Contour Enthusiasts Group Archives Forums General Troubleshooting Temperature/ Overheating problems

I've got a 1995 GL, Duratec V6, with about 156,000 miles on her. A few months ago I was on a road trip and my car started to overheat. The gauge never did get to critical levels but it got very hot. The next day I had a new thermostat put in and a flush n' fill on the radiator. It helped but she still runs warm under certain conditions. If I'm able to keep moving, or average stop & go traffic, everything's fine. If I end up stopped with the engine running for any length of time then the gauge starts to creep up to about the halfway point. According to the FAQ/ Previous Post section:
"Lessons learned. If you do NOT have hot air from the heater when it overheats, its probably the pump. If you do have hot air but it overheats, its probably the thermostat, clogged radiator and/or upper hose." - The heat works fine, so I'm not sure if I should replace the water pump but the thermostat's been replaced and the radiator flush should've shown if it was clogged, so I'm stumped.
To speak freely, I need to get this taken care of before the weather starts getting hot again and I don't have a lot of money to spend replacing all kinds of things that don't need replacing yet. Thank you in advance for all of your help, I need it. And please explain things, as I'm new to the Contour and kind of a chimp when it comes to major mechanical repairs.

sounds like your fans are not coming on check your fuses under the dash on drivers side and your relay located under the hood near the batery

you should replace your water pump with a metal impeler water pump, the plastic ones are known to come a part

Hi there.



As stated, this is a typical scenario for many people..

I can understand the low cash flow, but I will still recommend the following..


Check fuses.. driver's side, footwell, right about where your knee is when you are driving (behind the dash.. look up from the floor..)

Check your fan relays in the engine compartment, as stated, as well.

After the car is warmed up, touch the upper radiator hose.. if it is hot (and it will be HOTTTTTT) then the thermostat is opening.

Lastly, I would recommend either a metal impellar waterpump @ ~$70, or an updated WHITE PLASTIC impellar Some have experienced problems with leakage from around the shaft of the metal ones. Either one you choose will set you back little money, and about 30 minutes for a novice to change... EXTREMELY EASY.

The stock, pre-99ish impellars are black plastic that is known to become brittle and weak under heat (guess what that little impellar does for a living... mmmhmmm...)

and the average lifespan is believed to be around 50-70K miles... You are pushing the limits, my friend. (yes... yes.. there are others out there with as many or more miles.. but NOT enough to be considered "normal" behavior..)


Lastly, you said that if you sit still it will begin to creep up to the HALFWAY mark? that would be normal... and would not require changing... a thermostat that is a much cooler opening point would keep your car on the cold side of things, until you started sitting still, etc...

Ray

It sounds like the fans are coming on fine. Not to ask a stupid/obvious question, but is there anything I'm missing there? I can hear them so I've assumed that they're not the problem.
Where is the best place to get a water pump with metal fins? I've figured that I'm probably going to have to replace that anyway but wanted to see if that was all I needed to do to get her running right.

My cause for alarm at the temp reaching the halfway mark is mostly due to the fact that when I first got the car in the spring-time that it stayed over on the left not matter what. It never went past the "O" in NORMAL until the day I got stuck in traffic on the highway in the late summer, and then it went very high. I ended up cutting the heat on and pulled off to keep it from overheating. Ever since then it's just acted funny. Not Ha Ha funny, but funny.
I've figured out that it's going to need some TLC to keep her running good so I'm trying to budget what to do as I go. So far I've got an AEM short ram air intake from SP Motorsports, new plug wires and some NGK Iridium plugs. Figure I'll take care of the temp problems next and then hit the suspension.

Skip the NGK's and save yourself a TON of money..

Motorcrafe OEM replacements, or Autolite APP764 (double plats) are the ONLY two plugs I would EVER let touch your car.


Anything else is bogus (+4, etc) and the NGK's are too expensive to provide any difference in perforance, with a waste ignition system, causing the electrode to wear twice as fast as the rest.


NOT worth it, except with an FI application, etc. etc.



Ray

Normally I wouldn't have spent the extra cash for the NGK's, but I work at a company that sells race car safety equipment and one of my dealer reps gave them to me. Figured ya can't beat free. Now hopefully I can find a good deal on some decent struts and springs next. I'm searching for a good combination now and hope to be able to purchase and install them in spring/summer.

Eibach/Koni's are the most popular combination on here...

Ground Contril coilovers are more stiff, but provide a lower stance.


There is always the ST200 struts, and SVT Springs..

(not to mention the Eibach GB going on right now.. )

free is good, but keep your eye CLOSE on that electrode, as it is not coated like the rest, and with a wastefire ingition, you are going to wear them out rather fast.


Congrats, though.

Ray

What are the ST200 struts? Not sure that I've heard of those yet. Will the ST200/SVT spring combo give me a tight, aggressive ride? Will it lower the car any and if so how much? Last question, is it an easy swap to put the SVT springs onto a 95 GL?
I don't ever plan on autocrossing her but I want to make her a lot more fun to drive. I didn't expect to like the car at first, but she's grown on me. I appreciate your help and advice.

SINCE you are incredibly new, here... I will point out the fact that there is virtually NOTHING you can ask that hasn't been hashed over a thousand times or more.

For this purpose, the top of each forum (troubleshooting, maintenance, wheels, etc) has a few threads that are pinned to the top (little red pin) read these FAQ's (frequently asked questions) and you will have the answer to MOST of your questions you could ask.. and all of the ones you just did..


here is the link to the FAQ in the SUSPENSION forum..

about halfway through it, it lists available types, the drop you get, everything..


Suspension FAQ



HTH

Ray