Contour Enthusiasts Group Archives Forums General Troubleshooting Engine overheated: melted water pump

Hi,
This summer when I was driving back to Chicago from Florida, the engine of my Countour GL'95 started overheating after a fast startup from a highway curb (tachometer did not go to red though - just about 4500 rpm; air temps were ~90F) about 100 miles from Atlanta. I was obviously very frustrated to have my short vacation being spoiled by the problem. I had to get the car towed to Atlanta, drive to Chicago o fa rent-a-car, come back a week later to learn from a dealer that the water pump melted. ~$300 got me back on the road.

I got a new cooling fan electronic fuse installed by a Ford dealer before the trip - there was a manufacturer's recall (00M13) for the fuse.

My question is, is that possible that the engine overheating could occur as a result of the fuse replacement? If so, I could be eligible for refund of the cost of repairs.

Recently I learned about another recall program - 01M07 - a no charge extended warranty and free replacement (in case of falure) of a heater blower switch.

Both above recalls sound related to a possibility of engine overheating.

The mechanic at the Ford dealership in Atlanta did not mention any reasons why the engine could overheat. Neither he did offer any refunds or reductions of the repair costs due to any recalls.

Do you think they could hide the trouth in order to charge me for the service? I don't believe that an engine that was not running hot before (never over mid range on a dashboard indicator) would suddenly go that bad only because of a fast start. :rolleyes: I had the vehicle serviced (oil and transmission change, collant added, etc)in Florida a day before the trip. I suspect that some switch malfunctioned, and that caused overheating, and that Ford dealer has not been truthful to me.

Of course I would be happy do get a refund if possible, because it has not been only $300 for me, but more ~$1000 (rent two ways to and from Chicago, 2 nights in motels, extra gas, missed days at work...).

Any comments on the nature of the problem, as well on your experience with dealer mechanics are welcome.

Sorry for the long post.

Thank you in advance.

It wouldnt suprise me as shady as some of these Ford dealerships are, it wouldnt suprise me in the least bit. It seems too coinsciencdental that your car would overheat after having repairs done, I havent had the repairs yet, my advice is to let the dealer that did the recall repairs know what happened, good luck getting any money out of them though, because they never give you the benefit of the doubt, you would probably have to take them to court, then youd probably still be lucky to get anything.

95's have a seap valve,once the waterpump gets hot valve leaks leading to the demise of pump....morale of the story is,if no leak it ain't broke.fan switch relay fuses do the trick

The water pump failure caused the overheating, not vice versa.
You didn't mention if your engine was a 4 or 6 cyl.
The sixes with plastic impellers seem to have a propensity for early failure. Read the manyposts regarding the same.
Travelling at highway speeds does not require the use of cooling fans; only in traffic.
You were probably using the a/c, which will also greatly lend itself to radiator cooling.

the blower switch is for your heat inside your car i believe....i could be wrong....

Dan,
The engine is V6. Yes, I certainly was using a/c. However, as I mentioned before, the engine was not hot before the incident - just in lower upper third of the grean on the gauge. 4500 rpm melted the pump - or, as I learned from the many posts you referred to, probably blown the impellers (dealer used definition "melted" though, and added that it happens pretty often, because WP is plastic).

OK, even if impellers cracked (the only visible leakage was from the coolant tank cap though), why would that happen? I have a pretty limited knowledge in car mechanics, but I guess the cause for such a damage should be increased pressure in the cooling system. If so, the increases pressure build up should have been caused by inefficient cooling, right. What would cause that? Moreover, Failed cooling fan for example. What if the the new fuse that they replaced did not do it's job? Actually, I noticed that after mechanic in Atlanta replaced WP, the cooling fan starts much more often than before, even on a freeway after driving in conjested traffic. The mechanic did not mention doing any tune ups on the fan though (!) I recall hearing something about the design of the coolant tank cap that allows exceeding pressure to escape.Do I make sense here?

All I am trying to figure out is if I go to the dealership next time in an attempt to find out the truth about why the WP failed, what should I ask them to check? Would computer check for example show anything? Could radiator be having too much mineral deposits? etc, etc...

Thanks for your attention.

When the WP fails coolant no longer flows through the engine, radiator, heater core, etc. If the temp sensor for the radiator fans is in the radiator it won't come on, because the radiator isn't very hot (no hot coolant flowing through it). This is the same reason that heat doesn't come out of the "heater": no cooant flowing through it. The coolant in the engine block begins to boil and this forces the coolant level in the expansion tank to rise. Note: the expansion tank in these cars are different than most systems: they are not vented to the atmosphere and are under pressure when the coolant is hot.

No water pump = no coolant flow/circulation = overheating. Looks like you experienced the classic Contour pump failure.
The water pump and engine cooling fan operations are totally unrelated.