All I wanted was a milkshake (Overheating problem)

jmtiseo

The Peanut Gallery
Joined
Jul 10, 2011
Messages
2,573
Reaction score
32
Location
Romeo, MI
My real questions are at the bottom.

As the title suggests, I was waiting at the drive through of the local Steak 'n Shake awaiting a delicious milk shake and the instrument cluster began to sing the song of its people. Note, a/c was cranked at an obvious stand still. Behold the "check engine temperature" light. Shut car off, received shake, and pursued to the closest parking spot to turn her off, pop hood, remove engine cover, and let 'er cool down.

There was no pool of coolant, nothing sprayed in the engine compartment, no sign of anything being wet or leaking, just hot as eff. Proceeded home, half with heat on while on the highway for safe measure (temp normal), the other half a/c cranking after it was normal operating temperature through town (temp started creeping back up). Prior to pulling it into my make shift garage I turned the ac on and listened for the fan to kick on to high speed, nothing. So I sat and watched the temp climb again and still nothing. Parked it and still nothing leaking or anything.

A few hours later went back out and checked fluid and to further investigate any leaking. No leaks or puddles but my fluid level was dangerously low. Like "I can't believe I let it get that low" low.

I checked the following threads for input but it seems that it's time for the "trustworthy" dealer to take it in its hands.

http://www.lincolnvscadillac.com/showthread.php?t=36836
http://www.lincolnvscadillac.com/showthread.php?t=66013
http://www.lincolnvscadillac.com/showthread.php?t=40074

In the meantime what are the elder users thinking is behind this? I'm hoping it's just in dire need of a thermostat and coolant flush service. As the story goes that will require a thermostat housing, degas bottle, and other miscellaneous plastic pieces. Possible fan issues I know nothing about.

In the meantime what can I add to the degas bottle to get me to and from work for a day or two? Or should I seek alternative form of transportation. I had a feeling this was going to happen soon and this may hinder my attendance in St. Louis in a couple weeks. :(
 
...
In the meantime what can I add to the degas bottle to get me to and from work for a day or two? Or should I seek alternative form of transportation. I had a feeling this was going to happen soon and this may hinder my attendance in St. Louis in a couple weeks. :(

Coolant and then bleed the air out (procedure in tech articles). It's better than nothing till you get it fixed. The best would be not to drive it till it's fixed.
 
If it was just a matter of not keeping the coolant level up due to minor leaking through the plastic parts of the cooling plumbing then a top off and going through the bleeding procedure to remove air from the system might be enough.

If you keep loosing fluid rather quickly you either have a crack at the bottom of the reservoir or some of the other cooling piping is starting to leak, hence a trip to the repair shop.

Not sure of your mileage, but per length of time of service you are about in need of replacing all of the plastic parts so you can go on a trip to St Louis without having to worry about failure on it's timetable, and deal with it on your own.
 
Going to add coolant and bleed accordingly for what I can in said makeshift garage. We're not supposed to be working on our cars here. My drive to work is only 10 minutes, the dealer is on the way there, Is that too long with the issue listed? I have a ride tomorrow to help me pick up what I can but I'm just looking to get it to limp its way to the dealer when they can fit it in and I can get a temporary rental. Probably tell them to fix the clunks and squeaks while it's in there.

My car takes precedence over the meet. No reason to go if I don't have any confidence in getting there and back without sending my car, or my pocketbook, to the grave in the process. I have more important ventures this summer (good best friend's weddings) to tend to.
 
I replaced all that because I get my parts at an excellent discount from the dealer and I do all my own work. You will go broke getting all of that changed out and it's not necessary unless you are trying to be excessively proactive. The hoses on the side and back of the motor rarely go bad.

The main concern items you should change out are the plastic parts at the front end of the motor and the reservoir tank. Unfortunately with a pro shop getting the elbow off the motor charges may get expensive even it the mechanic takes the same shortcut that I did as they will use book rate which would probably include removing the manifold to get access. But that elbow is just as prone to failure as the rest of the plastic.

If the heater valve has never been changed, it is a really good time to just replace it with the system drained and parts out of the way. The part will bump the cost up.
 
I figured at the minimum was the degas bottle and t-stat w/ housing to go with whatever else is wrong. What other parts would you suggest replacing specifically if not doing the whole thing? As mentioned she's going into the hands of the dealer that I'm not too fond of so I think if I have a drawn out list of what I want done it might help big time. If someone could be a real pal and point out which parts those are I'd greatly appreciate it, sometimes I need to be spoon fed.
 
I've included those items too. These are just the basic numbers as the prefix and suffix will target the parts to the correct application. Gaskets and O-Rings not included.

Hoses
8286
8260

Hard Parts
8A080
8548
9N499
8592
8A511

8575 Thermostat
 
Great, thanks for the list. I will be adding the belt to it as well since a gratuitous amount of coolant spilled on it during the fill process and it wouldn't hurt to put it in there while they're at it. Only questions are the following, everything else seemed straight forward:

  • I assume I have the oil cooler with it being the sport model, they list two different hoses for 8286. Is that correct?
  • They list 8548A and 8548B, I assume that both of these should be replaced in the process.
Just did the system empty, fill, and bleed waiting for it to cool down to top 'er off again. I had heat the entire time doing it once it warmed up. The steady flow of the bleeder wasn't what I would call steady flow, was more like a trickle. Didn't see anything leaking during the bleed process or after it was sealed up at the moment. The fan was not on at all during that entire process. Would that be my problem then, the fan not turning on?

