So, I just picked up this car last week, so cheap I practically stole it. 95 Mystique GS, V6 auto, 115k mi. It had a busted temperature gauge, and the owner thought it was overheating- it's not. Here's what's up...
Put a brand new temperature sending unit on the car. This fixed the temperature gauge problem. But, it's running hot. Pointing at either the A or the L in Normal, depending on how hard I've been running it.
I put a new thermostat in it and flushed the radiator. It didn't change a thing.
I'm fairly certain the car has no head gasket issues, as no matter how hard I run it it will not go above the L. I live in the Appalachians, and can take the car up a mountain at 75 with my foot to the floor the entire time, and the needle will creep from the A to the L but go no higher- and rapidly drops back to the A after I ease up on the throttle.
I'm not smelling any coolant. Coolant tank is full, and the coolant is circulating. Can't see any coolant leaks. Water pump looks good, no seepage or wobble in the pulley. No steam from under the hood. No water or smoke from the tailpipe. Heater blasts hot, but running it has no effect on the temp gauge. The engine runs smooth as silk, with plenty of power. No coolant in the oil. No oil in the coolant. Cooling fans kick on as the needle hits the M.
Any suggestions? I can't find a thing wrong with this car, and this temperature problem is driving me nuts!
I sure cannot answer your question, but just curious where everyone elses temperature needle rests at say highway speed for normal trips, example 30-45 mins. My temperature needle never even touches the M , even under rediculous and insane driving conditions. Perhaps its the good ole coolant brand, doubt it. So for you to be at L is unheard of to me, but interesting what others experiences with this are~
Plug in a scanner and read what the engine temp is from the EEC. It tells the EEC when to turn the fans on/off and High speed. If all of this is OK the gauge may be damaged. Other things - thermostat not opening all the way or the water pump is on the way out. I've seen 2 of them with slipping impellors.
Would the scanners for rent at Autozone do this? Really don't want to drop a ton of cash on a scanner I'll hardly ever use.
It will have to have an active readout - not just a code reader.
95 is not OBD-II computer so a scanner will not read the sensors unless it's the ford dealer factory unit. Sounds like the low speed fan is out and it is cycling on the high speed fan limit point. try jumpering the los speed fan relay in teh aux fuse box and see if it turns on. Also 95 is subject to a recall for cracking wire harness so the underhood wiring could be the problem with the fan.
"95 is not OBD-II computer so a scanner will not read the sensors unless it's the ford dealer factory unit."
Actron CP9150 will read OBD-I (1995 and older).
"The CP9150 Kit includes additional cables to retrieve codes and live data for 1984-95 Ford and GM models and 1989-95 Chrysler applications."
www.actron.com
"Also 95 is subject to a recall for cracking wire harness so the underhood wiring could be the problem with the fan."
Underhood Wiring Harness is a 10 year/100K mile Customer Satisfaction Extended Warranty.
http://www.contour.org/FAQ/recall/99M03/
I have a '97 Contour v4. The temperature gauge is between R an d M at speeds 50 and above. At low speeds and stop-and-go traffic the needle goes between A and L, but never crosses L.
I think it is related to coolant level, I got coolant flushed three months ago and now the level has droped to minimum. Probably a coolant leak.
BTW why does the coolant drop to minimum level but never goes beneath the minimum level ?
regards,
Originally posted by ffos2:
...
I think it is related to coolant level, I got coolant flushed three months ago and now the level has droped to minimum. Probably a coolant leak.
BTW why does the coolant drop to minimum level but never goes beneath the minimum level ?
regards,
Add more coolant and test the coolant strength with a coolant tester ($5 from Advance or Autozone).
Air in the system being released to the reservoir would cause the coolant to drop after a flush and then driving for a while.
Thanks Tony ! Got the coolant tester, wierd instrument. The O'rielly guy told that if four balls are suspended, your coolant is good. That was true, the coolant made four balls suspended. However, there was no change in Gauge readings, between M and A on highway speeds and between A and L in stop and go traffic.
BTW ford cars are tough, I realized that I might have driven 1000 miles on low coolant. My friend's Ford taurus has done about 15K miles with coolant under minimum, and is still running strong. To add to that this is all in Texas summer. Last summer we used the same car with low coolant to evacuate for the Hurricane in the crawling traffic.
regards,
I sounds like you may have checked it, but my old 95 use to overheat, and it was the tensionor on the water pump belt. The belt was loose and would mainly over head at higher RPMs. The tensionor was soo old was stuck. Rpelaced it and the problem went away.
Rich S.
I would go ahead and replace the waterpump/thermostat if you haven't already and check the cooling fans are operating. Sometimes the motors bind up and will run slowly. With the car off, keys out, see if the fans trun with equal effort and can spin by hand. I had one fan bind up.
still got the big plastic splash gaurd thing underneath the motor? i took mine off and after i did i got the same kind of readings A/L at stop and go and R/M at highway speeds...
I have also gotten the water pump changed, there was leak in the pump. But still the temperature gauge is M on highways and between A and L in stop and go traffic. Could it be the cooling fan. How can I test if the cooling fan is running properly ? My mechanic told me that "if the needle does'nt go beyond L to the red area, cooling fan is alright". Is that true ?
thanks,
"Could it be the cooling fan. How can I test if the cooling fan is running properly ?"
Does the fan come on when it hits L? If it does, then you know it is working properly.
"My mechanic told me that "if the needle does'nt go beyond L to the red area, cooling fan is alright". Is that true ?"
I4 Zetecs do run a little hotter than the V6 Duratecs. Technically, if it is in the NORMAL range, it is considered acceptable.
