I have a 94 Escort Sport 1.9 and it used to get a bit hot before but i recently had a mechanic replace the water pump and time belt. But now the car will even get hotter. I already replaced the thermostat and radiator cap too and it has new coolant. Before i could turn the AC on and it would decrease the temp a bit but now if i turn it on it will get even hotter, almost to the red line. Just wondering if you have any suggestions on what to look for, probably a new radiator or have i blown a headgasket. and if i have a blown gasket ...how do i know and how much to fix it.??

If you blew a head gasket there should be smoke out the tail pipe. there is no reason turning the air on should ever make the car cool down. The heater, yes, the ac ,nope. It will never do anything besides add to the load on the car.

Makes me wonder if the gague isn't messed up, or maybe the coolant temperature sensor?

What is the coolant level. Is it leaking? and how quickly does it overheat?

If you blew a head gasket there should be smoke out the tail pipe. there is no reason turning the air on should ever make the car cool down. The heater, yes, the ac ,nope. It will never do anything besides add to the load on the car.

Makes me wonder if the gague isn't messed up, or maybe the coolant temperature sensor?

What is the coolant level. Is it leaking? and how quickly does it overheat?
a/c cools engine = if you have two electric fans under the hood. one can malfunction and not work . the other could be your a/c fan. so when you turn on the a/c that,s the only fan that,s blowing on your motor. = you may have some engine cooling happening.a/c fans turn on only when you turn on the a/c.

First make sure fan comes on. always on with A/C .Second Very possibly an air pocket in cooling system.any time system is empty and refilled air MUST be bled out. if your heat is on,it should blow very hot air if it is cool to warm air an air pocket is the problem.

Sounds like the radiator is clogged. When the engine is warmed up (carefully) touch the top of the radiator. Should be hotter than hell :evillol: Now get under the car and feel the bottom of the radiator. If it's not hot then it's clogged. The sediment sinks to the bottom and clogs the lower tubes first. I bought a new radiator online for $100. radiator.com or something like that.

ah... that's what i get. james is right though... if the fan is causing problems, the temperature will decrease/reach normal when moving cerca 30-40mph.

When my Escort radiator was clogged it did the same thing at the beginning. Would only overheat at idle. Then when you drove and the air started flowing then it would cool off to normal. If you take the grill off and drive then it will really drop the temp :2cents:

I agree with AZ... My 94 did the same thing. I tried everything, even took out the thermostat, but it would get gradually hotter. The radiatior was clogged. My friend's did that once, and his was stopped up with bugs, and he pressure washed it and it worked after that, so try that first.

When my Escort radiator was clogged it did the same thing at the beginning. Would only overheat at idle. Then when you drove and the air started flowing then it would cool off to normal. If you take the grill off and drive then it will really drop the temp :2cents:

I had the same problem with my rad. being clogged, a new modine
rad. from NAPA made a huge difference. If you sit at idle long enough
the fan will snap on eventually to cool the engine. With my old rad.
this took about 2 minutes to happen and when the fan did come on
it took a LONG time to drop the temp gauge. With the new rad. I
have to be at a stop for at least 4-5 min for the fan to kick in and when
it does the temp gauge drops like a rock.