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No heat and temp guage running hot

I

Irish Pride

CEG'er
Joined
Apr 12, 2009
Messages
48
Location
MusicCityUSA
Tonight i was on my way home and about half way home the heat cut out. It just started blowing cold air. As soon as this happened i looked at the temp guage and sure enough it was climbing up towards overheating. I immediatly turned off the engine and pulled over to the side of the road. I popped the hood and it wasnt boiling over and it had coolant in the resivoir. It doesnt leak any coolant and the temp guage has never fluctuated. The temp needle is always steady in the middle of the guage until this happened. I have done some reading on the forum and it sounds like the water pump might have gone bad but i'm not certain. Could this problem be caused by air in the system. I only ask this because i have noticed recently the past couple of weeks that if i park on an incline when i start the engine the radiator light will be lit up. After i drive for about a mile or so it will go off. It only comes on when parked on an incline. Just wondering if this might be related to what happened tonight. Any input will be greatly appreciated. Thanks
 
this may sound like a stupid question, but did you check the belt on your water pump?

The impeller on your water pump is probably bad if the belt is good. It is a fairly common problem, we have crappy water pumps with cheap plastic impellers.

As for the coolant level light.... yeah, its normal, just part of owning a contour. Add a little more coolant and you wont have that problem
 
That belt is under the plastic cover on the driver's side near the battery. There's also a spring tensioner. Maybe it will be an easy fix. AC Delco makes a metal impeller waterpump I used in my Mystique (which had overheated bad enough to short out the temp sensor (pegged full hot) and blew most coolant overboard. It did that for the previous owner, and the engine lives on.) Alternatively, a Motorcraft waterpump with white plastic impeller is good.

PS: You like SHOS!
 
FIND said:
this may sound like a stupid question, but did you check the belt on your water pump?
Click to expand...

BINGO!!! Easiest repair i've ever had. When I got up this morning I removed the plastic cover and there it was. The belt was completely shredded. Walked to autozone bought a new belt, walked back and had it on. The whole process including my nice walk took 20 minutes.

FavoriteMystaque said:
PS: You like SHOS!
Click to expand...

You got it. I need to update my sig. I've actually added to more SHOs to my stable in recent months.
 
FIND said:
It is a fairly common problem, we have crappy water pumps with cheap plastic impellers.
Click to expand...


only for 98 and older cars which got a black plastic impellar that falls apart. the newer white impellar is fine and has a very low failure rate.
 
Yea I know it's old but this one was really close to a symptom and i saw the OP logged in a few days ago. I ordered a new pump in the meantime. But yea I was driving with the heat on and I turned it off b/c i was getting warm....then I turned it back on 5-10 mins later and no heat. Then I noticed the temp needle was moving up.

Do you know the part # for the belt? I can't seem to pin it down. Can it be picked up at AutoZone?

How long did you drive it this way? What do you think is the max time/distance should be in the scenario? I guess if it gets real hot I can pull over and let it cool down then drive a bit more, cool down, rinse/repeat until I get it back home.
 
autozone has it as Dayco Part Number: 5030268 Notes: Poly-V W/P & idler

I drove my car maybe 5-10 minutes before I finally noticed and pulled over. I certainly wouldn't drive it knowing the pump wasn't moving coolant. Seriously, just pop the hood and look. You'll know if you need a new belt or not. It's like a 5 minute job to put in a new one.

Aircougar told me I was in need of a new one, I bought the belt, and just never put it on until it finally shredded on the highway. Everything turned out fine but I still kick myself after doing it and seeing how it took almost no time at all to do.
 
hotdimmes said:
autozone has it as Dayco Part Number: 5030268 Notes: Poly-V W/P & idler

I drove my car maybe 5-10 minutes before I finally noticed and pulled over. I certainly wouldn't drive it knowing the pump wasn't moving coolant. Seriously, just pop the hood and look. You'll know if you need a new belt or not. It's like a 5 minute job to put in a new one.

Aircougar told me I was in need of a new one, I bought the belt, and just never put it on until it finally shredded on the highway. Everything turned out fine but I still kick myself after doing it and seeing how it took almost no time at all to do.
Click to expand...

Thanks buddy . Sorry if a dumb question but do you need anything special to change the belt? Any special tools needed or does it just slide on? is it a simple DIY?

I ordered a new waterpump (whole motorcraft assembly) off amazon for under $100 shipped while I was at it. Figured I'd change it and inspect the belt then. I'll have some time to check the belt this weekend. I have another car to drive in the meantime.
 
if the engine is at temp and the waterpump isn't moving coolant, even after letting it cool, it will peg the temp in just a minute or two. And this was on the coldest day in Jan a year or two ago.

Don't drive it, check the belt and go from there.
 
well....turns out it was just the belt. It was shredded. Dryrotted and just fell apart. So I replaced the belt and now I have my heat back and it's running at perfect temp. 15 min fix...thanks again guys!
 
Don't chance driving it if you know the belts gone or the Temp gauge is pegged. You'll never know when (and you'll wish you had) if it gets hot enough to warp a head or compromise lubrication properties in a cam bearing, crank or scuff a piston. Definately a good reason to subscribe to a diet odf synthetic oil, as it will accept more heat when necessary.
 
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