1999 T Reg Ford Escort 1.6L

[Simon_Edwards]

Good Afternoon,

Hopefully you will all be able to help me!

Basically the car is overheating.

I filled the car with water 2 days ago and it is now empty (i have only driven about 20 miles) but there doesnt appear to be a leak anywhere?

i've just filled it with anti-freeze and left the car running for 15 mins and the temperature reader/gage goes all the way up into the red and i touched the radiator (towards the top) and it was cold!? Is it supposed to be?

Over the weekend I changed the sensor which should make the fan start which screws into the top pipe which goes into the fan but that hasnt made any difference and the fan still isnt kicking in but im under the impression the car shouldnt be getting this hot to start off with!

Normally the temperature stays down as long as im driving along, it normally only goes into the red when im sitting in traffic!

On one occasion it has got really hot and started steaming a little and i pulled over and some liquid came out underneath (felt like water as it was clear and grease free). i left it a couple of hours, filled it with water and i drove home (Which was about 40 miles and it seemed fine!).

I've spoken to Ford and they suggest changing the coolant sensor.

What do you guys think?

much appreciated!

P.S I've also bought some rad-weld to shove in the radiator but for the life of me i cant find the top of the raditor where I am supposed to put it in!

 

[jonnyfishing]

Try changing the thermostat and ensure you refill system as per manual.
If it isn't that and you have no visible leaks anywhere, then look to the head gasket.

If you haven't got a leak in the radiator, do not use radweld.

 

[Simon_Edwards]

thanks for the reply,

Is the thermostat what Ford have quoted as the "coolant sensor - £8.45 - Goes into thermostat housing"?

I'm assuming it is....

does it screw in vertically and the connector plugs into the top of it (located about 10cms away from the air intake?)

thanks again

i'll stay away from the radweld for the time being

 

[^neo^]

Fill the car up with coolant, park it somewhere dry (not easy in the UK) and leave it running.
If the water is leaking out of the coolant system then you'll see the wet patches under the car / in the engine bay.
If the water is going down but there are no visible signs of leaks, then it's going into the engine somewhere, most likely the headgasket (even though i think the oil cooler runs off the coolant system too which can cause grief).

What does the oil looks like? Golden / black? Or creamy and white like mayonnaise?

If it's emptied itself in 20 miles, it's unlikely to be headgasket as loosing that much water would be causing other problems i should think

 

[Simon_Edwards]

I left it running long enough for it to get hot and there were no wet patches on the floor.

I then checked the radiator and it was cold (the whole thing) although all the pipes were hot!

does this mean there's a blockage somewhere and its actually not the thermostat?

 

[^neo^]

I left it running long enough for it to get hot and there were no wet patches on the floor.

I then checked the radiator and it was cold (the whole thing) although all the pipes were hot!

does this mean there's a blockage somewhere and its actually not the thermostat?

The thermostat may be the blockage if it's not opening. Swap it for a new one as it's one more thing to rule out then.

 

[Simon_Edwards]

this is what somebody else has said to me..does this sound about right?

Consider the thermostat like a tap.

When the engine is cold the tap will be shut

As the engine warms up the tap will stay closed untill the opening temperature is reached (usually around 80-90 degrees)

Once this optimum temperature is reached the tap will open and allow the hot water to circulate around the radiator. It will then open and close to regulate the temperature of the engine to as close to optimum as possible.

if the thermostat has failed in the closed position the radiator will not warm up because there is no flow of hot water through it.

take the thermostat out all together and run the engine if the rad gets warm you need a new thermostat. Failing that if you want to check it bung it in a saucepan of hot water and check it opens

 

[^neo^]

or for the sake of a few quid, just change it anyway

 

[Simon_Edwards]

It's done the trick lads!

thanks for that! cracking forum! will be using it again!

means i can drive home and get away from the misses now

Took it out last night and went for a drive and the rad got hot and the fan kicked in and the temp stayed slap bang in the middle of normal!