What would make my 2002 ford explorer run hot

Generally speaking a bad head gasket is going to make your engine run badly and if it is not it will get bad as the leak gets worse.

Use a chemical test kit check the coolant for CO

How would you know if it's the head gasket is blown

What is CO

CO = Carbon Monoxide. A compression test can diagnose a bad head gasket in some cases.

Head gaskets can leak in many ways. From cylinder to cylinder. From cylinder to coolant or to the oil or the other way around. They could also leak from a cylinder to the outside of the engine which is why there are several ways to diagnose a leak depending on what type of head gasket leak it is.

Head gaskets could also leak oil or coolant but not into the engine cylinders.

If u have a bad head gasket....ur exhaust will be white smoke.....and getting worse with driving

Go to an AutoZone and they can do that test for u. Ask them to use their scan tool to look at what error codes u have. This is a free service

OK will do

It's no smoke coming out

Had white smoke add a sealant in the smoke stop

The white smoke may stop for a while but use this time to buy another car or to come up with the money to fix your engine.

Blown Head Gasket Symptoms: 1.Coolant leaking externally from bellow the exhaust manifold. 2. White smoke from the exhaust pipe. 3. Overheating engine. 4.Bubbles in the radiator or coolant overflow tank. 5.White milky oil. 6.Significant loss of coolant with no visible leaks

A dangerous symptom of a blown head gasket is the mixing of oil and coolant. If coolant is mixing into the engine's oil supply, this can be very detrimental to the lubricating properties of the engine oil. It can cause damage to engine bearings and other parts of the engine. Check the engine's oil dipstick. Brown, bubbly oil or any inconsistencies or traces of water on the dipstick can be symptoms of a severe head gasket failure. Have the car's engine checked right away.

Even if you repair the head gasket (about 800$) u will eventually need a new engine over the next 12-24 months, so u will be dropping $2000-3000 for that. Just a heads up. Once the oil and antifreeze meet....the damage is eating away at the internal parts

Engines may run perfectly fine with a blown head gasket if the damage to the gasket is not too severe. Depending on which engine you have it may be necessary to remove the engine from the vehicle to change the head gasket due to the location of the rear timing chain. $800 will not even come close to paying for this repair.