating, badly. I replaced the thermostat, twice. Filled the coolant and removed the air in the system. It seems to get good water flow, and there are no coolant leaks. The radiator looks clean, and the cap looks ok. But, as soon as the engine warms up, it goes right past the midline on the gauge all the way to hot - at idle. It gets worse if I drive it. I have grounded the gauge and it seems to be working fine. What could the problem be?
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Problems overheating. Have replaced thermostat and the housing for it...fan clutch and water pump. Its still overheating especially going uphill when RPM's are higher. How can I check to see if there is a radiator blockage?
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My Explorer has been overheating for the last couple of days. It red-lines unless I turn on the heater, and then it still runs pretty hot. From all I can tell, there is plenty of coolant in it, and the fan is running.
The air conditioner went out about the same time (it goes in and out), but that may just need to be recharged.
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2.5 months ago I had a coolant flush in my 2007 explorer Eddie Bauer. The last 3 days last week the temp gauge went from the middle where it usually sits, to maxed out in the red. Stays there for about 45 secs and then drops back down.
Is it coincidence that I had a flush and maybe they didn't fill it all the way back up or is it somthing else ?
One other thing- even when it sits in the middle of the gauge I can sometimes hear the engine sucking in air like a vacuum so I guess at certain times its running hot but just doesn't raise the gauge just yet.
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'01 F150 XLT 5.4L EFI 207,000 miles
I've had this truck since '03 @ 45,000 mi and have loved it ever since. It hasn't failed me yet, until now. Living in TX with no A/C is the pits,
He first replaced the large hose assembly (with a non Motorcraft part) due to a pinhole then recharged the system. It cooled great until the pressure pop off valve (or whatever it's called) blew all the freon out.
His first suspicion was the fan clutch, which was replaced with a motorcraft fan clutch. Next he used his a/c machine to evacuate/flush/recharge the system - problem persisted. Lastly, he cleaned the radiator and condenser fins and recharged again. The system still overheated and lost the freon.
While the freon is in the system it cools like never before but after driving it, parking for a while, then re-starting it overheats within minutes.
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I have an 1997 F150/4.2 V6/220,000 miles/4x2. During hot weather (over 90F) the engine slowly overheats. While driving on the interstate (from Indy to Fort Wayne), the coolant temperature shows normal on the gauge. Slowly the temperature gauge creeps up to close to the red area. I am running the A/C.
When I switch the heater on and the heater fan at max, the temperature gauge drops pretty quickly to a normal range. I switch off the heater and the A/C back on, then it takes 30 minutes for the temperature gauge to start rising again.
When I open the hood when the gauge shows close to the red area, the upper coolant hose has a lot of pressure (can not squeeze it), which would mean that the thermostat is open and the water pump is working. Also the fan is running fast.
The coolant was changed out a few weeks ago and the coolant level is at normal level when the engine is cold. At lower ambient temperatures, there is no overheating. I am puzzled what the problem can be. I am thinking of a restricted coolant flow.
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I have a 2003 F150 4.6l triton v8.... I started over heating yesterday. Got home, let it cool down and found Oil in Coolant. No coolant in oil or transmission fluid. What could be wrong?
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1999 F150, 6 cyl. 4.2L, 233,000 miles. My temp gauge went way high on the interstate so I assumed I had a bad thermostat. replaced it with a genuine Ford themostat, added coolant and here's where I'm at.
1. Let it idle up to operating temp. When it was warm, the heater was blowing cold air.
2. Thermostat opened up, top radiator hose was hot and full of coolant, still no heat in cab.
3. Took it for a ride on the hwy. Heat started to work in cab, temp gauge went way up. I slowed down and went home down a side road. Temp gauge went back to normal and stayed there. Only driving about 30 mph.
I don't get why I'm overheating at 60mph. My best guess is I have some sort of obstruction in the cooling system.
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I have a 2003 F150 4.6 Triton V8.... My truck started over heating again after replacing the Thermostat and Water Pump later this summer.... Well I checked Coolant and I have Oil in the Coolant. I see Nothing wrong with the Tranny Fluid and see nothing wrong with the Oil.... What could be the problem??????
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Truck runs cool when driving around town about 177. Get on the highway and the temp goes to about 195, go up a mountain pass she climbs to about 210 and I feel that If I dont back off the gas the truck will overheat because the temp just keeps climbing. Go down the highway again on a flat stretch of highway and it drops to 195, get into town temp drops to 177 and even lower when i just let the truck idle.
