Topic: cooling problem on ranger

[Steve_925]

so my girlfriends ranger has had a cooling problem for a while now and at this point I'm just frustrated.

the symptoms

~ heater doesnt work
~ temp gauge doesnt lift off cold
~ outside the engine it doesnt circulate very well or at all
~ i have changed the thermostat
~ you can grab and hold any coolant line, even after a 3 hour drive(none of the lines are HOT)
~ its not overheating

my three thoughts are

~ thermostat (but i already changed)
~clogged coolant line
~ water pump (but if it was the pump then it would proble overheat)

i just dont know         

[bigarms23]

id check the water pump and flush the cooling system it might be a defective thermostat btw what motor does she have

[93tonkatoy]

All six of those symptoms are saying that the coolant is free-flowing through the water jacket, such as the thermostat being stuck open, or not there at all. I don't know the details of the ford hose connections and layout, but, IS it possible to have hoses crossed and bypass the thermostat? It doesn't take a large line to pass enough coolant around the thermostat to make the engine stay cold.

[Steve_925 [OP]]

its a 4cyl. im pretty sure its flowing ok in the engine but outside the engine it isnt. i think i might try a nother thermostat. i have never really messed with flushing a sytem(i assume you mean in reverse) any tips on how to do it

[93tonkatoy]

If the coolant were ONLY circulating in the block, it would overheat and boil over in just a few minutes. Since you say it is NOT overheating, then the coolant has to be travelling through either the radiator or at least the heater core (but you say you are getting no heat). That says to me that there is no restriction to the flow making the coolant stay IN the block long enough to heat up. I'll bet the gas mileage sucks pretty bad, too, right?

[Steve_925 [OP]]

ok there is a coolant hose that goes to a valve for the heater core. if i turn the A/C on it shuts the valve off. i know exactly how the valve works, with the valve closed the coolant inlet and out let off that valve should be the same exact temp since its not going through the heater core. the inlet is barley warm and the outlet is cold. wich leads me to belive that there is no flow. oh and i just replaced that valve.

[93tonkatoy]

With the engine cold, remove the radiator cap, start the engine, and see if the coolant is flowing through the radiator. If it is, then the thermostat is open when it is cold. If the coolant does not stay in the block until it warms up, then the engine will not get warm.

[93tonkatoy]

Have you found anything out yet?

[Steve_925 [OP]]

nope, i dont even feel like touching it. its not a overheating problem so im not to concered. one day ill try another atempt at figuring it out