2002 Taurus taking a dump. Of coolant.

Hello, where do I start? I have a 2002 Taurus SES and over the summer I had the heater hose and assembly replaced because it was over heating and leaking coolant. Not long after that, she started dumping coolant only when turned off and the temperature gage never got hot. Thought is was maybe a water pump issue.:disappoin:disappoin:disappoin It was summer and I was strapped for cash, so I put water in the reservoir and for some reason, it stopped leaking. Seemed to be holding fluid. Since winter is approaching, I had the radiator flushed and filled with coolant. This was yesterday. I also got a new reservoir cap since they told me it was worn, and this might be why I sometimes see steam coming from under the hood, and probably where the coolant was leaking from. So I drove all day yesterday with flushed radiator (which they told me was pressure tested and not leaking anywhere) and a new cap, with no problems. Now today, I am in a local drive thru and all of a sudden, steam pouring out from under the hood like crazy and antifreeze is DUMPING all over the ground. By the time I could pull over and look under the hood, I couldn't see where the coolant was coming from but my temperature gage never moved out of the middle. It looks like there is some coolant right around the cap, but the cap is on super tight. I should add that at the time of leakage today, I had just gotten out of a traffic jam for about 15 minutes and my blowers were on. Any ideas? Any feedback would help. Water pump, thermostat, radiator hose blockage? Where should I even start?

Welcome to the forum!

You mentioned your "blowers were on". Are you referring to the radiator cooling fans, or the blower motor in the cabin for the heat/ventilation/air conditioning? Assuming you are referring to the cooling fans, were they moving a lot of air, or just running? Have you looked for any restrictions between the condenser and radiator, or in front of the condenser?

-Rod

11 yr old rad with plastic necks. I would look there.

Thank you everyone for the responses. We changed the thermostat based on recommendation from the place that flushed my radiator. Hopefully that was the problem. And by blowers, I meant I had my heat turned on.

If the Engine Coolant Temperature sender is reading correctly, and the gauge reporting correctly, but never got above the mid-point, that would not be consistent with a thermostat issue. Since you clarified that the blowers you referred to was the blower fan for the climate control, I'd be more suspicious that the radiator cooling fans are not working properly and therefore the cooling system boils over after an extended period in slow moving traffic.

That being said, if the thermostat was stuck closed and not allowing coolant to flow to and through the radiator you will get overheating. Also, several model years of Taurii were known to have water pump impeller vanes that disintegrate but you would typically have reduced heater output and nasty coolant if that happened.

-Rod

If I needed to replace that part, would it be called a cooling fan assembly?