purging air from cooling system question

[Aaron Hammingh]

A few days ago I noticed my engine was overheating, I let it idle for about 15 minutes or so and ended up having to shut down and let it cool before I was able to go anywhere. I purchased a no spill funnel and went to purge any air that could be in the system as per the etcg video. Followed step by step up to the part where the fan stops its cycle. My fan never stopped even after letting it run for a good 20-30 minutes, and because of it my coolant never bubbled out any air. I’m not sure if it’s because there was no air, or if the coolant didn’t get hot enough but I still experience an overheat after about 30 miles or so of driving. Could there be a problem with my fan clutch, or maybe a coolant temp sender?

I’m getting ready to do a complete flush very soon anyway and am gonna replace the t-stat, ect sender, temp sender and water pump, maybe if my overheat is not related to any of these things i’m replacing I can add it to the list. Thanks in advance.

Topic

[jim]

what car are we looking at?

first off if your car is overheating and its not low on coolant you should check the thermostat if its not opening then coolant cant flow through your engine and cool you said your fan it on so that’s good ( also if your thermostat didn’t open the air wont purge) also what makes you so sure that you have air in the system did you run low on coolant or open the system at all?

[Aaron Hammingh]

I wasn’t sure if there was, I was trying it out before checking anything else. And yes I did run low on coolant a couple months back, haven’t figured out where it’s going to though. I haven’t seen any leaks ever. And like I said earlier, I’m gonna be doing a flush really soon and the thermostat is one of the things I’m gonna be replacing anyways, and as long as I don’t take trips longer than 30 minutes or so I’ll be fine.

BTW, vehicle is a 94 Ford Ranger 2.3 engine, if I remember right it’s in my signature.

[college man]

It could be air or T-stat getting stuck.here is a link to help.

http://www.ericthecarguy.com/faq/what-to-do-when-your-engine-overheats

[jim]

at your local auto parts store they should have a pressure tester that you can rent and if you have a leak then that will help you find it just look for the obvious dripping or spraying also whats your oil look like when you change it if its like the color of a milkshake then you have a different (and much worse) problem entirely

[Aaron Hammingh]

Oil looks normal when I change it, I’m gonna be doing a coolant flush this weekend which includes changing the t-stat among other things. I’ll give an update on my overheat issue.

[EricTheCarGuy]

Yea, please post an update after you replace the t-stat and purge the air from the system. It is more difficult when you have a fan like that. I usually purge it for about 5-10min and then check the heat. If I have good heat, I consider the system purged.

[Author]

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