97 taurus lx OVERHEAT :(

[acidcrashdburnd]

dohc 24v


about 3 days ago i was coming home from work and my temp gauge went to the HOT line. i pulled over waited about an hour for it to cool then i continued driving and it seemed normal for about a mile and started going up again! each time i shut my car off and then start it up again it goes back down then a mile it heats up again. i get no hot air through thru the vents only cold air so im guessing thermostat. so today my friend took me to go get a new one and now we need help trying to figure out where its at. helo me and ill love you lol jk but i need help ty

(my friends car)

[decyphex]

Originally Posted by acidcrashdburnd

dohc 24v


about 3 days ago i was coming home from work and my temp gauge went to the HOT line. i pulled over waited about an hour for it to cool then i continued driving and it seemed normal for about a mile and started going up again! each time i shut my car off and then start it up again it goes back down then a mile it heats up again. i get no hot air through thru the vents only cold air so im guessing thermostat. so today my friend took me to go get a new one and now we need help trying to figure out where its at. helo me and ill love you lol jk but i need help ty

(my friends car)

I believe those are kind of hard to get to..

[brokenantimatter]

It is located in between the water inlet housing which I have no clue off hand where it would be on the engine but my guess would be on the lower left hand of the radiator.... I think

[Huney1]

Follow the top radiator hose and the t'stat should be where the hose connects to the engine, and make sure you put it in right or it won't open.

When it heated up the first time, was it because the coolant got to low? If so the t'stat has nothing to do with low coolant and after it cooled off did you add water to bring it up to the proper level?

"i get no hot air through thru the vents only cold air so im guessing thermostat." If it was the t'stat you would still get warm air thru the vents and the heater core does not have water circulating in it because the core is plugged with rust and crud or the heater vents/doors aren't opening, or, the coolant level is to low and doesn't have enough coolant in it to fill the heater core.

"about 3 days ago i was coming home from work and my temp gauge went to the HOT line." For that to happen the t'stat would have to suddenly close and that's pretty rare. That would be what we call a "sticking" t'stat, usually happens when you start a cold engine and it warms up and t'stat sticks and doesn't open to allow the coolant to flow and the engine overheats. But riding down the road and the engine suddenly overheats usually indicates low coolant level. Have you ever replaced the radiator cap? They do go bad and they're relatively cheap so put a new one on. The cooling system requires pressure to function and if the cap gasket is old and leaks and won't hold pressure you will lose coolant and overheat.

There's a white tank called the overflow tank or coolant reservior tank and sometimes they spring a leak so look it over good for indication of a leak. You can't rapair the tank and a new one is about $30.00 You can also take it to a radiator shop and have the cooling system pressure checked for leaks.

Do this: Before you leave for work, engine stone cold, there's a full mark on the tank make sure the coolant is at the proper level. Before you leave work to drive home, engine cold, check the level again and make sure it is full, next morning check it again. If you find the coolant level dropping then you have a leak and a new t'stat will not cure that. If it's leaking out the cap, a new cap will stop that.

By the way, is the cooling system clean, no rust and the mixture should be half anti-freeze half water and do NOT exceed 50% anti freeze. If it's rusty then you need a cooling system flush which also flushes the heater core. Rusty system eventually plugs up the radiator tubes and overhets.

A word to the wise: Overheating is the number one cause of blown head gaskets and they are expensive to repair. It is imperative you act on that overheating thing in a timely manner and if you can't fix it pronto take it to a shop pronto and pay them to fix it because fixing a leak is a WHOLE LOT cheaper than fixing blown headgasket(s). Good luck and please let us know how goes it.

[acidcrashdburnd]

thank you everyone it was the water pump easy fix went ahead and put in the tstat anyway