Contour Enthusiasts Group Archives Forums General Troubleshooting Contour Overheated today; heating system works fine

On the way home tonight, I picked up a temperature sender, a temperature sensor, a water pump belt and a new water pump with a metal impeller.

The old water pump impeller had a crack right down the middle. It looked like it could still function randomly, but it was practically dysfunctional. I installed the new water pump and it's working well, however I neglected to do anything to treat the gasket.

I located the sender, but I didn't have a deepwell socket to remove it with. Should the sender have a wire attached to it? There is nothing attached to mine. There is a wire with a loose end hanging between the water pump and battery. It has a blue plastic end that may be broken. I took a photo, I'll post some pics tomorrow if necessary.

I *thought* that I located the temperature sensor, but I was wrong as the part I was provided with looks nothing like what I found. What I located had a spring and no wires attached to it......

The belt sold to me was way too long, so I reused the existing belt which seems to be in acceptable condition.

So, end result is that the old water pump was damaged and has been replaced with a new water pump. ...but, I don't know for certain if that was the only issue because my temperature gauge still doesn't work.

Thanks again to everyone who has helped me with this.

At least you know the pump has been changed.
I believe the thermostat fails in the open position, at least most ford ones do.
You can test the coolant temp sender by disconnecting it and checking the range of the connectors with a multitester. You should be able to find the acceptable range in a shop manual. The guage sender is more simple. you can disconnect it...run a test wire from the red/white wire on the connector to a ground, turn the ignition to on, if the sender goes right to hot...it is defective. There should definately be a wire attached to it, if it doesn't the engine won't function properly and will run rich because the computer will think it is running colder than it is.

The temperature sender for the Gauge is a brass device with a screw thread sticking out of it. Take a look at this picture,

Contour.org

it's the round gold thing above the flywheel and 1/2 to 3/4 inch (on your monitor image!) to the right of the waterpump. If the loose plug is black rubber and is attached to a "white wire with a red line in a black sleeve" it would be for the temp gauge. Please post the photos. The other sensor is probably the coolant temp sensor for the engine computer, which is near the intake manifold and hard to see, and may not be bad..You might have fixed your car, except for the gauge.

Thanks for the information. I believe I have found the wire for the sender resting along the bottom. I think I'll have to take the air filter off in order to reach it.

The car seems to be driving well aside a perhaps more frequent CEL for code 172. But today I noticed some new sounds coming from the engine. There seems to be a high pitch hissing/whining sound coming from around the water pump (but not necessarily the water pump.) I believe that there is a new clicking/knocking sound coming from the passenger side of the engine. It may be that I'm just paying more attention than I used to.

My car makes a high pitch "hiss whine" near the waterpump as well, only when hot. Is yours a Delco pump? My dad's 1992 Sable used to make a noise like that from a bleed valve in the EGR system (lots of Taurus/Sables do it), I am unsure of the cause of the hiss noise on the 1998 Mystique. If the knock is slight it may be OK, my sister's 1995 Mystique does that from somewhere on the pass side of the v6, not the main bearings.

I have almost the exact same problem. My coolant temperature gauge doesnt work, it points to the left. And just today i smelled coolant and i opened my hood and it was boiling/bubbling out of the overflow resovoir. I do not have a CEL tho.

Check this out, http://www.fastcougar.com/forums/messageview.cfm?catid=10&threadid=114933
The red is the sensor for the coolant temperature gauge, the green is the sensor the for computer. We have something messed up with the red sensor or the wiring for the red sensor. I really wish my temperature gauge was working so i know if im overheating or not. Where do you get the replacement water pump at with the metal impellar, ive searched but couldnt find anywhere? Please help me out desiato . I also have this post over on NECO stating my problems. http://www.fastcougar.com/forums/messageview.cfm?catid=10&threadid=124574

Mike

I think Autozone, and NAPA. NAPA DPW1251910, looks like metal impeller. I bought a Delco metal impeller pump locally.

streetrider05,

Thanks for the link to the engine picture, that's a great aide. As for the part, I called around different part stores around town and asked about the impeller specifically. Beware of refurb units, I've been told that most of those have plastic impellers.

I absolutely recommend not driving your Contour until you've solved the overheating issue though.

I had mine checked out at the garage yesterday and everything looks good. My Contour is running as well as it ever has. I replaced the sender and now have a working temperature guauge.

Now that I know where the sensor is, it's next, and hopefully that'll help solve my running rich issue. But then, if my rad fan is kicking in, doesn't that mean that the temperature sensor is working?