Contour Enthusiasts Group Archives Forums Modifications Zetec Maintenance A definitive solution to Cooling Problem

All depends on the temp sender. I've tried 6 so far and all have read at different parts of "Normal" from O to L. Fit yourself an Oil temperature guage like I did, its accurate and gives you a lot more info

The Zetec is not overheating until it goes into the far red

I have melted one engine so far due to the water pump failing, beware this happens to Zetec's as well as Duratecs. Also the temp senders often fail, normally by not reading higher than the normal temp but the are $10

On the thermostat housing the top sender is the fan sender, the one underneath is the guage sensor

Nominal temps

Water Thermostat open 92C
Fan On 102C

Oil temp cruising 85C
Max oil temp 105C

I have an oil cooler fitted as well as Oil Temp & pressure instrumentation. Single fan cools engine very quickly at a rate of 5C a min so is not on for long. Mondeo is very sensitive to road speed. When stationary temperature rises very quickly, even 5 mph will bring temp down rapidly. Worst scenario is threashing engine hard and then becomming stationary in traffic, the fan should cut in pretty quickly