Temp Issues

[TorchedGT]

a $4 fuse was the culprit lol.....damnit all lol. ah well its fixed

 

[Makdaddy]

I know you mentioned fans
But are they running when you stop?
Sounds like they may not be, or at the very least only running on low

 

[stkjock]

the idiot gauge has little value, use your Xcal to view the ECT and really see where the temps are.

original coolant and thermostat?

if they are truly high, check the relays and connections for breaks/corrosion. the fans could be running intermittently as a result.

also learn to space out your post better - that was hard to read thru

 

[05moneypit]

The temperature sender is in the passenger side cylinder head. The sensor by the oil filter is oil pressure.

Does the idiot light for temperature come on? It will come on around 260*

Data log COOLANT_TEMP....the highest it will read is 245* Check to see if the fan is running at idle when it heats up.

My bet is on a flakey thermostat or you boiled some of the coolant out of it and it has a big air pocket....that would have also likely have been caused by the stat.

Lee

 

[ski]

If the cooling fans are operating properly and datalogging shows a normal coolant temp, then the temp gauge may be dodgy.

 

[BruceH]

Not real sure what is going on with my car. ive owned it since new and i know the car inside and out. but a few months ago i developed a problem where i drive the car dead cold and have no issue. but if i get back in the car after killing it a short time...the gauge will climb to the max. the first time it happened i pulled over to the side of the road. pop the hood and its not boiling over, water pump isnt leaking..no visual signs of it overheating. checked the oil and it was clean as well so no head gasket issue that i could tell. not long before the problem happened, we had some really heavy rain to where the roads in town where i work flooded. i tried to drive through it till it seemed too deep to chance it. so i backed up and found a different route and made it home. about a month after that this problem started happening. a friend of mine that works the parts department at a local ford dealer said that it may be the temp switch thats located by the oil filter housing may of gotten wet and maybe thats the cause. there are three ideas i have in mind that could cause it. 1. the temp switch gotten wet and is acting funny. 2. the electric fans gotten wet and acting funny. 3 being i have underdrive pulleys maybe the water pump pulley is letting it get warmer than it should. if i fire it up and drive in town after killing it shortly before and the gauge goes up to the H and i roll out on an open stretch the gauge goes back to normal... my first thought is if its really over heating for that length of time then i would have mechanical signs of it but i dont. maybe its just a sensor issue? im sorta drawing a big ? because i cant really induce the problem. but it takes some of the same cirumstances for it to happen. my thing is if its really a mechanical problem it would show its overheating all of the time...


if that big paragraph made any sense maybe some of yall will have ideas. i wonder if i data logged it would it show its overheating? or if the gauge is giving a false reading the log will also show a false reading as well? its frustrating because i drive the same route every day and 90% of the time i stop on my way to work and grab a soda or something at the store before work and some days the gauge climbs and some days it doesnt. i did notice that if i leave work and stop at walmart or a gas station on my way home...the same scenario doesnt cause the problem to happen. which its not nearly as hot at night too....


input is welcomed...

Like already mentioned it's time to change out the coolant and put a new thermostat in. It really sounds like a sticky thermostat and that's nothing to screw with.

Warning: Personal experience rambling coming on:

I lost a 350 in my 77 Monte Carlo due to a sticky tstat. It was back in 86 and I was a poor E-3. It was -20 degrees out and the tstat had been sticking open. It suddenly decided to stick closed and at -20 + 20 mph winds I wasn't walking from where it happened. Drove it far enough to reach a friends house and it was hot enough to crack the block.

The point is take care of it. Breakdowns don't always happen in a convienient place. You have a warning from your car just like I did but you don't have to lose your motor over it.

Pick up a new tstat and gallon of antifreeze at the parts store. Get a gallon of distilled water from the supermarket. That's all you should need to change it out. It might also be time to change the hoses since the system will be drained anyway.

 

[AutoXRacer]

Shouldn't he also get this:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0002SRH5G/ref=oh_details_o00_s00_i00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

How else will he be able to drain and fill; in addition to remove air in the system...?

 

[BruceH]

Shouldn't he also get this:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0002SRH5G/ref=oh_details_o00_s00_i00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

How else will he be able to drain and fill; in addition to remove air in the system...?

That's one more thing I'm not doing right then. I drain from the petcock and "pump" the hose to help get as much coolant as possible out. Airtraps aren't really a problem with our motors. Just fill, start, fill again, put the cap on and let it pressurize, check the level for the next few days.

That does look like a neat tool though.

 

[AutoXRacer]

That's one more thing I'm not doing right then. I drain from the petcock and "pump" the hose to help get as much coolant as possible out. Airtraps aren't really a problem with our motors. Just fill, start, fill again, put the cap on and let it pressurize, check the level for the next few days.

That does look like a neat tool though.

OMG, it made servicing the engine and supercharger coolant 100% easier!!!

 

[702GT]

From easy to more difficult;
-Possible sticky T-stat, cheap/easy to replace.
-Possible faulty fan relay, electical diagnostic with a multi-meter. Resist/amp can be googled or found here. (usually a CEL associated with fan relay failures)
-Possible Temp Sensor faulty, remove intake manifold and replace sensor on passenger cyl head (towards the rear). If temp sensor is funky any handheld will reflect what the sensor says the temp is so dont trust that too much either.

These are the cheapest/easiest methods to troubleshoot. If it still overheats after all that you'll have to dig deeper.

 

[TorchedGT]

thanks for the input guys... think ill change the thermostat for shits and giggles anyhow. it has 83k on the clock so it can't hurt. the coolant looks as clean as when I bought the car new along with the hoses.. think ill dig into it this weekend finally. ill pick up an oem temp fail safe thermostat and some coolant. at times it makes me think the fans aren't kicking on. if the needle starts moving toward the hot and then I end up out on the open road it'll slow go back normal.. whatever it is, I'm gonna try to get to the bottom of it soon. the owners manual did say it'll go into "limp" mode should the temp get close to one that will cause damage so I guess that's a good safety feature.

 

[TorchedGT]

scratch the thermostat... after check into things further..my fan isnt kicking on so i guess ill need to track down the relay and/or fuse. the blade spins freely by hand but no worky

 

[james432]

Did u check for a melted relay I had that happen and another guy pm me the same thing happend it took out my fuse box too

 

[TorchedGT]

it was just a blown fuse the whole time.....oops