Thanks again Tony ! The fan starts running when the needle is close to "L", ruuning fan makes the needle go back to M/A
well i had the same problem before (and still have it). in traffic, the gauge will be up to A/L. So i though it was my thermostat. Got a 180 degree one (cooler than stock), and now at highway speeds of 40 or more the gauge stays at N at the highest, but if I am stuck in traffic it will go up again to A. And you guys know how it says that these cars should run on Motorcraft GOLD coolant with a 50/50 mixture?? And I had my system flushed with green coolant 50/50 again. Did the strength test and was all good....so could it be the coolant? because the car wasn't doing it beofre I changed to the green coolant.
**99 E0 CSVT
My coolant strength is alrite ! As Tony suggested, I bougth a coolant tester, the coolant tester suspends four balls which according to the coolant tester manual is alrite.
Originally posted by ffos2:
My coolant strength is alrite ! As Tony suggested, I bougth a coolant tester, the coolant tester suspends four balls which according to the coolant tester manual is alrite.
Coolant concentration has little to no effect on cooling system performance.
Time to lay off suggesting this for engines that appear to be running "too warm".....
Steve
well when i said about the coolant, i didn't mean the concentration of it, but the type of coolant. as ford suggests using the gold motorcraft, and instaed you are using XYZ green coolant from autozone...could that be cauzing a problem with running hot in heavy traffic?
Originally posted by projectSHO89:
Originally posted by ffos2:
My coolant strength is alrite ! As Tony suggested, I bougth a coolant tester, the coolant tester suspends four balls which according to the coolant tester manual is alrite.
Coolant concentration has little to no effect on cooling system performance.
Time to lay off suggesting this for engines that appear to be running "too warm".....
Steve
Steve (projectsho89), try this for YOUR Contour. Drain the cooling system. Then just put water in YOUR Contour's cooling system, instead of 50/50 coolant and see if the car overheats.
Then drain the cooling system again. Put just antifreeze (100 percent solution) in the cooling system and see if it overheats.
I can assure you, on both occasions, the temp gauge will hover close to the red zone. 
Originally posted by Tony2005:
Originally posted by projectSHO89:
Originally posted by ffos2:
My coolant strength is alrite ! As Tony suggested, I bougth a coolant tester, the coolant tester suspends four balls which according to the coolant tester manual is alrite.
Coolant concentration has little to no effect on cooling system performance.
Time to lay off suggesting this for engines that appear to be running "too warm".....
Steve
Steve (projectsho89), try this for YOUR Contour. Drain the cooling system. Then just put water in YOUR Contour's cooling system, instead of 50/50 coolant and see if the car overheats.
Then drain the cooling system again. Put just antifreeze (100 percent solution) in the cooling system and see if it overheats.
I can assure you, on both occasions, the temp gauge will hover close to the red zone.
I think Steve is meaning that as long as the concentration is in the ballpark, then the cooling system will do it's job for most conditions. The correct concentration really matters at extreme temps. The correct operation of the fans, thermostat, sensor and pump would have the most affect on the operation of the cooling system.
Originally posted by stickyjazz:
I think Steve is meaning that as long as the concentration is in the ballpark, then the cooling system will do it's job for most conditions. The correct concentration really matters at extreme temps. The correct operation of the fans, thermostat, sensor and pump would have the most affect on the operation of the cooling system.
How do you know the concentration is in the ballpark if you don't test it?
A $5 tester will definitely let you know if the concentration is in the ballpark. 
Tony,
Straight (distilled) water is a far better heat transfer agent than is coolant (ethylene glycol or similar compounds).
I ran my 89 SHO for a whole summer on nothing but water the first year I had it as I was constantly working on trying to revive the cooling system and to repair its many problems that it had when I obtained it. Straight water is an excellant coolant for summertime use all except for those pesky issues of corrosion and pump lubrication. Water Wetter from Redline is a good supplement for those cooling systems to overcome those issues.
Running straight coolant (undiluted) would cause the engine to run slightly hotter since it's a relatively lousy heat transfer agent. However, it won't cause an overhieating problem if the rest of the system is operating correctly,
The pressure in the system is one of the more important issues that gets overlooked. As long as the system stays pressurized, the boiling point of the coolant (whatever it is) is raised substantially and it continues to transfer heat as well as it can.
Steve
Originally posted by projectSHO89:
...The pressure in the system is one of the more important issues that gets overlooked. As long as the system stays pressurized, the boiling point of the coolant (whatever it is) is raised substantially and it continues to transfer heat as well as it can.
Steve
Most engines, are designed to operate efficiently around 230 F to 250 F.
http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qa3828/is_200308/ai_n9294683
If it is distilled water, it boils at 212 F. With the build up of pressure, the boiling point will go up, but not much higher than if it had coolant in it. If it boils, heat will not be transferred from the engine as efficiently. The increased pressure assists the coolant to flow faster and transfer heat away from the engine faster too. Yes, the increased pressure is very important as it assists in the transfer of heat from the engine.
Running straight coolant will cause the engine to overheat (the cooling system needs water and coolant to make it efficient).
I do not agree with your reasoning and you do not agree with mine. Maybe a radiator/cooling system expert lurking can sort this out. In the meantime, I will suggest what I think might be a solution and I am sure you will suggest what you think may be the solution too.
The simple fact of the matter is that running just water or coolant is BAD.In an aluminium engine water+heat+aluminium=electrolosis.Straight coolant+aluminium=acidic corrosion hastened by heat and pressure.Basically disolving your engine from the inside is bad.
There was a problem area with these cars. Many shops have reported that Contours have been comming into the shop with the temperature guage reads hotter than it really is. You don't know how many times I have had a heart attack thinking that my car was overheating. My needle goes all of the way passed the red line, on a cold start, the needle points at "N"