Taurus coolant and heater problem

[desroches]

Hello all,

I am a new member with limited automotive knowledge. My 1999 Taurus is giving me some problems.

For several days, there has been a squeaking/whining sound coming from the engine (I believe the passenger side). It comes at different times while the car is moving. It only lasts about 3 - 5 seconds and then quickly disappears.

This morning, the car's heater would not work correctly. It would initially kick out heat, but after about 20 seconds, the heat would change to cool air.

In addition, the temperature gauge on the dashboard was acting odd. It would spike to almost "hot" and then slowly come back down to normal. Then it would do it again, but it was very sporadic. Sometimes it would spike while driving, sometimes while stopped at a light, etc. It never entered the danger zone, but obviously something is wrong.

I checked the coolant level this afternoon, and it was a bit low. It also looked like there may have a been one or two drips underneath the car. I will fill it after work and see if that helps.

If anyone has any ideas about the cause of this, please let me know. After reading some past posts, I think that it may be the water pump. Also, perhaps there is a leak in the system; hence the drips and the low level. Would a low coolant level affect the heat in the car?

Any help is greatly appreciated.

Thanks a lot.

[sfontain]

If your water pump were on the fritz then you wouldn't start blowing cold air.

Initially what you said about getting heat at first and then no heat, it sounds to me like you have a plugged heater core. Then you said the temp. guage is spiking which could be a bad coolant temperature sensor or a failing thermostat.

I would try having the heater core flushed and then change your thermostat with a Ford part only at the same time.

[Smith1000]

Low coolant level may cause no anti freeze to the heater core, thus, no heat inside the car. I've had some cars that blow cold when the coolant level gets low. It is usually fairly low though, like at least half a jug; not just a little low.

It does sound more like the water pump is going bad though. It is squeaking and whining, temp climbs, etc. In my Taurus, the power steering pump whined a lot and it eventually went out. In some, the ac squeaks.

If it was getting that hot, you would hear the electric fan kick on to cool it down. It would run until it gets about slightly below half and then kick off. I had to replace the engine temp sending sensor on mine at least twice. It would give false high readings. It would go way up and down fast. The guy at the auto parts store said he sold a lot of them.

[sfontain]

Originally Posted by Smith1000

Low coolant level may cause no anti freeze to the heater core, thus, no heat inside the car. I've had some cars that blow cold when the coolant level gets low. It is usually fairly low though, like at least half a jug; not just a little low.

It does sound more like the water pump is going bad though. It is squeaking and whining, temp climbs, etc. In my Taurus, the power steering pump whined a lot and it eventually went out. In some, the ac squeaks.

If it was getting that hot, you would hear the electric fan kick on to cool it down. It would run until it gets about slightly below half and then kick off. I had to replace the engine temp sending sensor on mine at least twice. It would give false high readings. It would go way up and down fast. The guy at the auto parts store said he sold a lot of them.

The coolant temperature sender and coolant temperature sensor are two different things.

If anything is wrong in this particular case, it's the sensor.

[smily157]

I had the exact same problem, i had no heat after like 20 seconds, and my temp. was getting high, and so i checked and realised that i was low on coolant and so i added some (i wasn't sure how much so it was probably only half full), and the temp. would rise and fall while driving, when i filled the tank full it worked fine, so anyway, i had a leak in the coolant tank, with a new tank it works fine.