Coolant being pushed out of tank, engine getting extremely hot

[phpnuke23]

Hello:

72 wagon, everything is running. I have only driven it about 3-4 miles. When driving, the engine after gets extremely hot after about I would say 1000 yards. Hot enough that all hoses around it also get extremely hot. I have my coolant tank filled to "hot full". The radiator is also full of coolant. The coolant is the green color one would expect. However, the cap on the resorvior tank is starting to melt and coolant is being pushed out. As well, there is smoke coming out of it! The coolant obviously doesnt get hot, but something is burning (probably the plastic).

Any thoughts? I thought about flushing, but not entirely sure if thats even going to solve the problem.

TIA experts!

 

[NicksTrix]

sounds like a head gasket. what's your oil look like?
when you idle the truck without a rad cap on what happens?

 

[phpnuke23]

Checking soon, it is too hot right now.

What should I look for?

 

[broncnaz]

X2 head gasket problem. Might try pulling the spark plugs see if any are wet or clean that will tell you what cylinder is having the issue. They wont always be wet or clean when you have a leak so they may not tell you anything.

 

[twisted77]

Very well could be a head gasket guys.

But it also could very well be a bad water pump.

Is there any white smoke from the tail pipe? Does it take long to get hot?

Bryce

 

[Bundy]

Thermostat? That would cause her to get hot pretty quickly eh?

 

[hc37180]

Thermostat? That would cause her to get hot pretty quickly eh?

x2 that would be my first guess, start it without the cap on. You should see the fluid start moving/circulating once the tstat opens. At least thats how I used to check on my Mustang 289.

 

[demesauce]

Better cross your fingers and hope it is just the thermostat. Take out the thermostat, boil some water and throw it in. See it the thermostat opens up in the boiling water.

Or there could be a blockage in your radiator. Take of the lower radiator hose and see if all the fluid quickly pours out.

But regardless of whether or not the head gasket is bad, you need to change your oil. When your motor overheats it messes up the oil viscosity and whatnot. And in the process of changing your oil, take a good look at it. If it is milky and/or has coolant the the head gasket is definitely bad

 

[Broncitis]

Is every fluid in your rig trying to escape??:?

http://classicbroncos.com/forums/showthread.php?t=210327

 

[phpnuke23]

Pretty much everything, frankly I picked up the car because I knew how to weld, not knowing so much about engines and it looked easy to weld on. I am learning a lot quickly though!

 

[bknbronco]

frankly I picked up the car

CAR??? Whats a car??

The bronco is not a vehicle to own if you know nothing about trucks. Im sure about 80% of your bronco probably needs replacing. These are not cheep trucks to own! There fun but there not easy on the wallet! Hell since i bought my bronco 15 years ago i quit carrring a wallet because i never had any money to put in it anyways! How big is the snowball getting over there? Time to turn the snowball into the bottom of your snowman?

 

[phpnuke23]

lol. I actually have not found it terribly expensive yet because I get sheet metal for cheap and the engine when I picked it up two years ago seemed ok. Not that I obviously know crap about engines.

I pulled the radiator cap off and started the engine. It did not like the cap being off, but idled for a bit. I let it go for approx. a minute. There was no movement in the coolant. Should I let it get warmer?

 

[phpnuke23]

nvm I let it sit for a while and from an angle saw a small swirl. So I am leaning to head gasket. I am getting the engine rebuilt, that is in the kit so I guess this will sorta of solve itself.

Thanks experts!

 

[phpnuke23]

Check all that. A buddy and I just took it to test drive it and a little tranny fluid is escaping out of the rear end of the transmission. He said this is coming because if the car is overheating due to a faulty water pump that the tranny fluid will heat up and naturally expand out. Is this correct? Should I try the pump? I've never replaced one, any links or tuts. would be appreciated. I'd prefer to the rebuild in the winter when the car ain't so drivable in MN.

 

[TBS-POPS]

Pull the thermostat out and start it to see if it overheats!!!!!! First things first!

 

[patterdale]

The kiss principle (keep it simple stupid) comes to mind. Make sure the thermostat is in correctly or even working correctly. It is possible to install them backwards and you will get this result. Feel the radiator or get an infrared temp gun and scan it to se if the radiator is plugged. It will be cooler or hoter in spots. I had one one time that had only 2 tubes open. Then move to the water pump. The likelihood that it is a head gasket is slim compared to these fixes. You don't mention if it is stock or upgraded/modified somehow. You should give more details to get more accurate information. If it is a head gasket you will either have very clean white sparkplugs and or white foamy oil. If you have none of these it will be a simple fix of thermostat, radiator or water pump.

 

[phpnuke23]

Thank you for all the advice. I just got to the thermostat, going to continue tom. This will be a good time to install my fan shroud as well.

@bknbronco: I don't recall complaining about putting money into it. You were not born knowing how to work on cars. I simply am asking questions, I thought the point of these forums was to foster knowledge about a particular subject, not bust someones balls over learning.