'03 ls v8 running a tad warm...

[jberbrich]

My Lemon LS has been in the Ford shop over a dozen times in the past 6 years. Probably had about 12 COPs replaced, tranny rebuilt, AC totally rebuilt, new steering rack, yada yada yada...oh yea, I also had the Degas bottle replaced a few years back. So...

Now the sucker is running just a little warm and the fan runs constantly after about 5 minutes of driving. I live in San Diego and it has been a cool summer. Fan comes on even when temp is below 70 degrees at night. Sometimes the fan slows down when I am about to park. For six years the temp guage ran 1/16th inch below horizontal...now has been running consistenty 1/16th inch above horizontal...never any hotter. I took the car in to Ford dealer for a coolant flush and refil 'cause it was due, and thought having the system bled would solve the problem. Dealer said probably needed a new thermostat. I bought one, installed it myself, bled the system. It runs only slightly cooler, but fan still comes on just about as much.

Should I simply just blow a bunch of money and replace all of the crappy plastic Ford Better Idea parts? Should I also replace the coolant temp sensor just for fun?

 

[joegr]

Unfortunately, twice a year is not that bad for a car as complicated as the LS. That said, I think I am averaging less than once a year for either of mine.

I would bet that the plastic cooling system parts are cracking and the system is no longer pressurizing. That would result is the poor cooling you describe. If you want to be sure, have a pressure test done on cooling system. They probably would have thrown that in for free or little cost while they were flushing it.

(Note: You get a cooling system flush to prevent problems, not to solve ones that have already started. -- Exception: It might help some DCCV problems.)

If you haven't replaced the degas bottle, then for sure you need that. You probably will need all the rest of the cooling system plastic too, starting with the thermostat housings.

 

[cammerfe]

It's probably because you live in La-La Land---the People's Republik of Kalifornia. Ford products work just fine in the rest of the country. (Here in Michigan, with 145K on the clock and four National Land Speed records to its credit, my own '02 has had zero cooling difficulties. And I just let it idle in the staging lanes at Maxton, in 100+ degree heat, for a couple of hours at a time to keep the AC going.)

JK about Kali, but dissing FoMoCo about plastic that gone for years and KKKs of miles isn't going to get you anywhere. Used cars have used car problems.

KS

 

[Gus_Mahn]

JK about Kali, but dissing FoMoCo about plastic that gone for years and KKKs of miles isn't going to get you anywhere. Used cars have used car problems.

KS

And the LS has cooling issues related to the shiy plastic that Ford used. Cooling issues are much more common on LS's than any other used car I can think of, but Lots of other models of Fords do have issues with the surge tank eventually. Do Jaguar S-types have the same types of issues?

jbebrich I'd spray the radiator down with the car running and the fan blowing on high. I did this on mine. My fan stayed blowing hard, and the radiator got much cooler indicating a bad thermostat.

 

[jberbrich]

Thanks Gus

I will try the hose trick. I already put in a new thermostat about a month ago with no change in the warm running engine, but that stat could also be bad. Maybe I just have junk blocking the radiator, which I need to investigate as well. I heard getting to the front of the radiator isn't much fun, so wish me luck.

By the way, has any of you LS experts looked inside your thermostat housing and seen something similar to mine. It looks like the inside lip where the stat snuggles up against was carved out with a dull knife. Very rough edges, so rough that it was difficult to get the stat to sit properly before securing the housing to the engine. I WANT A STEEL STAT HOUSING!

 

[jberbrich]

cammerfe,

I live in MI for about 30 years before I decided I didn't like swatting skeeters and digging myself out of the driveway every time the snow plow drove by. I think the cheap plastic parts work fine with all that extra moisture always in air back there. With all the rain, snow and humidity, I would think nothing would ever dry out and start cracking. But here in the dry, dusty west, plastic doesn't fair very well and Ford should be more aware. Maybe that is why our military doesn't send Ford products to Iraq and Pakistan.

joegr,

I may take the beast in for a pressure test after checking the radiator for obstructions. I sure do enjoy driving this car more than troubleshooting it. I love the car, except for the unusual amount of problems.

 

[jberbrich]

And the LS has cooling issues related to the shiy plastic that Ford used. Cooling issues are much more common on LS's than any other used car I can think of, but Lots of other models of Fords do have issues with the surge tank eventually. Do Jaguar S-types have the same types of issues?

jbebrich I'd spray the radiator down with the car running and the fan blowing on high. I did this on mine. My fan stayed blowing hard, and the radiator got much cooler indicating a bad thermostat.

Well, I sprayed the radiator down for almost 10 minutes while engine idled. The fan stayed on, and even picked up speed a bit the last few minutes. So according to you, my thermostat is bad again? I just replaced it a month ago with a genuine, correct Motocraft thermostat. I heard it is pretty rare to buy a defective stat.