Engine Overheating

[soph17]

Hey guys! I have a 97 Ford Contour 2.5 V6 engine that has been overheating since the other day...

The engine is getting really hot and there is no heat coming out of the vents, it just blows out cold air...I thought it was a thermostat and took it to a repair shop that replaced it and everything...still have the same problem...the mechanic told me that the radiator isn't getting hot and the engine isn't getting any coolant in it...now I'm out $160 with the same problem...

The coolant is fine, there aren't any leaks of any kind, could it be the water pump?

It has been really cold here and I spent a while trying to get my car out of the parking lot here...my engine was working a lot with a lot of tire spinning...could I have blown something?

If anyone could help me out that would be freaking awesome!

Thanks!

[curtis73]

It sounds odd, but keep an eye on your coolant and oil. Its possible you blew a head gasket. I'm not entirely sure why you aren't getting heat, but the same thing happened on both vehicles I had that blew a head gasket.

If your exhaust smells sweet kinda like cotton candy, or if you notice oil in your coolant or coolant in your oil (oily milkshake) then you've blown a head gasket.

But before we jump to the expensive thoughts ... Consider a more simple thing like a faulty cooling fan; bad motor, blown fuse, busted wire.

[MishaA]

I think the description perfectly matches not working water pump.

[UncleBob]

could be a large air bubble too. Pretty rare that the water pump "fails". Only time you see that is when the pump rotor shatters or the belt comes off

[Moppie]

Those lovely Mazda motors have a good reputation for blowing head gaskets. From my experience once they do its, best to throw them away as the same engine is likely to keep doing it.
If you have a good one, they are a great little motor though.

From the description, no water circulating, as evidenced by the mechanic and heater not working, it really does sound like the Water pump has catastrophically, or as UncleBob suggested there is an air bubble. Best gotten rid of by bleeding the system.
I would look into that assuming there is no oil in the water or vice versa.

[UncleBob]

let me correct myself, the pump is ran off the timing belt. So the belt coming off definitely isn't an option.

And in case you were curious, its a steel impellor, so it shattering isn't an option either.

But I have seen them seize before, and take out the motor in the process when the timing belt jumps. Interference motor incase you didn't know.

Still not likely IMO

[Moppie]

Originally Posted by UncleBob

And in case you were curious, its a steel impellor, so it shattering isn't an option either.

What about the pully sheering off the front?

[UncleBob]

that would be the first time I'd seen that on any engine, let alone a mazda 2.5L

water pumps sieze or leak. Thats about it

[MishaA]

Well DSM 4D65 motor has its water pump driven by alternator belt. I had some fun trying to troubleshoot overheating problems when the belt was slightly loose

[Chrismathews4]

I have a 2000 ford contour se 2.0 VCT 4 cylinder with a overheating problem my self, I radiator cooling fan is not coming on it's like it's locked up, I can spin it by hand one way but not the way it needs to spinning. Can get it to barely spin and when the engine gets to hot I have to turn on the heater to hot to cool it off,and I live in Florida it's hot enough down here. Also when it does run cool the A/C works great but when the fan never kicks in the A/C goes HOT, I checked the low fan relay, it's fine, the compressor to the a/c units clicks on and off like normal but the radiator cooling fan never kicks on I'm thinking I have bad motor idk I'm a electrician not a mechanic so I need a little guidance please help

[Crvett69]

try hooking the fan directly to the battery and see if it works both directions that way

[shorod]

Be prepared for the jumper wire to get HOT when testing with the battery. If the motor is stalled it will try to draw A LOT of current. Use heavy gauge wire and have a wire cutter handy in the event the wire arc welds to the battery terminal and you need to open the circuit in a hurry.

Ford sometimes wires these fan motors up to basically short across the inputs when not on to provide a braking function rather than having the fans freewheel. That could explain why the fan doesn't spin easily, but it wouldn't explain why it does spin freely in one direction. You might have two issues, a bad fan motor and a damaged fan blade. Hot wiring directly to the battery when the engine is off as mentioned by Vette above may allow you to hear the motor is running but just not spinning the blade.

-Rod

[Chrismathews4]

Hey rod,
Way ahead of you I've tried to wiring directly to the battery and it did move an inch I hate to say this but fan might have went out. Because I'm electrician and when a fan goes out especially a D/C fan it will not spin either way. Now I know that theirs resistors, overheat manifold protection, and a radiator thermostat but I think I might have to replace the fan thank you on your help. Don't hesitate to ask if you have any questions

[shorod]

As an electrician I'm sure you have ready access to a multimeter. You could always install a multimeter to the fan connections and confirm that you have power to the fan motor when you turn the A/C on which would at least be an indication the wiring is good and signal is making it to the fan. You could then back probe the connector and make a similar measurement with the fan in the circuit to confirm there is not just a dirty connection that is limiting the amount of current that can be supplied, but since direct wiring the fan did not allow it to spin up, chances are pretty good the issue is not just low current to the fan.

Also, Crvett69 first suggested direct wiring the fan as a test, so give him a shout out too.

-Rod

[amit501]

This is the only problem of coolant. Coolant is not moving in and around engine to reduce the temperature of engine.