The 'rents have a '01 exploder w/ the sohc 4.0. Anywho they have had it for about 6 yrs with out any problems. Earlier in hte week the thing ran hot and with it being their only way home and no one else to call they went ahead and made the 20 mi trip with the temp in the red. Boiled out the coolant to say the least. To make a long story short the t-stat stuck in the closed position. Now the thing has a very audible rattle to it kinda like valve rattle. What would or copuld be the culprit of this? Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Nathan

When mine did that I thought it was the T-stat but it ended up the head gasket.. but that was in a 3.0 Ranger.

I had the same thing. It was a thermostat. a $15 part. Hard to put on tho.