Contour Enthusiasts Group Archives Forums General Troubleshooting Car dieing after water pump change. PLEASE HELP!??

Well, this is my first post after reading this forum for about a year. I NEED HELP! I hope someone knows what is going on because I sure don't.


Had a massive overheat on the highway. Changed the water pump out, which was the main problem. Water pump impeller had broken loose and was free spinning. Did not appear to be any missing plastic. Started up the car after the pump change and noticed two things. First was the fans were not coming on. Car would warm up slowly to the M in NORMAL and still no fans. Second was after about 10 minutes of idling, the car would die and would not restart unless I let it sit for about a half hour.

More looking, squeezed the top radiator hose and didnt feel and rush or surge like all the manuals say I should. Decided to change out the thermostat, probably didnt need it but its cheap and easy. After the thermostat change, and a good flush, car runs a little cooler but still no rush in top hose (although it is hot and heater blows hot) and car still dies after ten minutes or so of idling. Still no fans either.

I know the fast fan speed was working when the car overheated because when I popped the hood they were running.
Not sure about low speed. Of course, more concerned about the car dieing after ten minutes.

This is a '97 contour V6 automatic.

Anyone have any ideas!?!?!?! Please?!?!?! I'm a poor white boy with three kids and really dont want to pay 60 an hour to have someone work on it.

Thanks a ton!

The stalling problem, I don't have any ideas, but the cooling problem, I have some! If you squeeze the (COLD) top hose, it will "swoosh", the coolant will move, if the system is full enough. You might have just unplugged the fan while working on the waterpump, check for that. Is the coolant full, 1/2 past Max mark, cold engine. Try turning on the a/c, the fans should come on (low) even if the a/c compressor is not. If they don't run, check the fan fuse, 60 amp under the power distribution box cover next to the battery. It is shown in the owner's manual. M in normal is when the fans will trigger (wait a bit), at low speed. (High fan speed will be in very hot conditions (a/c on), my high speed came on once last summer, when I fixed the a/c on a 95 degree day.)

Thank you for the suggestions. Fuse had looked fine, not getting low or high fan, so I assume its not a relay problem unless I blew both. I'll check that out tomorrow for giggles. I looked at connections and all seems in place. Hopefully I didnt damage a wiring harness while I was messing with that pump. If I kick on the A/C the fans should come on in at least one speed right? Or is it possible I'm not getting hot enough for a low fan to kick on? Getting to mid M and that is when the car dies.

hmmmmmmmmmm..... short when the fans kick in a possibility? could that cause the car to die?

Both fans come on at low speed when the a/c is turned on. {With the a/c off, the low speed comes on at "M".} The fans start almost immediately when the a/c is switched on, even before the compressor comes on. You could see if the fans rotate freely by hand before trying anything else. If one motor is stuck, that would be an overload problem.

Fans rotate freely, going to try and test the motors today. Any other ideas?

Welcome. Any CEL codes?

CEL doesn't even come on. Car just runs fine, up until about hitting the M on the gauge and then dies, doesn't sputter or anything, just dies and can not be turned over for awhile.

Noone has any other ideas? I'm going crazy here!!!!???

First i have to correct My error: "Try turning on the a/c, the fans should come on (low) even if the a/c compressor is not." I just found out that statement is NOT correct, because my A/C lost its R134 again, as I found (to my dismay) on Saturday. The fans don't run if the a/c is low on charge.

Were your fans turning freely? Do they trigger with the a/c, assuming yours works? "CEL doesn't even come on. Car just runs fine, up until about hitting the M on the gauge and then dies, doesn't sputter or anything, just dies and can not be turned over for awhile." By "Not turning over", do you mean the engine will not crank with starter , or just crank with starter without running again?

Only thing i can think that you might want to check is your coolant temperature sensor as these control the fuel delivery system as well as the fans