engine temp in red zone, heater doesn't work?!

I drove my car (97 contour SE mtx)about 2 days ago, it was fine. Today I got in and noticed after driving for 15mins the heat never came on and the temp gauge was in the red level! I pulled over and opened the hood and needless to say the engine was really hot.

What could have possibly happened? oil/antifreeze levels are good. I have to drive home on Nov. 27th, 4hours...

Well, if you have a V6, your waterpump went. Get a new waterpump, but get one with a METAL impeller, not plastic like the Ford ones. I don't know much about it, so I'll let other people chime in. But, if you have a V6, I'm 110% sure it's your waterpump.

In reply to:

I'm 110% sure it's your waterpump.

I agree. IIRC, AutoZone and BAT have the metal water pumps.

definately your water pump, It's really easy to change, (there is a how to post on this site) I actually had to put another plastic one on until I got home to order a metal one. Definately make sure you put on the metal one though.

alright, thanks for the help.

I looked into colors of the impeller and if you get a white impeller from Ford you should be in the clear. It seems from asking around that al the impellers that failed are black in color. The white ones seem to have gone into the 99 and 00's, this is why failures are on the 98 and older mainly.

I ask if the metal pump is a good choice. The pump is underdriven off the cam and it is overdriven itself. So is it really a good idea to use a heavier metal pump? Granted it will not fail like the plastic one but the newer plastic impeller should be fine.

i think u may be right on the color of the plastic impeller...when my waterpump was going (not completely gone but was leaking here and there causing me to go thru alot of water/coolant) the dealer replaced it since my car was covered under used car warr...i asked about them getting a metal impeller pump but that wasn't gonna happen...the service did tell me however that it was a better pump and mde of white plastic...if i can get another 70k on this one im happy...

yeah, i made an appointment at a local ford dealership. Autozone has the metal impeller for $70. How much do you think for will charge for labor, and how long will it take?

When mine went i couldn't get a Metal one but I got the white plastic one.. Didn't have any problems since.

If you have any Mech. ability do it yourself its like a 30min job. 8 bolts IIRC and out and back in its really easy hardest part is making sure all the plastic is out. Mine broke in 3 big peices. But if you can do it yourself it will save you alot of money

Napa carries the metal impellar pump for about $50-55... named "Dura Pro", part #125-1910

Originally posted by SteedaSVT:

If you have any Mech. ability do it yourself its like a 30min job. 8 bolts IIRC and out and back in its really easy hardest part is making sure all the plastic is out.

It's that easy? I read the waterpump replacement how-to on the site and that seemed a lot more complicated than 8 bolts...?

All i did was remove Battery and the plastic cover from the engine. Take off the belt for the water pump. Its like 8 bolts and it comes right out. put the new one in and put belt back on. its really easy

I took it to ford, they said I need a new thermostat and EVC...i guess the waterpump was ok. they also have to flush and refil the coolant system. Its around $300

dude, i would make sure they test drive it until the car is warm. It is the waterpump.......we can all pretty much gaurantee it. It'll stay cool for a little while...but not for long.

tell them to make sure the heat comes on after a while of idling.

KEEP AN EYE ON THE TEMP. GAUGE WHEN DRIVING HOME IF YOU DO TAKE IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

hrm, well should i tell the service dept. they are wrong? I told them the symptoms, overheating etc.

I barely made it to the dealership w/o the temp gauge going into redzone....

if the impeller broke, would it make noise?

Originally posted by mtx_only:
hrm, well should i tell the service dept. they are wrong? I told them the symptoms, overheating etc.

I barely made it to the dealership w/o the temp gauge going into redzone....

if the impeller broke, would it make noise?

Did you authorize the repair yet? I seriously doubt that they are correct in their diagnosis. Ask them specifically whether they checked the operation of the water pump, and not just that it's not leaking and the pulley turns on the outside. Why do they say the thermostat is bad? If you're in the red and there's no heat, the water pump is 99.9% likely shot.

I replaced mine as preventative maintenance and it was like 2 hours, but I was slow and careful and spent nearly one hour scraping the old gasket off - pull the entire pump out (disconnect the 2 hoses attached to it) and it'd be a lot easier to do that part of it. I'd be inclined to pay them their diagnosis fee and change the pump for the NAPA metal impeller one if I were you.

Scott

Sorry, no noises... Holy crapola, $300 for a Tstat and an EVP

(What ever that is?) You will need to drive the car to get the engine to overheat. With a dead WP mine would idle for 15 minutes without a problem. Drive it for 5 minutes and the temp starts going to red.

Wow, this is getting good. It's us against the dealer. If it is the V6, then I'm betting water pump too.

Is it a V6? If so,
The dealer may have just jumped on thermostat because it is the common reason for overheating on most cars. You need to explain to them what you have been told here, and ask them to double check.

ah , so why would it be the waterpump and not the Tstat? Can't they tell from the check engine codes?

nope

Let's put it this way, it could be the thermostat (they do go bad) but it probably is the pump cause they suck. Even if it's not the pump right now, you should replace it if it has more than 40k or has been overheated.

The price seems way high and what the heck is an ECV???

My guess is that a ECV is a ficticious part used by service depts to suck more money outta people who know nothing about cars...

The only thing I could find online would be "Electro-hydraulic Camless Valvetrain", which I doubt your car has.

99.9% Sure your problem is a waterpump...

Hey, maybe we could start taking bets and making odds on these types of problems. Anyone have any experience making book or running a abetting pool? This could become a CEG fund raiser!!

any news mtx_only??

I'm dying to find out what happened.

later.

ok, so they called me after they did the Tstat and 'ECT' (sorry I said ECV last time), and "oh the waterpump does need replacement too." but apparently the previously installed parts were neccissary too.

here are the part numbers off of my reciept:

FMC F5AZ 12A648 AB - sensor asy-eng elec - $28.76
FMC F5RZ 8575 B - thermostat asy. - $17.00
FMC F1VY 8255 A - Seal-48.5x3.63 "o"ring - $3.00
FMC VC 4 A - antifreeze radiator - $9.90
FMC XS2Z 8501 CD - pump asy-water - $115.30
parts total- $173.96

labor total- $490.00

seems like they really screwed me, If I was at home I would have attempted to fix it myself, but I was out of town and had to make it home for the holiday...worst part is the heater still doesn't work

.

Does any car company have dealerships that actually know what they are doing instead of just throwing parts at the problem?

I know Nissan doesn't. I love Nissan cars because they last forever, but it's the same thing when I go to their dealer.

What your heater still don't work??????/

Bring that thing back to them. Seriousy for all that money you should have a whole new cooling system

Originally posted by SteedaSVT:
What your heater still don't work??????/

Bring that thing back to them. Seriousy for all that money you should have a whole new cooling system

agreed. don't sit on this...get teh friggin heater working.

all that sh*t they replaced!!!! I can't believe it....

go back and make sure that heater works...perdiod!