Contour Enthusiasts Group Archives Forums General Troubleshooting Overheating

My wife's 95 is overheating. In October '03 we overheated and blew the head gasket. The head was milled flat and reinstalled along with a new pump, thermostat, overflow cap, and timing belt. Additionally, I have replaced the radiator fan motor in the last year. Since the repair, it has inconsistantly run hot. The guage nearly went to the red last weekend, (past L), and I saw steam coming from the cap on the overflow tank. I've had to refill the overflow tank everyday since, but I can't see a leak. Can that much coolant boil out of the cap? Also, the only time I notice the fan coming on is when the A/C is used. It may be coming on at other times, but I haven't observed it. I haven't noticed it coming on when the car's off either, even as steam comes from the cap. The shop that did the work admitted that the car was runnig hot, but said that the temperature measured fine at the thermostat housing. The tech suggested installing a new radiator and additionally suggested that the fan resistor might be bad,(what is this resistor thing? I have found nothing on it). My pal at NAPA got me a radiator and all new hoses at cost. Before I use these expensive parts, give me some suggestions on what to look for besides the thermostat being bad.

go to auto zone and buy some Water Wetter, and put that into your Coolant tank. Also, when I find my tour starts to run a little warm, if you turn on the AC, it runs the raidator fan, and the temperature should start to fall.

Sometimes pieces of the original plastic impeller get stuck in the cooling system causing it to run hot and even ruin the new water pump. If the small hole in the thermostat is plugged the thermostat will not work correctly and can air-lock the cooling system.

The fan has a low speed through the resistor and a high speed bypassing it. If the fan is not working correctly you will run hot or overheat at idle, but not while cruising.

Do a compression test and check that the cooling system holds pressure. Backflush the system thoroughly.

i got a 96 V-6 with two fans. one come on with the a/c and the other works via the heat of the engine...
my 93 taurus has just one fan, but it is controlled by the a/c going on and also the heat from the engine.. the part that controls this might be the fan relay or the ECT sensor(engine Control heat sensor) check it out at either auto zone or advance auto parts.. it should cost about $15.00 for the sensor and it should be on the cross over pipe by the water pump.. its got two wires that go to it.....

Thanks guys. I forgot to mention that this is a 2.0l. Rogerm60, I heard about the impeller problem on the V-6, but I didn't consider it on the ZETEC. The on-again off-again problem i'm having does sound like an impeller chunck, or something, is blocking the coolant flow. The worst overheating experience I had occured when having to stop after climbing a steep hill. I turned off the car, and after a few seconds restarted it and everything was ok. On this same trip was the first time I observed the steam coming from the overflow tank cap. Do you backflush at the heater core hoses? I can only see one of them from under the hood. Is it best to get to these hoses from underneath the car?