It's a 98 Contour, 6cyl, 2.5L Duratec, not original owner, app 137-138K. No serious problems to-date.
I overheated coming onto the offramp after driving app 40 mins - 40kms on the highway. Noticed car was ticking & progressed to loud clacking to overheating to shutting right down. Pushed the car onto a sidestreet & let it cool down. Once cooled, there was still water in the resevoir and the oil was low (at the add a quart line) so added a litre. After a while started it up & it was fine. Started my trek back home (approx. 40 kms) taking regular roads, watching & listening to the car. Pulled over app 2x on the way. Each time the resevoir was boiling.
1. We replaced the thermostat, but it made no difference.
2. The temperature gauge always jumps to red every time I start the car. We thought maybe the sensor was damaged after this ordeal.
3. When the car is started it sounds fine for about 2 minutes, then the fan goes into overdrive & is super loud. They could hear me coming down the street.
4. The water is not travelling thru the rad (as far as we could tell since we can't look inside it) - thought possible vapour lock.
5. There is no heat in the car throughout this time. Even with the new thermostat, still blasting cold air.
I took it to the shop where they tested it & determined need head gaskets, possible heads - basically a new motor. They said there are hydrocarbons going into the rad.
I've read similar posts on this site and the solutions are almost always the waterpump.
There are no pieces in the rad, there is no white film on the oil cap, the oil is dirty but there's no coolant/water in it.
Question: Are these people correct in their diagnosis or is there a possibility that my problem could be the waterpump???
Last edited by klfdl; 06/04/05 12:07 AM.
