99 taurus overheating #2

[billaird99]

My wifes 99 taurus wagon is running extremely hot when you turn on the air conditioning. If you have the A/C off it will run mid point on the gauge but if the A/C is on it will slowly climb to the point of it almost over the H on the gauge. I went today and got new antifreeze and a t-stat. My question is, where the hell is the T-stat located. It has the 24v DOHC duratec motor in it and I have found the waterpump (and it could be that also) but I have no idea where the t-stat is. Is it easy to swap once it's found or do I have to dis-assemble half the top part of the motor to get at it?

When I was buying the antifreeze and t-stat I checked out one of the haynes books at the store and it really didn't pin it down in there either (Haynes aren't the best for alot of things).

If somebody has the ability to scan a diagram or tell me exactly where this little bugger is locate I would really appreciate it.

Also if there are any more suggestions on what it might be other than the w/p, t-stat or going bad antifreeze?

I'm letting the car cool down as I type this and I will flush out the radiator and block and possibly throw the new antifreeze in there to see if there is any difference.


Thanks Bill

[Willyum]

Make sure that the radiator fans run, especially when the A/C is on. You did not say what the ambient temp's are, if it's 110 outside is harder to cool than if it's 85. Thermostats usually default to open when they fail, yours sounds like it is OK. As much info that you can provide the better.
Where I live (Las Vegas) the tap water plugs a radiator in a couple years, if that's happened to you, you need to replace the radiator, the crud is impossible to remove and it restricts cooling capacity.. Use only distilled water for refill.

[billaird99]

It's about 90 degrees outside right now and the fans are running really hard. If I take the cap off the coolant tank it's about 30 seconds before it starts to go from the hot line to overflow. I did a search and according to a few threads here, If I follow the upper radiator hose that comes out by the battery it goes to a metal type fitting that is bolted to the block. But in looking at it, the metal fitting goes into the block at another spot also (round opening with no bolts holding it in) so I'm not sure where the t-stat housing is.



Bill

[haverchuck]

I have the same problem on my 1999 Taurus SE sedan. I replaced the thermostat and the problem persists. Have you solved the problem on your wife's Taurus wagon yet?

[KimMG]

Check the radiator for cold spots. A clogged radiator can cause over heating.

[billaird99]

After doing a search of the site, I came across a thread where the poster said that his mechanic took and pressure washed the radiator and it fixed his problem. I went and took it to the car wash and dropped in $2 for a 5 minute pressure wash. I made sure to really get in the front of the car and close to the A/C condensor and hit it full blast all around the front. After I got it all done I took the car out for a spin, at 60 mph with the A/C on max it would be about 5 minutes before the temp gauge would start to climb and almost get to the red mark before I would shut the A/C off and let the car cool down.

After the pressure washing, I can run the car at 75 mph on max A/C and the car never gets above the 1/2 mark on the gauge. I also noticed that the cooling fans are now not running as hard as they once were. I can take off the cap of the coolant over flow tank and the coolant won't start to expand and over flow out of it like it did prior just idling in my driveway.

It seems that the $2 that I spent on the power wash of the radiator and A/C condensor did the trick. This sort of confirms what was happening, the radiator was clogged but allowed enough air to pass through it to keep it cooled enough. But add in the extra heat from an operating A/C running and it couldn't dissapate (sp?) the heat enough due to it having a lack of air flow.

To date though I have not been able to find the t-stat location but I've since brought back all the antifreeze, t-stat/gasket and radiator flush since it appears that it's not needed.

I suggest that anybody who has a problem with an over heating problem try it first. It could be the cheapest fix right off the bat and save you some time and money trying to fix this problem.



Thanks Bill

[haverchuck]

I took your solution one step "cheaper". I used my garden hose with a decent pressure nozzle on it and washed off the radiator as best as I could for 10 minutes. A lot of black water came off and I saw some wet sand on the ground under the car too. It seems to have solved the problem. I drove home on Friday (1 hour) in 95+ degree heat with the AC on MAX at 60 degrees and the temp gauge never even made it up to the halfway point between COLD and HOT.

Thanks a lot for an easy (and cheap) solution.

[sfontain]

For any others reading this thread, I would recommend that you make absolutely sure your exhaust and engine are completely cold before you start spraying water into the engine compartment.

You should also cover the engine with plastic sheets or a tarp or garbage bags or whatever you have. This spraying into an unprotected engine compartment is a very common cause of severe electrical problems.

[gbic1]

I would like to add that after 1996 the taurus seem to run hotter and the antifreeze gets real bad. It should be changed every 3 years or 36 thousand miles to protect your cooling system and head gaskets.

[billaird99]

Originally Posted by haverchuck

I took your solution one step "cheaper". I used my garden hose with a decent pressure nozzle on it and washed off the radiator as best as I could for 10 minutes. A lot of black water came off and I saw some wet sand on the ground under the car too. It seems to have solved the problem. I drove home on Friday (1 hour) in 95+ degree heat with the AC on MAX at 60 degrees and the temp gauge never even made it up to the halfway point between COLD and HOT.

Thanks a lot for an easy (and cheap) solution.

I'm really glad it worked out for me and you! I like the cheapest kind of fixes and this is one of them. I will always check that first on any car I drive from now on that experiences the same symptoms.





Bill

[mikeford]

Hi. I have a similiar problem on a 99 taurus dohc. The thermostat is down towards the bottom of the motor on the front side. You have to get the car up on jack stands, then follow the lower radiator hose from the passenger side and it runs into the bottom of the thermostat assembly. Just remove the two 8mm bolts and it falls right out. There isn't even a gasket to worry about, just an o-ring. I'll try hosing out the radiator fins tomorrow. The thermostat is fine, and I tried backflushing with no luck. Thanks for the tip.

[98er]

I was going to mention that a lot of crap accumulates in between the radiator and condensor. Looks like you blasted it out of there. Good job!
Marc/GA
97 SHO