'98 3.8 new battery dead, coolant level seems low in radiator, engine hot...?!?!?!?!!

[Fordina]

We have a '98, 3.8 Windstar. We replaced the battery within the last year. Today, husband was out and about and van worked fine. Came to an errand stop-off, turned the engine off for 5 minutes, came back and battery was dead. Got it jumped, drove it home, tried to restart it, battery again dead. Got it jumped at the neighbors, 10 minutes later would start up again on its own accord after being off for those 10 minutes. Now husband is under the hood and says coolant level seems low in the radiator and engine seems abnormally hot (but not showing anything on the dashboard as far as being too hot when he had the engine on previously). Doesn't seem normal, but we're not professionals. Any thoughts? He really needs to get to work tomorrow in this thing! If the engine is too hot, will that cause the battery to go flat or the car not to start or what's the deal here? HELP!!

[Rotorman]

Originally Posted by Fordina

We have a '98, 3.8 Windstar. We replaced the battery within the last year. Today, husband was out and about and van worked fine. Came to an errand stop-off, turned the engine off for 5 minutes, came back and battery was dead. Got it jumped, drove it home, tried to restart it, battery again dead. Got it jumped at the neighbors, 10 minutes later would start up again on its own accord after being off for those 10 minutes. Now husband is under the hood and says coolant level seems low in the radiator and engine seems abnormally hot (but not showing anything on the dashboard as far as being too hot when he had the engine on previously). Doesn't seem normal, but we're not professionals. Any thoughts? He really needs to get to work tomorrow in this thing! If the engine is too hot, will that cause the battery to go flat or the car not to start or what's the deal here? HELP!!

Hello fordina, It sounds like the alternator. If your husband is mechaniclly inclind have him remove the alternator an take it to autozone or AdvanceAuto for a free test. D'ont jumpstart any more you can do a lot more damage. While youre there check the battery also. Good luck

[wiswind]

As mentioned, you can have the charging system and battery tested for FREE.
My '96 has a fuse for the alternator in the engine compartment power distribution box.
It is fuse "T".
If this fuse is blown, the alternator will NOT charge the battery.

Check into the low coolant issue.
If you don't see coolant leakage outside the engine, as in drops under the car, or a green stain near a hose clamp etc (take note that clear water comes out of the A/C system on the passenger side at about the firewall).....then you need to look into a internal coolant leak.

A internal coolant leak will cause major damage to the engine if not corrected.
It gets into the engine oil....and coolant does not lubricate..........so that is a bad thing.
The 2 most likely causes of a internal coolant leak are the lower intake manifold gaskets (in my pictures) and the front cover, AKA timing cover.
The water pump and oil pump are mounted on the front cover.
Of the 2 jobs, the front cover is the more major.
I was lucky and was able to solve the front cover leak with Bar's Stop Leak added to the coolant......when the leak was only a very slight seapage.
It has held for about 6 years.
I replaced the lower intake manifold gaskets and the new ones have been good for over 2 years.
It is VERY unlikely that you have any problem with the head gaskets on your year of windstar.

If the Temperature gauge is in the lower to middle part of the range, you are most likely fine.
When you turn off a warmed up engine....it will seem hot when you go under the hood.
The thermostat does not open to let water circulate until the temperature is about 192 degrees F, and that is not far from boiling point for water, so it is a pretty hot place.

If the coolant is low, air in the system can cause the engine to overheat, so keep the vehicle coolant level topped up.
But DON'T drive it if it has a internal coolant leak.
You might change the oil, add some Bar's Stop Leak, and top off the coolant and see if you are lucky like me and seal the front cover.
Stop Leak was only temporary for the lower intake manifold gaskets on my vehicle.