Truck has a brand new 195 thermostat, fan clutch is only a month old, water pump is about 2 years old, this truck has had head gasket issues in the past but every year I put in the bars stuff and have not had a problem with it since, I started doing the bars stuff about 4 years ago. This is the stuff you flush the system first with not the pour in stuff. 1997 f150 4.6l
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2003 F-150 Supercrew w/4.6 V-8, 2-wheel drive, 219,000 miles and very well maintained. I'm getting an intermittent overheat condition that I can't figure out. Coolant level is good and I just replaced the thermostat. My OBDII app showed it running at a constant 207 degrees (195 thermostat) after the thermostat. Appears to have good pressure at the cap. It ran great for 30 minutes at idle and then did fine for a five mile test drive.
The next day in the morning it overheated within 3 miles of the house (heat was on) and you could smell it. Pulled over and let it sit for 20 minutes and started back up and it stayed constant at 207 all the way to work (11 miles). It sat at work for about 7 hours and ran great all the way home (without heat, with heat, with air cond). Then this morning it did it again, overheating about 3 miles from home. This time I pulled over and shut it off for about three minutes. Turned the key on without starting and the temp was already dropping again. So I started it up and it continued to drop down so I drove to work with no more issues. This afternoon again went home and it never overheated.
I'm expecting it to overheat again in the morning. I'm gonna go live on the OBDII for temps during the drive tomorrow.
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I own a 2000 F150 4.2L (I think off the top of my head) v6 XL model. For the past couple of years I've had an issue with overheating. So far I've had the following replaced:
Radiator
Thermostat
Radiator Cap
Water Pump
The intake manifold has been repaired, that was the first item to have some work done to it. The shop I took it to said the coolant hose that runs into the manifold was corroded at the entrance to the manifold. They stated there was no way to actually replace the hose, but they gave me two options:
1. replace the entire manifold or
2. cap the existing entrance port, drill a hole into the manifold next to the port, and run a new hose.
I chose the cheaper option which I suspect is part of the problem. Now to the problem.
I can drive around town all day long no problems even in 100+ degree Oklahoma summer heat. I left it idling on the side of a street for 2 hours during summer and no problems. The moment I get the truck to 55mph it starts to overheat. Not just overheat, but peg completely out in just over a mile after hitting 55mph.
Once I drop the truck down to about 40mph the temp starts to lower, but will fluctuate between normal and 3/4 to max.
What I need to look at? I've been told head gaskets, but there's no leaks and no water in the oil. I've been told to replace the engine, which if I could afford that I could afford a down payment on a new truck. It's a bit frustrating at best.
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I have an 1997 F150/4.2 V6/220,000 miles/4x2. During hot weather (over 90F) the engine slowly overheats. While driving on the interstate (from Indy to Fort Wayne), the coolant temperature shows normal on the gauge. Slowly the temperature gage creeps up to close to the red area. I am running the A/C.
When I switch the heater on and the heater fan at max, the temperature gauge drops pretty quickly to a normal range. I switch off the heater and the A/C back on, then it takes 30 minutes for the temperature gauge to start rising again.
When I open the hood when the gage shows close to the red area, the upper coolant hose has a lot of pressure (cannot squeeze it), which would mean that the thermostat is open and the waterpump is working. Also the fan is running fast. The coolant was changed out a few weeks ago and the coolant level is at normal level when the engine is cold. At lower ambient temperatures, there is no overheating. I am puzzled what the problem can be. I am thinking of a restricted coolant flow. Looking for solutions to my problem.
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We had my son's water pump replaced in his 97 F150. It is now occasionally jumping to completely hot. If you turn it off and back on it returns to normal. The power to the engine is cut when it shows to be overheating. The check engine light has now come on.
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I've got a 2001 F150 and lately, since the weather has warmed up, I've had a problem. After a few minutes on the road, the engine seems to be lacking power and is running hard. It also seems to shake a bit too. It's not overheating and the gauges don't show signs of high temp. My drive to work is 40 minutes and by the last 10 or 15 minutes it seems to be OK. ... A month or so ago when the weather was cold, I had problems keeping coolant due to leaks but that problem seems to have diminished. I don't know if any of that is connected to the original problem or not.
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2003 F150, 5.4 FX4, overdrive light flashes. Took to a shop they said overheating issue, but I don't understand if it is a overheating issue why does I flash at 4 in the morning when I leave for work fter sitting all night and why does it stop when I do over 70 on the highway.
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98 5.4L v8 and the obo stopped @359999 after i bought it and put a new engine in her, but my truck is blowing white smoke out of the vents. i have been told could be the heater core, radiator line ... not sure.can anyone help me with this?
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