19’ overheating sometimes

[AJF22]

I have 2019 Ranger SCREW XLX Sport 4x4 with only 61,000 miles and the overheating started last year.

I’ve read threads which seem to lead off to nowhere, but there is a chance I missed a thread with a solid fix.

Sorry this is long, but I wanted to get out information.

Prior to last year in 2023, I towed our 3,500 pound GeoPro 16 foot trailer, truck bed loaded up to Oregon, in August. Towed all over the state of Oregon and then back home to Southern California, going up and down many high elevation mountain passes, the AC always on, tow control on, going 60-65, and not once my truck threw out a overheat warning. FYI, I also pull my 3,000 pound boat every couple of weeks during the year, but that’s mainly on flat freeway for about 60 miles round trip, never an issue.

Last year going to Vegas for the 2nd time in April, temps in the high 70’s to low 80’s, going over passes, my truck kept throwing out the over heat warning.
The 1st trip to Vegas it did not throw out an overheat warning, but the 2nd trip 2 weeks later it started.

It first started going over a 1,000 foot summit, so I blasted the heater and slowed from 65 to 50 and the truck cooled off. This was the repeat process that trip to get rid of the over heat warning.
I found out the clutch fan needed replacement, so I bought a OEM Ford fan and had it installed.

I pulled my trailer over the 1,000 foot pass in 100 degrees heat, no overheating, I thought problem fixed.

Well last week we headed to Vegas, temps in the low 80’s, no problem going over there, even going up a 4,200 foot summit (Cajon pass) going 60 and no problem till I got to the Helloran Summit, which is a long 17 mile climb, gradually going up from about 2,500 feet to about 4,600 feet. Half way up, over heat warning goes off, so I turn off the AC, crank the heat on, drop down from 60 to 50, warning goes off, and I proceed up at 55mph with AC off, heater at 80, no issues.
I had to repeat this process we when headed back home.


I’ve read a few threads hear that have similar issues, but some are long with repeated fixes that are hard to tell if it was a fix or not, some suggestions seem to be wasting money throwing parts at who knows what F is wrong and crossing fingers it works, or the thread goes cold with no update.

Some suggestions have been lock out gears above 5 to force a higher rpm and keep at 50. The issue I have with this is, why do this when 3 years ago on our Oregon trip, I never needed to baby my truck.

Hoping someone here had the same issue as I do and found a permanent fix, can give me some solid suggestions or can give me some feedback on troubleshooting.

I’m getting to point I’m considering trading my truck in for F150 so I can tow a kids big wheel without an issue. I don’t want to get a F150 again because I live in LA where parking spaces are made just big enough for a kids bicycle.

Thanks in advance.

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[Grumpaw]

Thinking maybe a funky thermostat ?????
It looks like your getting all the warnings from the sensors.....but it would help a lot if you had one of the guage apps or a ScanGauge that gave the temps in real time so you would know exactly how hot the temps were.
A gauge would also help monitoring the trans fluid temps as it and the coolant temps are sometimes parallel in their readings....sometimes as little as 10 degrees difference.
If your coolant temps are getting VERY hot, than the chances your trans temps are up there too.
I towed a heavy travel trailer for 4 years with my previous Ranger and had a ScanGauge lll I installed from day one........invaluable for keeping tabs on the engine.

 

[RangerBill]

I have 2019 Ranger SCREW XLX Sport 4x4 with only 61,000 miles and the overheating started last year.

I’ve read threads which seem to lead off to nowhere, but there is a chance I missed a thread with a solid fix.

Sorry this is long, but I wanted to get out information.

Prior to last year in 2023, I towed our 3,500 pound GeoPro 16 foot trailer, truck bed loaded up to Oregon, in August. Towed all over the state of Oregon and then back home to Southern California, going up and down many high elevation mountain passes, the AC always on, tow control on, going 60-65, and not once my truck threw out a overheat warning. FYI, I also pull my 3,000 pound boat every couple of weeks during the year, but that’s mainly on flat freeway for about 60 miles round trip, never an issue.

Last year going to Vegas for the 2nd time in April, temps in the high 70’s to low 80’s, going over passes, my truck kept throwing out the over heat warning.
The 1st trip to Vegas it did not throw out an overheat warning, but the 2nd trip 2 weeks later it started.

It first started going over a 1,000 foot summit, so I blasted the heater and slowed from 65 to 50 and the truck cooled off. This was the repeat process that trip to get rid of the over heat warning.
I found out the clutch fan needed replacement, so I bought a OEM Ford fan and had it installed.

I pulled my trailer over the 1,000 foot pass in 100 degrees heat, no overheating, I thought problem fixed.

Well last week we headed to Vegas, temps in the low 80’s, no problem going over there, even going up a 4,200 foot summit (Cajon pass) going 60 and no problem till I got to the Helloran Summit, which is a long 17 mile climb, gradually going up from about 2,500 feet to about 4,600 feet. Half way up, over heat warning goes off, so I turn off the AC, crank the heat on, drop down from 60 to 50, warning goes off, and I proceed up at 55mph with AC off, heater at 80, no issues.
I had to repeat this process we when headed back home.


