Odd WP replacement aftermath.

[simple_gifts]

Maybe a month and 1/2 ago, my B2300 (23NS duratec) threw a hot light driving out of town, rolled to a stop by the side of the road and called AAA

The cooling system has no radiator cap, but a coolant bottle that I believe cycles coolant continuously thru the system (NOT an overflow tank) The coolant showed right on the low line

A visual inspection seemed to reveal the WP blew a seal on just 15 seconds before the engine was shut down and very little coolant was lost and engine didn't run with the hot light for more than 10 seconds

Got the WP and thermostat changed, and all new coolant which was way overdue (had 2 gallons @ home already to do myself)

Drive around a week or so and it the coolant appeared to be 2 qts low; topped that off and assumed it was air in the system. Several inspections after and the coolant level was stable.

Today was driving early in the morning and turned the heat on and there was no heat; i figured a vacuum line was loose so i checked under the hood and the coolant bottle was basically empty. Filled with almost a gallon and the heat started working (no "hot light" appeared) Drove around some more and filled almost another gallon.

Is it possible the heating core and system was completely empty and required almost 2 gallons of coolant to refill? and why didn't the hot light go on when the system was so low (obvious answer it was not overheating) Any comments for my understanding this better is appreciated.

 

[Warstud]

My guess is when it overheated it blew a headgasket and is now burning coolant. Check the oil for coolant and check the oil level . A high oil level may indicate coolant mixing with oil. You may also want to test it.

 

[MParr]

Do you see evidence of other leaks? Any leaks anywhere? Heater hoses? Upper or Lower radiator hoses? Head gasket? Do you see bubbles in the coolant reservoir when the engine is running?

 

[PontiacHO]

Can the system be pressure tested? if so pull the spark plugs, pump up the pressure and have someone spin the engine over. You’ll see coolant/steam/mist blow out of the cylinder where the head gasket or head is bad. No milky pudding on the oil filler cap I assume? If heater core is leaking you’ll have a fogged front windshield.

 

[Boomer]

Head gasket.

 

[eljefino]

Time to put an OBD scan gauge on it (since it sounds like you don't have a normal one) and see how stable the temps are. If you have air in the system it can air-lock the thermostat so the truck will way overshoot the open temp before it finally goes.

The "fix" is to drill a little hole in the top of the thermostat flange, to burp the gasses through, so it works normally. Then you can further diagnose.

If the gases are just air, you'll just warm up a little slower. These trucks have a picky OBD code for slow warmup, IIRC, so keep the hole small.

But if the gases are exhaust, you'll be letting them out as fast as they come in, which will cause less damage.

 

[Nukeman7]

I would start looking at the plastic fittings in the coolant heater core feed hoses. See reply #3 in the linked post concerning the fragility of the plastic heater control valve and the plastic tee coupling above the starter motor. On my 2003 Ranger with the Duratec 23NS, I had to replace both parts three times over a 10 year period due to embrittlement cracking. I finally sourced an older application all-metal Ford heater control valve and fabricated a brass tee coupling with plumbing parts to eliminate the thermoplastic failure.

2.3 Duratec Coolant Leaks

 

[goofy]

I finally sourced an older application all-metal Ford heater control valve

Do you remember the make, model and year that used the metal control valve?

 

[goofy]

fabricated a brass tee coupling with plumbing parts to eliminate the thermoplastic failure

I sourced a steel tee from a Mini Turbo to replace this piece of plastic.

 

[goofy]

What turned out to be the issue with your truck?

 

[Nukeman7]

Do you remember the make, model and year that used the metal control valve?

No...it was a long discontinued NOS Ford part that a private seller listed on eBay. It looked similar except 3 of the pipes exited from the same side instead of 2 in each direction. I have not seen one since that listing back around 2015.

 

[Nukeman7]

What turned out to be the issue with your truck?

It was the poor quality thermoplastic breaking down due to heat because the valve was directly above the exhaust manifold. The Ford Motorcraft part would last ~4 years, while the aftermarket part from Advance Auto would fail in a year. I sold the truck to a friend in 2019 and the metal control valve and brass tee are still leak free today.

 

[meep]

Some vehicles have a coolant shutoff valve to the heater core. If yours has this, turning on the heat today allowed coolant to fill the heater core, which was previously filled with air. The air went up to the bottle and threw the low coolant light. ???

 

[GMBoy]

No coolant is why the hot light didn't come on - the sensor had no coolant on it to get a temp reading but the car was actually hot.

 

[zzyzzx]

No...it was a long discontinued NOS Ford part that a private seller listed on eBay. It looked similar except 3 of the pipes exited from the same side instead of 2 in each direction. I have not seen one since that listing back around 2015.

Search for one in a junkyard?