[Fordina]

Thanks so much for the replies. Here's where we're at with this thing:
My husband took it to Advanced Auto Parts and had the battery and alternator tested. Battery tested good; they said alternator was bad. Husband went to a used auto place and bought a used alternator and put it on. Went back to Auto Zone this time and they said that the new (used) alternator was also bad. Husband called the used parts place where we bought it and they said that Auto Zone and Advanced Auto will tell you it's bad so they can sell you a pricey new one. Has anyone sensed that these places do this? Does anyone know if the sales people there are commissions-based? After reading your post, Wiswind, my husband checked the manual for the fuse boxes to check out the alternator fuse for our '98. He couldn't find it. He saw the two fuse boxes listed in the manual, but no alternator fuse listed. Any more clues as to where or how to locate this thing? Husband is at Advanced Auto now getting them to check the new (used) alternator and give their opinion on it in light of Auto Zone's opinion that it too is bad. FYI: Auto Zone also fully charged the battery up for us once again so it's kind of hard to tell, in the meantime, if the alternator's doing its job as we don't know how long the battery will hold its charge without the alternator functioning.

On the coolant issue -- Auto Zone also said that the coolant was good in the main coolant receptacle thingy, but low in the radiator. They asked if my husband was putting the coolant in straight instead of diluting it. He was (told you we're beginners here -- duh!). They said to add some water to the coolant in the radiator and that should take care of that matter. Coolant used to have to be filled up (with no obvious leaks in the driveway) as of a few months ago when I last posted, but within the past couple of months, the coolant level hasn't dropped so husband is saying that we'll just ignore it and cross our fingers and maybe it's okay now. In the meantime, we are hanging on to the tip about using that stop leak product if it starts up again. We're actually keeping a pretty close untrained eyeball on the whole thing.

BTW, they ARE indeed always mentioning the head gasket possibility on this van when we go in to Advanced Auto! LOL

[Fordina]

You gotta' love these guys. Husband just took the newly installed alternator (from the used parts place) over to Advanced Auto because Auto Zone had said that it was bad. Advanced Auto tested it and said it was just fine. Now, what do we do with that?

[wiswind]

I don't know if you have the alternator fuse on your '98 or not.
My only experience is with my '96, and it is fuse "T" on mine.
So I could have sent you looking for something that is not there.

As far as coolant, I would replace the radiator cap......with a normal one....not anything fancy, but at the correct pressure rating for your year fo vehicle (I don't know if they changed that from year to year).
Also, clean the seat in the radiator neck that the cap seals against.
My cap would not keep pressure.....and I could get it to work for a short while by cleaning the filler neck.....a new cap solved the problem.
It is sounding like the cap may be leaking.....as your radiator was low...but did not draw coolant in from the overflow tank.

I did notice that my '96 did not have a clamp on the hose from the overflow bottle, where it connects to the radiator by the cap.
You might want to check and see if your hose is loose at this point.
If it is loose, then you might want to put a clamp on it.....but don't tighten it real tight.....just very slightly snug is plenty good enough.

I would also get a oil sample kit (free) and send a oil sample in for testing.
They will tell you if you have coolant getting into the oil.
I have used this place
http://www.blackstone-labs.com/

They have always gotten back to me real fast.
I get an email within a couple of days of sending the sample to them.
They will also call you if they find something important to pass along.
Then you get a paper copy in the mail.
This is WELL worth the small fee they charge to test your oil.
I take the sample when changing my oil.

The 1995 3.8L windstar had head gasket issues, but they made improvements for the 1996 model year, and again mid-year in 1997.
I heard the head gasket routine plenty of times with my '96......and it was only the lower intake manifold gaskets.
Of course, if you have the head gaskets replaced, the job includes lower intake manifold gaskets, so IF the job is done correctly, your problem would be solved....but for more money.
I am one to leave the head gaskets alone if they are fine, particularly given the fact that they are NOT a high failure item on post 1995 model years.

Lower intake manifold gaskets have been an issue with a number of different vehicles from different manufacturers in recent years.
FORD did make improvements in the replacement gaskets for the lower intake manifold and the front cover to address the issues that caused them to fail in the first place.

Also, the Bar's brand of stop leak will NOT clog your heater core.
There may be brands that do....I do not know...but Bar's makes the stop leak that the manufactures add at the factory on some vehicles.
The hot water is always flowing through the heater core whenever the engine is ON.....so it is not just sitting in there when the heat is not on.
There is a blend door that controls how much air flows over the hot heater core....which is what you adjust when you adjust the temperature setting.
Having the coolant always flowing through the heater core prevents the issue of it being a place where the coolant sits and lets stuff settle out and create a clog.