[Wrobdog]

Well it's a 93 Aerostar van 3.0L, for the past month the van has been drinking antifreeze. No leaks the oil looks good so i added some bars leak my mistake that was about 10 days ago, friday the van over heated. So this past weekend i replaced the waterpump, belts, fan clutch and the thermostat and i still have the problem and on top of that no heat. The heater core was replaced 7 months ago.

Monday i back flushed the system and had some problems the drain plug was not draining it was clogged with all the bars leak ****. But after some work i was able to clear the drain plug and flush the system the right way, thinking that the flush would fix the problem i drove the van to work this morning and it over heated again FXCK!!!! . Any ideas, replace the radiator. I'm ready to kick the van to the curb...

 

[Guest]

If the van is drinking antifreeze with no leaks, then I would think you have the dreaded 3.0 cracked heads. Do you have a antifreeze smell coming out the exhaust? It is kind of a sweet smell. Do you have any white smoke coming out the exhaust? I would have a pressure test done on the cooling system, that will tell you if you have a cracked head or not. How many miles on the van?

 

[Wrobdog]

No white smoke and i will smell the exhaust after work today as for the miles 149,345. Is it possible that the radiator is still clogged with bars leak (Pellet Bars Leak) even after the back flush.

 

[Guest]

I don't think it would clog it. I have a 94 4.0 E-4WD and had a small radiator leak and used the pellets and had no problem. Is your temp guage coming up to where it needs to be? The reason I ask is it takes normal temp 195 degrees to melt the pellets. I still think if you are losing coolant and overheating then it is a cracked head. The good news would be you got your moneys worth out of that engine with that many miles on it. I think the heads are about 300.00 a piece.

 

[Wrobdog]

Thanks for the info 94 E-4WD guess it's time for a new car.

 

[Wrobdog]

94 E-4WD i replaced the radiator no more problems. Thanks again for the info...

 

[Guest]

Glad to hear thats all it was!!!

 

[Marqman]

Great to see it was just the Radiator.

 

[Wrobdog]

Well after all the work on the van we traded it in for a
2001 Focus ZTS. I felt it was time to say goodbye to the green machine, my wife drives it around with my boys and she needs something more reliable. It's only right i've got a new well sorta new 1999 Ranger XLT SC 4X4.

Thanks again
This is one of the best Forums i've seen

 

[Guest]

Great to see it was just the Radiator.

Don't look at me! I have a 95 Windstar GL (EEM) that's sitting
in the driveway with a bad tranny. Give you 1 guess what
Ford said when I called them out on it? (My extended warranty
company, EasyCare, is owned by Ford).

I get an occasional whiff of anti-freeze when I'm working under
the hood, and I don't have any noticeable leaks either! My
wife wants to fix it, I want to turn it into a Pop Art coffee
table!

Christopher