Explorer 2002 Eddie Bauer OVERHEATS

For some reason today my car lost a bunch of power so I looked down to the thermostat gauge and it was red hot.

I don't have the cap for the water tank where you fill the water up so it has leaked all over the place, however I purchased this car about 2months ago and it never had it on but has ran great, I do at least 150 miles a day on it, now all of a sudden it's flowing out.

I got home and switched it off for 10 minutes fille dit back up with cold water and the temp went back down and the engine is running as normal, but "check/service engine soon" light is on.

When I got home at first I checked the water and the tank was low but it was full again by only using a gallon, so it didn't lose all the water/antifreeze so I don't know why it was so high.

If anyone has any suggestions I sure would appreciate it.

PS, I don't understand why it's never overheated before with not having the cap on, do you think if i got the cap replaced ti would resolve the overheating problem? Also I forgot to mention that when I was trying to get home I turned the heater on to reduce the heat in the engine but despite the heater blowing there was no hot air, now that everything is back to normal hot air blows through.

For some reason today my car lost a bunch of power so I looked down to the thermostat gauge and it was red hot.

I don't have the cap for the water tank where you fill the water up so it has leaked all over the place, however I purchased this car about 2months ago and it never had it on but has ran great, I do at least 150 miles a day on it, now all of a sudden it's flowing out.

I got home and switched it off for 10 minutes fille dit back up with cold water and the temp went back down and the engine is running as normal, but "check/service engine soon" light is on.

When I got home at first I checked the water and the tank was low but it was full again by only using a gallon, so it didn't lose all the water/antifreeze so I don't know why it was so high.

If anyone has any suggestions I sure would appreciate it.

PS, I don't understand why it's never overheated before with not having the cap on, do you think if i got the cap replaced ti would resolve the overheating problem? Also I forgot to mention that when I was trying to get home I turned the heater on to reduce the heat in the engine but despite the heater blowing there was no hot air, now that everything is back to normal hot air blows through.

Are you talking about the radiator cap or the cap for the overflow tank? (small plastic tank by your windshield washer reservoir)
That would be a good bet. Your cooling system has to build up a certain amount of pressure for the water to be circulated through the system properly. Hence if you pull the cap off a hot radiator the water spews out of it. Now if your missing the one for the overflow tank I don't see how it would make the car overheat. I would go and get the engine code read on your computer, autozone does it for free. depending on what that says i would start by replacing whatever it says and the thermostat as they are like $5.00 anyway. Get the code read and we will go from there. good luck.

Thanks for your reply bumpinkicker04,

Yes it is the overflow tank cap that's missing, which I now beleive is not what caused the problem nor is a problem.

I am not sure exactly what happend but I flushed the radiator out and put new coolant in and it's been running fine, I have tried to make the engine as hot as it can go and it doesn't move past halfway on the temp gauge.

When I flushed the old coolant out I checked for any sediments and the coolant was clear.

Perhaps just a change of weather here in Colorado caused it, from freezing temps to 65 degrees or just a simple air blockage :uhoh:

TBH I'm not really sure what went wrong with it but I have my fingers crossed it won't happen again.

Also thanks for your advice about taking it into Autozone, I wasn't aware they could read the computer for free, that's handy to know. I reset the "Service engine soon" light and it's never came back on, you think I could still get it checked by Autozone even though it's clear now? Just incase the problem is still there and just not being a "problem" just yet.

Thanks for your replies.

Thanks for your reply bumpinkicker04,

Yes it is the overflow tank cap that's missing, which I now beleive is not what caused the problem nor is a problem.

I am not sure exactly what happend but I flushed the radiator out and put new coolant in and it's been running fine, I have tried to make the engine as hot as it can go and it doesn't move past halfway on the temp gauge.

When I flushed the old coolant out I checked for any sediments and the coolant was clear.

Perhaps just a change of weather here in Colorado caused it, from freezing temps to 65 degrees or just a simple air blockage :uhoh:

TBH I'm not really sure what went wrong with it but I have my fingers crossed it won't happen again.

Also thanks for your advice about taking it into Autozone, I wasn't aware they could read the computer for free, that's handy to know. I reset the "Service engine soon" light and it's never came back on, you think I could still get it checked by Autozone even though it's clear now? Just incase the problem is still there and just not being a "problem" just yet.

Thanks for your replies.

no if you erase the code then you won't be read it. If the light comes back on then take it in and get the code read