Auto Air Conditioning & Heater Repair: Miracle Temp Problems With 93 Explorer, water temp gauge, coolant water


Question
Hi & thanks for looking into this!
My '93 Ford Explorer 4.0 V6 ran great (for 170k miles) until the tranny blew up earlier this year. The motor got pretty hot, and the transmission had to be rebuilt by a shop ($1,500).
After it came back from the shop, the water temp gauge started going up and down. At the same time, the A/C started working for only 30 minutes a day.
It got worse, and so now the A/C doesn't work at all anymore, the motor coolant water gets so hot that it starts boiling after 3-4 miles.
Strangely, the gauge (which goes up to just under red line) briefly goes down a little when I rev the motor up. I don't hear the fan come on.
By the way, the battery meter shows pretty high voltage in normal service.
I refilled the fluids, read about gauge, thermostat, clutch fan, gasket problems, but may there be a single problem to this chain of events?
Thank you very much for an idea about this, brgds
Markus

Answer
You stated:  The motor got pretty hot."

This is NOT good news.

The transmission had to be rebuilt by a shop ($1,500).

My son and I would have done it for $1,000.00.


After it came back from the shop, the water temp gauge started going up and down. At the same time, the A/C started working for only 30 minutes a day.
It got worse, and so now the A/C doesn't work at all anymore, the motor coolant water gets so hot that it starts boiling after 3-4 miles.
Strangely, the gauge (which goes up to just under red line) briefly goes down a little when I rev the motor up. I don't hear the fan come on.

This is starting to appear to be a head gasket(s) problem due to the temp fluctuation and the A/C will shut down when the engine temp is to high.



By the way, the battery meter shows pretty high voltage in normal service.

HOW HIGH is the voltage reading ?.



I refilled the fluids, read about gauge, thermostat, clutch fan, gasket problems, but may there be a single problem to this chain of events?

STILL appears to be head gasket(s) failure. Have your cooling system PRESSURE TESTED as this will tell you, Provided you have no external coolant leaks, That there is a head gasket(s) failure as the pressure gage on the PRESSURE TESTER will start to drop.


PLEASE keep your questions on the ALLEXPERTS BOARD because without it, Us volunteers would NOT be needed.

I do not have a staff of people helping me answer your questions, I do it all by myself, except some typing help from my wife or son as the old fingers just don't flex as well as they used to. Therefore, Due to being retired and an OLD computer, That is so old it does not even have SPELL CHECKER on it and being on a dial-up connection,  Please excuse the TYPO'S.

I do my best to respond to questions within 4 to 5 hours, But  due to the volume of questions I receive on a daily basis I answer them ASAP. If you require a faster response you can e-mail me directly at the below e-mail address as I check it more frequently.:

meperganfortis@msn.com

When you are asked to RATE THIS EXPERT the site it only allows for about 10 (TEN) words. Therefore,  I never get to read your full response. You can e-mail me directly at the above said personal e-mail site. But make sure that you RATE ME before e-mailing me directly if you so desire to do so.

Sometimes when you have to replace a part, I will ask you  if I can have the old part, As my son and I rebuild them and sell them for extra income. I will pay the shipping costs as long as it does not exceed $10.00.

There are also times that you have some written information that you just don't understand or need help with it, You can e-mail it to me at the above siad e-mail address or you can fax it to me, But contact me FIRST at the e-mail address and I will give you my fax #. However, Again due to my OLD computer I have to log off from the dial up service in order to receive any faxes on my seperate fax machine.

I am alway in need of Car, Truck and SUV service manuals as well as MOTORS MANUALS and if you would like to donate any that you have, I will be more than happy to pay REASONABLE shipping to get them. I do not want any Chilton or Hayes manuals as I personally do not like them as the information contained in them is very mis-leading in my opinion.

Retired in New Mexico and teaching my son to learn the trade.

autohelp