98 Taurus SE overheats while in park, idling

[ZoneMaster]

After driving the car under normal conditions and then the engine heats up to normal operating temperature. If I stop for a few minutes, put the car in park and come back, say 2-3 minutes later the temp gauge is moving up towards the hot mark. The coolant resevoir is full, it also seems that the thermostat is not opening (stuck) cause I don't think the coolant is circulating properly.

Unfortunately it is acting like it did about a year ago when the head gasket was getting ready to blow. Oh BTW it has around 109,000 miles on it.

There is no coolant leakage on the ground anyway to my knowledge. It also started bucking/skipping this morning and the "service engine soon" light started flashing.

Any ideas what may be going on? Thanks.

[Dan_in_WA]

What year of Taurus is it?

You could have a stuck thermostat, or the radiator fan isn't working. Does the car have working A/C? If so, start the car and turn on the A/C. The rad fan should start right up.

[ZoneMaster]

Originally Posted by Dan_in_WA

What year of Taurus is it?

You could have a stuck thermostat, or the radiator fan isn't working. Does the car have working A/C? If so, start the car and turn on the A/C. The rad fan should start right up.

In the subject body it says '98'.....1998 3.0L V6

Both fans are working properly. A/C works fine but no heat. As I said in my previous post I thought it may be a blown headgasket. Yes, it blew the headgasket again, a mechanic has confirmed this.

Anti-freeze in the oil, misting and anti-freeze smell from the exhaust, skipping occasionally on 1 or more cyclinders.

Thanks for your help

[Dan_in_WA]

Originally Posted by ZoneMaster

In the subject body it says '98'.....1998 3.0L V6

Oh jeez; I know better than to type at 5:45 am! Guess the morning coffee hadn't kicked in yet.

I'm surprised that a 3.0L is blowing head gaskets!! This is the first time I've ever heard of the 3.0L doing this, although it's common on the 3.8L.

Possibly the block deck or the head, or both, are warped?