The thermostat housing on my friend's Explorer is cracked so it will not hold coolant. On this particular vehicle, the housing is integrated in the upper intake manifold, which neither he nor I are confident in our skills to replace. So he will be taking it to a mechanic. The nearest shop I trust is only about two or three miles of stop and go street driving from his house. Is it safe to drive the vehicle that far without coolant? The engine will not heat up much in that time but I am not too knowledgeable about engine cooling systems and do not know if some sort of damage could result from such a short drive without coolant in the system.
Safe to drive with no coolant?
- Thread starter NMBurb02
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Have it towed!
Get someone with AAA it's a free tow!
Get someone with AAA it's a free tow!
You can't drive it anywhere with no coolant. Not without risking severe engine damage.
The thermostat housing shouldn't be integrated to the upper intake manifold. What year and engine Explorer is this? If it's a SOHC 4.0, the t-stat housing isn't as bad as it looks. The worst part is the little hose at the bottom IMO. If a shop has to do it, the vehicle needs to be towed. Though I have never seen a t-stat housing leak so bad the vehicle couldn't be driven some distance if the coolant was checked.
The thermostat housing shouldn't be integrated to the upper intake manifold. What year and engine Explorer is this? If it's a SOHC 4.0, the t-stat housing isn't as bad as it looks. The worst part is the little hose at the bottom IMO. If a shop has to do it, the vehicle needs to be towed. Though I have never seen a t-stat housing leak so bad the vehicle couldn't be driven some distance if the coolant was checked.
If it were me I would just have it towed. Most engines these days are less tolerant of overheating than they used to be. Any damage from overheating would likely greatly exceed the cost of the tow.
A jeep 4.0 NO !
Those don't need excuses to crack their heads.
Those don't need excuses to crack their heads.
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If you top it off and it'll hold water till you reach the shop,you should be fine. Do it late at night so you won't be stuck in any traffic. If water just runs literally straight through it,have it towed.
It's not recommend!
Saying that I drove for nearly 45 minutes with zero coolant in the Falcon. It's kind of okay to do in these cause they have a fail safe system that shuts down half the cylinders and uses them to draw in cold air, and fires on the coolest cylinder. Also has a triple layer steel head gasket which are impossible to blow!
After that event though my lifters have rattled, my guess is the oil didn't like the high temps and baked into the lifters
Saying that I drove for nearly 45 minutes with zero coolant in the Falcon. It's kind of okay to do in these cause they have a fail safe system that shuts down half the cylinders and uses them to draw in cold air, and fires on the coolest cylinder. Also has a triple layer steel head gasket which are impossible to blow!
After that event though my lifters have rattled, my guess is the oil didn't like the high temps and baked into the lifters
tow it. If you get the engine too hot you risk a multitude of other problems that are much more expensive to fix.
Thanks, all! The crack is more of a split and is wide enough that you can clearly see the thermostat. It will not hold coolant at all. I will have him get it towed to the shop. I used my AAA to have it towed to his house but AAA will not cover a tow from a residence to a shop, as I understand it. But the trip is short enough that it should not cost too much to have it towed.
It is a 2002 Explorer with the 4.6L modular V8 and the thermostat housing is definitely integrated into the intake manifold. Take a gander at this photo:
The unit on top is the stock manifold with the plastic thermostat housing in the top right-hand corner. The bottom is the improved manifold with a metal thermostat housing and coolant crossover.
It is a 2002 Explorer with the 4.6L modular V8 and the thermostat housing is definitely integrated into the intake manifold. Take a gander at this photo:
The unit on top is the stock manifold with the plastic thermostat housing in the top right-hand corner. The bottom is the improved manifold with a metal thermostat housing and coolant crossover.
Originally Posted By: NMBurb02
AAA will not cover a tow from a residence to a shop, as I understand it.
That's the craziest thing I've ever heard, how else are you supposed to get a broken down car to get it fixed? They just might be reluctant to give you a second tow after the first one. Did they actually tell you they wouldn't tow it?
AAA will not cover a tow from a residence to a shop, as I understand it.
That's the craziest thing I've ever heard, how else are you supposed to get a broken down car to get it fixed? They just might be reluctant to give you a second tow after the first one. Did they actually tell you they wouldn't tow it?
Originally Posted By: Wolf359
Originally Posted By: NMBurb02
AAA will not cover a tow from a residence to a shop, as I understand it.
That's the craziest thing I've ever heard, how else are you supposed to get a broken down car to get it fixed? They just might be reluctant to give you a second tow after the first one. Did they actually tell you they wouldn't tow it?
You can pay for a tow to get your broken down car fixed. Just like their free tow has distance limits, it has usage type limits.
I didn't ask this time but have read in the past that that is their policy. It is roadside assistance, not driveway assistance.
Originally Posted By: NMBurb02
AAA will not cover a tow from a residence to a shop, as I understand it.
That's the craziest thing I've ever heard, how else are you supposed to get a broken down car to get it fixed? They just might be reluctant to give you a second tow after the first one. Did they actually tell you they wouldn't tow it?
You can pay for a tow to get your broken down car fixed. Just like their free tow has distance limits, it has usage type limits.
I didn't ask this time but have read in the past that that is their policy. It is roadside assistance, not driveway assistance.
I drove a mile to a shop on a cold engine in the winter with no serpentine belt with not ill effects. But three miles to stop and go is too far for me.
I've pulled a couple intake manifolds. It's a lot easier than it looks. At least for the engines I've worked on.
I've pulled a couple intake manifolds. It's a lot easier than it looks. At least for the engines I've worked on.
Originally Posted By: NMBurb02
Is it safe to drive the vehicle that far without coolant?
That would be an emphatic NO.
Is it safe to drive the vehicle that far without coolant?
That would be an emphatic NO.
Pretty expensive trip if it overheats. AAA will not tow from a shop to a house and they wont tow a car thats not broken.but no problem from a house to a shop
MrQuackers
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Push the car down the road a few blocks and give AAA a call.
Pull out the thermostat and put it back together. Put some tape over the crack and then cover it in some silicone. This will create enough of a seal to hold water but not pressure. Put some water in it and leave the radiator cap off. It''l make it several miles like that as long as it'll hold the water. It's also much cheaper than the cost of a tow. I've done it like this several times on these intakes.
This is one of those times where the cost/risk analysis is quite clear.
Tow it and save yourself from disaster. That's not a Chevy small block. A head job on that thing is ridiculous.
Tow it and save yourself from disaster. That's not a Chevy small block. A head job on that thing is ridiculous.
Originally Posted By: AdRock
Pull out the thermostat and put it back together. Put some tape over the crack and then cover it in some silicone. This will create enough of a seal to hold water but not pressure. Put some water in it and leave the radiator cap off. It''l make it several miles like that as long as it'll hold the water. It's also much cheaper than the cost of a tow. I've done it like this several times on these intakes.
This will work...
I've done similar on vehicles with minor leaks, actually gotten tens of thousands of miles...
Pull out the thermostat and put it back together. Put some tape over the crack and then cover it in some silicone. This will create enough of a seal to hold water but not pressure. Put some water in it and leave the radiator cap off. It''l make it several miles like that as long as it'll hold the water. It's also much cheaper than the cost of a tow. I've done it like this several times on these intakes.
This will work...
I've done similar on vehicles with minor leaks, actually gotten tens of thousands of miles...
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