nerdwrench87
Active Member
Hi, I'm Nick. I've been lurking here a little while, and great info! I'm also on f150online and yotatech forums, even though I don't have a yota anymore.
I need a little bit of advice on my " new to me" 2001 expedition XLT.
My dad was going to sell it because pep boys diagnosed a bad head gasket and or cracked block, but would NOT explain to him how they came to that conclusion, or how the block test works, nothing, except they wanted 2700 to tear it apart. So long story short I told him I'd buy it, and he handed me over the title and said happy birthday.
I immediately put a battery in it, as it had been sitting for about a year, hadn't started in about 4 months because the fuel pump died, and went to work on dropping the tank in the street. What fun...
Drove it to work for about a week and a half, no signs of overheating or a bad head gasket ( though I had to reseat a coil pack on cylinder 4 because they didn't put it on properly). Changed oil blah. Turns out pep boys didn't do a coolant flush, or at least properly, because the fluid is extremely watered down and kind of rusty, which they told my dad to get it flushed every 3 months to clear it out.
Fast forward to 5 days ago. Got in, and not even 10 minutes later, on the freeway, the engine starts chugging. So of course I look down again, and the temp is sky high and the overheat light is on. Turned on heater and pulled over and shut down.
Got out and popped the hood, there's a little bit of coolant leaking from the cap, but it wasn't hot enough to be overheating. (I took the cap off without the eruption and hot shower)
Upper radiator hose was hot, the lower one was cool. The temperature gauge read normal a couple of minutes later. I'm guessing thermostat. Also, the heater gets warm, blows hot for a few, then cools off. I'm guessing that's a clogged heater core, which I think could have clogged the thermostat.
I did do a block test at work, it turned from dark blue to a slightly lighter blue. No yellow or green. (Napa stuff)
Does this sound like a head gasket (as my boss says a bad head gasket can mimic a thermostat) or does it sound like I need to flush the heck out of the cooling system and replace the thermostat?
Thanks to all for your input !!
I need a little bit of advice on my " new to me" 2001 expedition XLT.
My dad was going to sell it because pep boys diagnosed a bad head gasket and or cracked block, but would NOT explain to him how they came to that conclusion, or how the block test works, nothing, except they wanted 2700 to tear it apart. So long story short I told him I'd buy it, and he handed me over the title and said happy birthday.
I immediately put a battery in it, as it had been sitting for about a year, hadn't started in about 4 months because the fuel pump died, and went to work on dropping the tank in the street. What fun...
Drove it to work for about a week and a half, no signs of overheating or a bad head gasket ( though I had to reseat a coil pack on cylinder 4 because they didn't put it on properly). Changed oil blah. Turns out pep boys didn't do a coolant flush, or at least properly, because the fluid is extremely watered down and kind of rusty, which they told my dad to get it flushed every 3 months to clear it out.
Fast forward to 5 days ago. Got in, and not even 10 minutes later, on the freeway, the engine starts chugging. So of course I look down again, and the temp is sky high and the overheat light is on. Turned on heater and pulled over and shut down.
Got out and popped the hood, there's a little bit of coolant leaking from the cap, but it wasn't hot enough to be overheating. (I took the cap off without the eruption and hot shower)
Upper radiator hose was hot, the lower one was cool. The temperature gauge read normal a couple of minutes later. I'm guessing thermostat. Also, the heater gets warm, blows hot for a few, then cools off. I'm guessing that's a clogged heater core, which I think could have clogged the thermostat.
I did do a block test at work, it turned from dark blue to a slightly lighter blue. No yellow or green. (Napa stuff)
Does this sound like a head gasket (as my boss says a bad head gasket can mimic a thermostat) or does it sound like I need to flush the heck out of the cooling system and replace the thermostat?
Thanks to all for your input !!
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