Need a little Thermostat help!!

[seekonkholen1]

Hello, I'm new to this forum but have been browsing frequently. Just joined tonight!! YAY. I need a little help and I know I can get it here. I have a 2004 Lincoln LS with the 3.9L V8. The thermostat recently went bad and I had a dealer (not a ford dealer) replace it. A few days later had the same symptoms. I pulled the thermostat housing off only to find that they had butchered it. I just ordered a new housing. However, the thermostat comes in 4 pieces. 2 springs, the plunger and a piece that holds it all together. My question is : What is the right order to put the pieces in to the housing?

Any help is appreciated!!

Thanks in advance

 

[joegr]

http://deneau.info/ls/s6x~us~en~file=s6x33007.htm~gen~ref.htm

 

[seekonkholen1]

joegr You are AWESOME!!!! Thank you so much!

 

[joegr]

You're probably going to find that you need to replace your degas tank too.

In any event, after putting the thermostat in, it is very important to correctly fill and bleed the cooling system.

http://deneau.info/ls/s6x~us~en~file=s6x33004.htm~gen~ref.htm#extract_142

 

[seekonkholen1]

Well that's what started this whole thing...lol I overheated one day on the way to a meeting in NH ( I live in Southern MA). I went to a dealer because I was in a pinch. I asked if they were familiar with working on Lincoln LS's because they are sensitive to air in the system. They told me "no problem we have a former Lincoln Tech that works for us". The next day I pick the car up they replaced the waterpump and thermostat and told me it bled perfectly. A few days later I'm driving home and again the high fan is on. So I said must be air in the system. I checked on this board for how to bleed the system. I bled and bled the system but that high fan was coming on too often. I replaced the degas tank still high fan on, wth? So I went to a Lincoln dealer and had it vaccum bled. They told me it's still running hot. and has the symptoms of a bad thermostat. Last night I pull the thermostat housing off to find that when the put the thermostat in the pieces were put in completely wrong and one of the tabs that hold the thermostat in the housing was broken off and looked like it had been that way for a while. I ordered a new housing (which will be in on Monday) and put it back together without the thermostat too see if that was what the problem was. I bleed it out and sure enough it is not getting hot. In fact it's not even getting warm...lol so hopefully my days of running hot are over.

thanks for the help.

Jorge

 

[joegr]

Yep, you should be good after you replace the housing.

 

[Lincoln Jealous]

is that seekonk mass? rhode island over here, welcome!!

 

[seekonkholen1]

is that seekonk mass? rhode island over here, welcome!!

yes Seekonk MA. right over the RI line near Benny's on Central Ave. In fact my Silver LS has MA vanity plate HOLEN1 so beep if ya see me!! Thanks for the warm welcome. Where in RI are you?

Jorge

 

[oddball]

... put it back together without the thermostat ... I bleed it out and sure enough it is not getting hot. In fact it's not even getting warm...

Sure you know this, but don't run like that more than necessary. No thermostat is fine for race cars, not so much for the street. The engine needs to get up to temp to get moisture out of the oil, get pistons to expand right, etc.

 

[seekonkholen1]

Sure you know this, but don't run like that more than necessary. No thermostat is fine for race cars, not so much for the street. The engine needs to get up to temp to get moisture out of the oil, get pistons to expand right, etc.

You are absolutely right. I ran it more as verification that it was in fact the thermostat that was the issue.