Here's a pic of what I was able to catch in the jug. Probably overdue for a service, there's about this much on my garage floor as well. Not nearly the 4 liters that was mentioned elsewhere.

IMAG0323.jpg
 
If you can afford it also do the updated idler pulley and tensioner.
 
I see that there are two listed. Are you referring to both of them or one in particular? What is the benefit of the updated pulley and tensioner? The added flanges?

I don't know what's more frustrating. The fact that there's something wrong of trying to find the parts online. All parts diagrams are labeled with just numbers, not part numbers like the thread listed above. Makes for a pita trying to fill a cart full of parts to see the damage done. List price is $1000 just for parts, that's bull snag for a bunch of plastic and rubber.

*Edit - TooManyToys, in the thread with all of these parts listed, what site is that?

**Edit - found it all on fordpartsgiant.com. See what dealer says about getting parts online.
 
Last edited:
I gave you just the base numbers as it is best for the parts man to go off your VIN to identify the correct parts. You brought up “A” and “B”, what I was tying to avoid, but with the oil cooler you would be using “A” only, with the ports for the oil cooler hoses. Those hose most likely will not need to be replaced unless you are really concerned.

The fan may or may not be an issue, it depends if the engine temp got high enough to call for it. If the use of the heater dissipated enough heat energy to keep the engine temp below the threshold, then the fan would not kick in.

Yes, I pulled that list from FordPartsGiant, but there are other sources that can be cheaper. Asking the dealer to install parts acquired from another dealer is like asking McD’s to cook your brought raw burger and just pay for the bun. However, you might ask if they would match on-line pricing for parts as they still would make a profit from that.
 
Thanks man. Taking it in tomorrow and potentially leaving it there as my buddy said he'd give me a ride if I needed it. I'll see what they have to say what needs to be fixed on it. Sounds like I'm putting off the inevitable though.

Thanks again for the help. I have the baseline parts and I can go from there. Huge help. The parts guy is pretty cool, the service people though are something else.
 
... but with the oil cooler you would be using “A” only, with the ports for the oil cooler hoses. Those hose most likely will not need to be replaced unless you are really concerned...

The two small hoses that run from the lower radiator hose to the oil cooler come with the lower radiator hose. They are permanently attached to the lower radiator hose (at least on the one I had and the one I replaced it with.)
 
This is all riding on what the dealer diagnoses it as. If theres something electrically wrong with the fan I'll have them screw with it. Otherwise is this a doable job without a floor jack? Seems to be just pull and replace parts from up above, only problem being getting to some of them. I figure that if time allows it I can get to it this weekend or next weekend depending on when I order the parts.

Thanks for the guidance so far fellas. I owe ya a few.
 
Very doable and you only need a few tools and a storage container from a place like Walmart to catch the fluid under the vehicle. If you are doing this yourself I would recommend if you don't have a Dremmel to buy or borrow one along with a reinforced cutoff wheel to cut the back two bolts on the elbow. And of course while you are getting parts to get the replacement bolts (which you will have to cut / grind down to fit.

All can be done in the secrecy of your garage.
 
Awaiting the verdict and will report back. This is all comforting I sort of panic when something like this comes up, as some of you might remember from when the dealer replaced the solenoid valve body.

Something is working in my favor, I do have a dremel, bought it for my angel eyes. What bolts do you speak of that are on the elbow and need cutting off? It's no secret that I work on my car in there, just wondering if it was even possible with space constraints, I don't have the room to jack the car up at all, and I don't trust/use ramps.

On a side not it must be leaking somewhere, got back from the grocery store and let cool and the level was lower. Topped it off and carrying ye ol' jug o' coolant in the trunk.
 
Awaiting the verdict and will report back. This is all comforting I sort of panic when something like this comes up, as some of you might remember from when the dealer replaced the solenoid valve body.

Something is working in my favor, I do have a dremel, bought it for my angel eyes. What bolts do you speak of that are on the elbow and need cutting off? It's no secret that I work on my car in there, just wondering if it was even possible with space constraints, I don't have the room to jack the car up at all, and I don't trust/use ramps.

On a side not it must be leaking somewhere, got back from the grocery store and let cool and the level was lower. Topped it off and carrying ye ol' jug o' coolant in the trunk.

The two on the back of 9N499. I did it without cutting them, it just took longer.
 
I'll see what happens when I dig into it, order the parts anyway and go from there. Prefer not to cut anything but ya gotta do what ya gotta do. Thanks for clarifying.
 
You still may have some air in the system dropping the fluid level rather then leaking. Can take a few says to sort out.

Tricket90 and I have different methods.

Not a step by step pictorial, but here is my cliff notes version of doing the work:

http://www.lincolnvscadillac.com/showthread.php?t=78659

Mine was probably more frustrating. I like your idea. I was just saying it is possible to get it done without cutting anything for future members who find this thread and don't have more than basic tools.
 

Members online

No members online now.
Back
Top