This is my first time posting on a forum, so I hope I am not too wordy, not sure how much info is too much.

I bought a used 95 Ranger XL (2wd 2.3 5-speed, reg cab, no p/s or a/c) a few weeks ago. Most everything was working well, until we got a cold snap here in Northern Alberta. I went outside one morning to find a small coolant puddle underneath the truck, which I traced down to the upper rad hose where it attaches to the rad. I figured I could wait until after work to fix it because it looked like a really small leak. After work I had another look, and it sprung another leak! Looked to be coming out of the water pump. Priced one out and they are pretty cheap, so I said what the hell, I'll replace the pump and the hose.

One thing led to another and, I figure I may as well change the timing belt as well, since I am in the area, and I have no idea when it was last done (241xxx on the odometer). Also replaced the thermostat. All of this went pretty smoothly despite being in an unheated garage at 40 below (thereabouts).

So after everything is put back together, I want to do a coolant flush. I know most people use a garden hose for this, but it is friggin cold and I'm worried the hose will freeze if I am not careful, so I decide to use 4L jugs of water (from the tap) to dump into the rad, let the vehicle run, and dump it all out through the lower rad hose and/or drain petcock. I have distilled water at the end to flush all the tap water with, as well as Ford Green Coolant and some more distilled water to mix.

The first flush goes ok, the truck starts and runs real smooth (except my battery light is on now, I guess that'll be a different story...). I dump the dirty stuff out and go for another fill. One thing I notice is that the coolant temp gauge in the truck is right at the bottom...I figure maybe the truck isn't warmed up enough? I also heard air in the system makes the temp sender unhappy, but I'm not sure. I disregard for now. But this time when I fill it, the coolant never seems to move, it just tops up and stays right where it is...the block is also not warm to the touch despite the engine running for a good half hour. All of this seems kind of odd. I heard that the thermostat stuck open can cause some of these issues, but my heater has also been blowing full hot air for almost the whole half hour. I tried turning the heat off for a while, no fix, the engine and the coolant do not want to warm up! Both the upper and lower rad hoses are kind of warm at the attachment points, but in the middle they are cold...I am stumped!

To summarize, my issues with the coolant now are: doesn't seem to be circulating, not warming up (on the gauge OR to the touch!), not pressurizing (I can pinch upper and lower rad hoses shut no problem, don't think that is normal). Despite all this, the heater still blows hot air, and it was 30 below! (In celcius), and the parts I have replaced are: water pump, timing belt, thermostat, fan/drive belt, upper rad hose. I should also add that there appear to be no leaks anywhere. Any advice is appreciated. This isn't my daily driver, just a project.

 

Welcome to the forum

The 2.3l doesn't make alot of extra heat, many in northern cold climates put card board in front of rad to keep engine bay and engine warmed up
Truckers used zippered grill covers for their diesels for the same reasons

When you refill a cooling system pull 1 heater hose off at the firewall, this allow the air out from behind thermostat

Test fan clutch
Cold engine(after it sits for a few hours at least), open the hood and try to spin the fan, should be hard to turn, its locked
Start engine and let it run for 30seconds or so then shut it off
Try to spin fan again, should spin freely, easy to spin, its unlocked as it should be

To see if thermostat is working start cold engine and feel upper rad hose, it will of course be cold
Let engine idle for 3 or 4 minutes, and feel upper hose again, should still be cold, if its warming up then thermostat is open and shouldn't be


Pressure in the cooling system comes from the coolant expanding when its heated, that can't happen if its not getting hot enough
Radiator is for EXTRA heat generated by the engine, in the winter months it may never be used in some engines just because its too cold to need it


Just FYI
The temp control on the dash opens and close a door covering the heater core inside the cab, called the Blend Door
The valve on the heater hoses in engine bay is only used for MAX AC, shuts off flow to heater core in the cab for less heat in the cab so AC works better

 

Thanks a lot for the info, especially about the heater hose. A co-worker who had an early 90's B-Series recommended the same thing, and that it might be air locked. I'll update whether I have success or not this evening.

 

Success! Popping the heater hose off was the ticket, coolant temp gauge is now rising normally, hoses getting nice and hot like they should. Even my battery light figured itself out!

 

Good work

Thanks for posting the update