94 Explorer problems...

Hi, just drove a 94 Explorer with 160k from Syracuse, NY to South Florida while in flight school. On the way down, around Daytona Beach, while sitting in traffic (bike week) the engine temp pegged. We got off at the exit, and got some air moving through the engine, while driving at the exit, the temp calmed down and we decided to give it another shot...we get back on I-95 and she skyrockets again, this time you can hear the fuel evaporating before it even gets to ingite, so we pulled over for about an hour and let it cool down. Traffic began moving again and we hopped back on and she was fine the rest of the way.

Upon arriving we check the coolant and it was fine...I continued to drive it and watched the temp VERY cautiously, when I would stop at anytime, she would slowly but surely creep back towards the high range. Took it to a mechanic and told them to change the coolant, they said no the coolant is fine, and suggest I get the radiator boiled. Called another mechanic, he said the fan clutch may be bad, however when parked the fan runs, not extremly fast, but it runs, so we ruled out the fan. Do you think it really needs to be boiled? Or am I looking at an entire replacement of the radiator?


Problem TWO,
Upon driving around in FL for a week or two, the CHECK OIL light came on in the vehicle and the Oil Pressure Guage was not even reading. I went and immediately had the oil changed, to be safe. The check-oil light turned off, however the mechanics said the pan was full...The oil pressure continues to fluctuate still, and the engine continues to run perfect, without a problem. Its in a cycle, the oil pressure will read great for a week, and then the next week it will read low, constantly....then normal the next and so on... I also have been having to add a quart of oil ever week to week and a half, so that tells me she's burning the oil...

So she gets too hot...burns the oil, but...why is the oil pressure low? Does the radiator need to be boiled? I have not a clue. And I don't want this thing getting hotter with the warm summers here in South Florida.

Please guys, help me out.

The oil pressure proble sounds like a bad sending unit (around $10 at O'reilly auto parts, probally $25 at the Dealer)

The over heating maybe due to lot of different things: a bad thermostat, a clogged radiator, or a bad fan clutch to name a few.

I would have to agree that the temperature issues could be either the radiator plugging up, the thermostat sticking closed, or the fan clutch going bad. If it's all original (which I suspect), replace the fan clutch. For the price, it's not worth the damage that a failed fan clutch can cause. Replace the thermostat. They are cheap and easy and should basically be considered a "consumable" item, meaning change them regulary (15-20k miles). If it's still an issue after that, get the radiator cleaned.
Oil pressure is another issue. Don't guess with this, find out if your sending unit is bad or not. Either replace it or put an analog gage on it when it is acting up and find out what the real pressure is. Low oil pressure will destroy your engine. Ford had a habit of putting smallish pickup tubes on their engines (not sure if it is applicable to the explorer). If it started with the overheating issue, you may be overheating your oil. Quick lesson on oils and viscosity. Viscosity is basically (very basically) how easily the oil flows. The viscosity rating is always at a given temperature. As temperature goes up, viscosity goes down. As viscosity goes down, the oil flows easier and the oil pump will generate less backpressure (ie oil pressure). It will also flow past the piston rings easier, hense you would burn more oil. Good luck and don't let these issues go for long.