Occasional Overheating-5.8L EFI 1990 E150 Van

Aug 06, 2009 5 Replies

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tom 16 years ago

In the last few months I've had overheating problems that come and go. The thermostat and all hoses were replaced and the system flushed back in February, to cure a lack of cab heat problem, the serpentine belt looks & feels good, and the fan clutch has normal drag when hot.

But it will occasionally get quite hot, more than 3/4 up on the gauge, then the next morning it will be fine, only needing a little fluid. The fluid loss happens when it gets hot and then I park it. A few minutes later the radiator cap begins venting in pulses.

Is it possible for one of the sensors to be causing this, or only the obvious things like clogged radiator, defective thermostat, eroded water pump, leaking head gasket, etc.?

Any help greatly appreciated.

Tom

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Jeff Strickland 16 years ago

You are describing what _could_ be a blown head gasket or cracked head.

Of course, the t-stat can be sticking closed. You could have a problem with coolant flow too, this can be cured by a thorough flushing. Since you _said_ these items were serviced already, this brings the head gasket/cracked head back to the top of the list again.

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tomcas 16 years ago

It's not likely a sensor and don't rule out a bad radiator cap.

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PeterD 16 years ago

Did this happen before you changed the thermostat? It is not that uncommon for a new thermostat to be defective. You may want to consider replacing it again, just to be sure.

I don't think this is a head/gasket issue, but that's IMHO.

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Kevin 16 years ago

PeterD wrote in news: snipped-for-privacy@4ax.com:

I would be checking the rad out. just because it was flushed it doesn`t mean it is not partly blocked. conditions when it does it are important. as in AC on, hotter day, sitting it traffic. also make sure the rad fan is actually turning on. KB

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Oren 16 years ago

Good answers.

What about a bad fan clutch? Fan clutch slips and causes less cooling across the radiator?

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