Hello, hoping someone can help me. My son has a 2004 Ranger with the 4.0 V6 engine.
He started to overheat at stop lights. We checked the coolant level and it was 2 gallons low, between both the radiator and reservoir.
When the vehicle is idling, if you step on the gas, a large amount of coolant will spit out of the tail pipe.
I checked the oil and it looks fine, it is not milky.
Is there any path for coolant to leak into the exhaust that does not involve a head gasket or intake gasket?
Thanks in advance for your help.

 

Until real help comes, have you checked the coolant line that warms the pvc?

 

Thanks for the reply. No, I have not looked at that specifically. I have looked thoroughly and see no external leaks anywhere. The only place where I seem to see coolant is via the tail pipe. Just hoping there is some path to the exhaust and not the head gasket. The lack of milky oil makes me think there could be something, but not really sure. I will take a look at that specific area after I look up where that is. Thanks again.

 

" I will take a look at that specific area after I look up where that is."
The PCV valve is found at the rear facing surface of the left side (driver's side) valve cover against the firewall.
It's tight to work on. After removing the small hose clamps and hose, the PCV valve "1/4 turns" out of its socket.
Don't muscle it (break the socket) as it's part of the valve cover and difficult to find a replacement.

You'll see the warming yoke, a small diameter aluminum pipe, in a groove built into the PCV valve.
May say it isn't an effective heater and remove it and the hoses which supply coolant. There are instructions online.
Mine is presenting no problems, so I'm not expending the energy to remove it.
This PCV valve heating circuit cannot introduce coolant to the exhaust.

A cracked head or leaking head gasket is going to be part of your problem.
How many miles are on this vehicle?
How long has your son owned this truck? Maybe he recently bought it from a dishonest person who loaded the system with "leak-stop"?
The cooling system holds 13.2 qt. That's 3.3 gallons. You were down 2 gallons.
It sounds like someone overlooked the cooling system.

It's hard to guess what happened in your case.
This condition could have been years in the making. Or, the system sprung a large leak and someone continued to drive it.
An overheat condition wouldn't take long to develop.

Any details?
Is or was the condition of cooling system known? Had the truck lived in a region with very hard water?
Had the system developed a small leak which was treated by the addition of "leak-stop" products?
Was the temperature gauge functioning? Would your son know to look at it occasionally?
What color was the coolant you had remaining?

 

Thanks for the help. I was dreaming that there was some path other thank head or gasket. Appreciate it.

The truck has 135K miles. Was taken care of and his grandfather knew the previous owner. He has had it for a year now, but it was completely gone through and maintained before he received it from his grandfather.

It started to overheat a few days ago and when we checked yesterday it was that low. It could have been slowly happening until it got low enough.

Don't know what the color of the remaining coolant is. I will take it to a mechanic and let them take a look. Thanks again!

 

If you decide to scrap the truck for whatever reason, consider listing it on Rangerforums.com or The ranger station.com no spaces...you know.

What kind of shape is the body in? I'm not looking. I'm just telling you I've seen good ones and bad ones sell. That's all.

Do get back to us.

Callback:
The reason I asked about coolant color was to learn if it was red or red/orange.
Red/orange coolant is likely Dex-Cool, a popular and mimicked formulation. It's great stuff with one condition.
Dex-Cool goes into AIRTIGHT SYSTEMS ONLY.
People have this stuff around and it gets thrown into many vehicles thoughtlessly.
Ranger cooling systems are open to the atmosphere via the reservoir cap. It's not airtight.
The fine product can then sludge up (gels).

This pernicious condition is common and could have been yours.
When did kido get the truck?

 

I am planning to fix it and let him keep driving it. Dropped it off at a friends mechanic last night. We will see.
It is in great shape overall, and he likes it. There wasn't enough coolant left to tell without draining it and I put in some that was green I believe to get home.
He started driving it about a year ago. Overall, it is a really great truck.
Thanks for the help and information.

 

Looking forward to hearing, "The rest of the story".

NOTE: G05 (a gold/yellow colored coolant) is a great choice for these vehicles.

 

Can links to YouTube be posted?

 

Can links to YouTube be posted?

 

I think they can be, but I do not know.

 

I thought this might be interesting:

 

Double post

 

Thanks for posting.
It's wasteful and sad that a real bad 10 minute video is needed to show a broken hose.

I never thought about a rear heater and its own hoses.
OK, so I learned something.

 

Twas a bit long. I use play speed quite a bit. And most of it is due to my slow reading. Always wanting to glance away to look a facial expressions.

 

Thanks for the video. It turned out to be a crack in one head and the other head was warped. One new head and one machined head and the ranger is back up and running.

Looks like there was likely a leak on the thermostat cover that over time caused some overheating which caused the damage. Expensive lesson learned, but he will pay attention to overheating more next time.

Thanks again for the help. Appreciate the responses.