Coolant not returning to radiator and now will not start

1999 FORD EXPLORER
120,000 MILES • V8 • 2WD • AUTOMATIC
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NICK NEWTON SR.
  • MEMBER
  • 1 POST
Vehicle listed above has been showing signs of a blown head gasket; low power, fluctuating temperature gauge, heat working sometimes and not others, air in the coolant system. After a while the coolant will build up in the reservoir and not be sucked back into the radiator. There is also a gurgling and whirring sound behind the passenger's side dash which I hear when I shut the car off.
I have emptied the coolant out and refilled the coolant into the radiator twice which has fixed the temperature fluctuations and heat issues for a short time, but it just happens again eventually. I used a head gasket seal detector to check the coolant and it showed that it was, definitively. I ended up putting k-seal head gasket repair in which didn't help at all.
Now, today, I went to start my car and it wouldn't start. I eventually put the accelerator to the floor and turned the key which got it started but this had never happened before. There was a strong gas odor under the hood when I tried the first couple times (before I floored the accelerator).
Are these issues all a symptom of something in particular or is it a lot of different issues? If it is all because of a blown head gasket, why didn't the k-seal fix it, and do you have any advice on what to do (besides obviously bringing it to a mechanic for at least a grand or trying to fix myself which is a little too much for me)?
Feb 19, 2022 at 5:34 AM
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JACOBANDNICKOLAS
  • Experienced Mechanic
  • 110,240 POSTS
Hi,

It does sound like the head gasket is still causing problems. As far as starting it with the throttle depressed, that indicates it was flooded. When you floor the pedal, it shuts the injectors down to clear a flooded engine.

It sounds like the head gasket is leaking compressed air into the cooling system. At this point, I would recommend testing for a leak again. Here is a link you may find helpful:

https://www.2carpros.com/articles/head-gasket-blown-test

If you find it is still bad, let me know and I can explain what is needed to replace the head gaskets.

Take care,

Joe
Feb 19, 2022 at 9:10 AM
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