I’ve read a few threads hear that have similar issues, but some are long with repeated fixes that are hard to tell if it was a fix or not, some suggestions seem to be wasting money throwing parts at who knows what F is wrong and crossing fingers it works, or the thread goes cold with no update.

Some suggestions have been lock out gears above 5 to force a higher rpm and keep at 50. The issue I have with this is, why do this when 3 years ago on our Oregon trip, I never needed to baby my truck.

Hoping someone here had the same issue as I do and found a permanent fix, can give me some solid suggestions or can give me some feedback on troubleshooting.

I’m getting to point I’m considering trading my truck in for F150 so I can tow a kids big wheel without an issue. I don’t want to get a F150 again because I live in LA where parking spaces are made just big enough for a kids bicycle.

Thanks in advance.

Was the wiring damaged to the fan clutch that caused it to need replacing? Have you scanned for any DTC codes?

Is your replacement fan working properly? It should speed up and have a roaring sound when the engine temps are high.

Check for leaves and debris in front of the radiator. You may have to remove the cover above the radiator support to see down there.

Is your coolant level above the minimum line in the recovery bottle?

 

[dtech]

Is the cooling system properly pressurized ? if it's not under pressure it can readily overheat, esp dealing with inclines.

 

[Cabose-1]

I have always locked out 10, and 9. When towing a tt in hilly areas i have always locked out 8 gear too. According to my obd tool and the app on my infotainment screen, truck runs cooler and saves more gas, and the turbo runs less.
Close to 10k miles towing with a ranger 20' 22' and now my 24'
Maybe debris in the grill, some other sensor or thermostat, my 22' had 60k miles no issues. So look maybe into servicing cooling system, i tow 7k trailers on a regular basis and the Ranger does just fine. All of them have. So look at the cooling system, maybe old radiator fluid. Not doing its job anymore maybe. Trans fluid getting old too. Fluids over years start to break down. 2019, going intob7 years now

 

[TJC]

Obvious question, but have you ever changed your coolant? If so, did you insure all the air pockets were evacuated? The days of draining and filling are no longer reliable, air pockets trapped in the top of the engine cooling system cause hot spots and play havoc with your cooling system. Aluminum blocks and heads like consistent expansion coefficients!

I second the Scangauge or similar tool to monitor transmission and engine fluid temps, etc.

Worse comes to worse drop an SPD 170F Thermostat in it!

 

[diesel924]

Once a year I take the shield off the top of the radiator and clean the leaves and junk between the condensor and the radiator. I use a shop vac with a length of skinny (5/8"?) tubing duct taped to the hose to suck out all the crap in there. If you look in the front of the grill it will look clean, this stuff gets past the condensor and lodges in front of the radiator, don't ask me how.

 

[AJF22]

Thank you everyone for the helpful and quick reply’s, I really appreciate it!

After reading your posts, you’ve helped me with some good suggestions to check out. I was hesitant on bringing this up since it has been covered a lot, but I felt I was missing something. I’m leaning towards the coolant possibly being the issue, I hope it is being something simple enough.

When I had Ford install the new fan at 51k, I asked about changing the coolant out. I was told it was good and I didn’t need to change it out till at least 80k-90k miles, which I felt was wrong. They said these newer coolants can last longer, so I didn’t think much of it driving around with no issues, till now.
So I’m going to find a shop to flush it out and maybe also replace the thermostat.

I’ll invest in a ScanGauge just in case, it will be nice to see actual live data while towing.

As for the fan, the support hose broke and the fan spun free, damaging a couple wires that I fixed on the side of the road. But the fan ended up being bad, it didn’t spin as freely as it should when I spun it, compared to the new fan.
That’s also a good point about the roaring sound. I haven’t paid attention to the sound, something I haven’t listened for in years, so I can’t say I hear it or not at this time, so I’ll be listening carefully for it tomorrow.

All debris has been cleaned out and I keep it fairly clean, taking the top off every time I do an oil change to inspect; amazing the crap that can get in there.

Regarding the system being properly pressurized, I can’t say for certain, but once I do the flush, I will make sure the system gets checked.

I’ll also connect my obd2 scanner to it tomorrow to see if any codes get thrown.

Cabose, thank you for your info on how you tow, I’m taking notes and will follow what you suggested and give it try. It falls in line with what I’ve read and kind of how I go about cooling the engine when I get the overheating warning.

I like the truck, it does everything I want and then some, so hopefully it’s just old coolant is causing the problem, thank you TJC for bringing it up, sometimes the obvious answer could be the fix.

I wish I could say I have a trip where I’m going to tow over to Vegas soon, but we don’t have anything planned yet. But once I get the coolant flush, I might have a good excuse to go to Vegas and test things out lol.

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