Contour Enthusiasts Group Archives Forums General Troubleshooting engine temp in red zone, heater doesn't work?!

Originally posted by SteedaSVT:

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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.

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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:

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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?

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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