Hello all, I have a 2000 Ford Ranger 3.0 Flex fuel Automatic 4wd, my temperature gauge crawls up to about 2/3 of the way to Hot in idle but if I push on the gas the temp drops, what could cause this? Also the other day I was driving and my gauge went into the red and my hood was smoking and I hopped out and my coolant was all over the ground, still runs fine and the head gasket doesn't seem to be blown, any help is appreciated, thanks.
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3.0s are finicky motors, the slightest over heating can crack the heads. If you have already done the compression test do a cylinder leak down test also.
Certainly do both suggestions above. If that checks out, I recommend taking a look at: 1. Possible corrosion in the radiator 2. Some alien object between and blocking the radiator fins If its the latter, removing the foreign object may help matters. If it is the corrosion, it may be time for a flush of the system. May also want to examine the coolant fan. Any fan clutch noise?
