I'll put money on it that he has a head gasket problem.

 

Bad head gasket is a real possability but he should check the easy fix's first.

If he can get a pressure test done with HIS cap on the radiator and prove his cap is holding to the rated pressure, that would rule out my theory and point to a head gasket.

Just trying to point to the least expensive checks before tearing it down.

 

But, checking for a bad head gasket is a 10 min job.. All you need is a pressure tester and see if there is a leak down..

 

Actually the lower hose is really weak, ive never thought of it sucking together like you said. I can literly squeeze it together with two fingers. I would say its the original hose because of its attributes. A pressure test might be 10 min but not everyone has a tester or knows someone who has one.

 

The pressure test can rule in/out a lot of things. I'm going mainly on the symptoms reported. From my experience a head gasket will show bubbles and/or foam in the coolant. Nothing was said that I caught anyway.

The dealer should also have a "sniffer" or whatever they call it at Ford to check for combustion gasses in the coolant/radiator. Years ago I had an old "non-ford" (dont ask, learned lesson!!!) that had a coolant loss and heating problem. Couldnt find it so took it to a dealer and they used their "sniffer" on it do determine the problem. My coolant wasnt running out but was being burned slowly enough it didn't even smoke.

 

Pressure test went good. Nothing wrong with the block, but they are still trying to figure it out.

 

Very strange..[sm=bangbang.gif]

 

No matter what it turns out to be, you still need to replace that bottom hose. If you can pinch it shut, then the wire spring inside it has rusted out.

 

How did they test it?

You should be able to start your car without a cap on the rad. and let it run all day and only loose the amount that the coolant expands to, maybe 1pt.
If you are gushing large amounts of coolant out then you have a problem that no overflow or cap will fix.

How hot did it run before you started changing parts?
Did you have a leak before you started changing parts?
Did you add any stop leak or pepper to try to stop the leak?
Did you change the temp sensor?
How do you know it is running cooler?

I've seen temp sensors go bad after a overheat and I've seen those stop leak tricks ruin an engine.
Also are you sure you don't have an air pocket in the engine?
What can happen is the thermostat will prevent the coolant from filling the block and when it hits those areas the coolant hyper boils causing it to gush out.
And did you cycle the thermostat before you installed it?
I've seen them stick and cause problems or have the wrong gasget keeping them from working proprely.
And I have to ask, is it in the correct way?

Sorry for all the questions anf if you've answered them before.
But these are all problems I've seen when someone brings in a DIY overheating problem.

Timmy

 

Those have all been addressed and answered Timmy.