Hello new to board, old to show. I got a deal on a 92 F150 153k with a 302 AC Auto Trans. Darn good price, only thing wrong he said the garage told him cooling system was shot. I saw the bad radiator and kept that to myself and said what part? He said All of it. 2 months later… New Rad. I get in to the engine bay last week and replace hoses, thermostat(replaced with 180degree not stock 195)water pump and tighten it all down. No Leaks and now my Temp gauge never gets above the “O” in normal but I smell anti freeze and it sounds like its getting hot, but again gauge is ok. AND now for the best part…If you let it sit still and leave it idle when it gets up to temp there is a loud “pressure release” steam PSSST from in the upper water pump/thermostat housing end of the 3 hoses area. AAANNNYYY input is appreciated. I always new I should stick with the 4.9 I6!!!
Do the easy stuff and pressure test the cooling system. I conclude overheating is not a concern but the smell of coolant on something hot and this mysterious “pressure release” sympton is.
Your statement that you had to tighten down the water pump concerns me. It is possible the gasket has become damaged from the pump being loose. What condition was the thermostat housing in? no pits or uneven surfaces?
Any chance you have incorrectly installed any of the parts you replaced or have some type of debris preventing correct sealing.
was the cooling system properly bled after all the work?. They can get air blocked and do this… this may require having the car set at an angle to get the highest part of the system high. May take several attempts. Some cars have a bleeder screw for air release in cooling system…
By “tightening it all down” I meant I replaced all this inc. water pump, made it a point to double check that everything was tightened. I put therm housing to the wire wheel and made it good as new. I’m thinking the press test is next. Maybe the new thermostat is bad? or it is something I haven’t got to yet… thanx
I’d been told by 2 diff knowledgable people that bleeding the system wasn’t necessary and 1 person said it might be req. I guess I’ll pull the front end up on the ditch and try topping it off and cycling it thru… thanx
Try retarding the timing a little (after you check it). Advanced timing will boil the coolant away in a hurry.
I may but it didn’t do this for the first 3000 miles. Not until I changed hoses therm and pump.
BY THE WAY…Anyone happen to have a picture of proper water pump to heater core hose routing? that hose bends much to sharply for my taste. I actually thought that was the problem. The new hose is better than the one that came off, but I thought there’d be a molded corner in hose. It comes off the water pump pointed directly in alternator bracket.