2002 Taurus (3.0 OHV) Overheating Issue

I have a 2002 Taurus with the infamous 3.0 V6 OHV version. About a year ago it overheated and blew a head gasket. I changed it and it ran (Rough and with a misfire code) until a week ago. Hadn't drove it much but had to last week. It was hot that day at it died in billowing smoke on the interstate. My fault for driving it but it ended up with both heads cracked in numerous places. Got so hot that it melted the rubber spark plug boots. Anyway, I got 2 heads from a wrecking yard, had them magnafluxed, resurfaced and had the valves redone. I installed the new heads and it ran good. Changed the oil a couple times to get the milky look off the dipstick which is gone now. I drove it 70 miles to work this morning with no problem. On the way home I smelled the hot burning antifreeze. Got hot but I stopped driving it before it got critical. The pressure was enough to make the cap kick in and relieve the pressure (16 psi cap). My question is this: Could the radiator be the culprit? Oh, the heater core is definately clogged because the heat does not blow warm at all. The coolant is dark brown even though I changed it yesterday. My guess is that the radiator is so clogged that the coolant does not have a chance to cool off before going back in the motor. Is there a way to clean or flush the radiator without having to buy a new one. They are around $190.00 at Advance auto parts. Thanks in advance.

The coolant should have been drained and the system flushed when you changed the heads. You can drain it and buy a cleaner for it from almost anywheres (auto parts store, walmart). YOu may have to do it a few times just to get all the junk out of there. When you remove the heads you can take the chance of getting some metal shards in the block. Since the gaskets blew you could have gotten oil in your coolant as well. This is why the coolant needs to be changed when you change the heads. Since your heater core is clogged, this is most likely why you over heated to begin with.

YOu may have to do it a few times just to get all the junk out of there.
Yes I would buy at least several bottles of this and keep cleaning it until the water runs clear. Use one bottle, run and drain. Fill with fresh water, add the second bottle and run, then drain. Keep doing this until it is completely cleaned out. Hopefully there is no metal shards in the block.

I wouldn't go as far as calling the 3.0 vulcan infamous ... it's a good engine.

Along with flushing the cooling system (a lot), check the thermostat. I had an overheating problem, along with no heat in the winter that was caused by a thermostat that was stuck shut.

Your water pump is not pumping because the vanes are rusted away. This is why you have no heat...not because the heater core is plugged. And, of course, why the engine is overheating.

The rust in the system is from the pump impeller dissolving. I have encountered this several times and, yes, it takes a bit of faith to go to the trouble of pulling the water pump to inspect it, but that is where your problem lies.

Trust me! Pull the pump.

You would think that they would make the vanes out of something that didn't rust... :rolleyes:

It is not the water pump. When I changed the head gaskets I also took off the water pump and checked it and there was no rust. the veins were all in good shape because I changed the pump out less than a year ago. I am still stumped.