Ford - Taurus :: Overheating - Whistle / Pop Around The Overflow Cap
Oct 28, 2013
I have a 1998 Ford Taurus SE 6cyl 24 valve Duratec with about 135k miles on it. It has started to overheat. It has a closed system with the thermostat on the bottom passenger side. It isn't leaking coolant but it does boil when it heats up and you can hear it whistle/pop around the overflow cap. I have drained the whole system using the petcock valve and have changed out the thermostat (which because of its location requires all the fluid to be changed or you get green rain). So, new thermostat, new coolant, still overheats. The defroster air is blowing cold. It has a belt driven water pump but I haven't touched this. Both electric fans are working.
I don't see anything in the oil. It is still a nice dark color, not milky or anything. I saw no oil in the coolant I drained. When it first starts, there is a few seconds of puffs of white/gray smoke but it is very light and goes away quickly. There is no water running out the tailpipes.
My question is, what is your guess on the cause? I'm at the point with the car, with its age and miles that I'm not willing to dump a lot of extra $$ into it -- so there will be no head gasket change -- but don't want to junk it if its something simple. I do most of my own work on my cars. How can I diagnose it further? Should I just change the water pump and if that doesn't work then what?
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My 1992 Nissan Primera 2.0 slx is overheating, probably on its last legs. First time this happened the radiator overflow tank seemed low so I topped it up with glycerol and added some leak plugger to the radiator for good measure. The car drove just fine for 20-30km then it happened again. At the same time, and I don't know if this is relevant, the windscreen defroster, which should bleed warm engine air, now only gives cold.
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I know my car has a leak. Blok check test confirmed. Symptoms:
Car overheats after driving for awhile but only intermittently
Overflow is filled almost to top after driving and has wet sides.
Coolant fails to return to engine.
Here is the interesting part. I removed the lid for over flow and took out the hose and exposed it to air. Then I took off rad cap. Instant suction and collapse of both lower and upper hoses. Why did this occur? Bad rad cap and or/ blockage?
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I've got an 1989 Celica St that as it warms up it pushes water out through the overflow bottle. The car seems to be cooling ok as long as I don't get stuck in traffic. My daily commute is approximately 40 miles and if I keep refilling the radiator the car stays relatively cool. However, if I do not stop and let the car cool off between commuting to and from work the car loses enough coolant that eventually it starts to overheat and I need to pull over and refill the radiator once again. I have replaced the radiator cooling fan already and am going to flush the radiator this afternoon. I am thinking that the head gasket might be leaking and causing my problems. What to try next b4 I tear the head off? BTW the motor is a 2.0 L 16 valve. Hoping I can fix this problem w/o a head gasket.
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I have a 2007 Toyota Corolla that my kids drive, it has 171k miles. Recently it began overheating and blowing coolant out of the overflow causing it to appear it is leaking due to having to keep adding coolant. The car does not overheat every time but is pretty consistent on overheating. When overheating, the heater starts to blow cold air but if not overheating it blows hot air as normal.
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2001 Jeep Cherokee sport ... Just bought this Jeep with 145K miles. Had radiator and all hoses replaced. The overflow tank is boiling over but the engine is not overheating. Safe to drive? What should I be checking for?
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I have an 04 gti 1.8t and last night it started over heating. I pulled over and checked the coolant and the oil but everything looked good. I let it cool down and drove it home. When I popped the hood there was a little steam coming from the coolant overflow tank but I saw no leaking. I decided to vent the pressure off the system and then I got a little drip on the passenger side close to where the inter cooler is. I can't pinpoint the leak though.
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I have a 97 ford taurus that when it is at idle (either in driver or park) it over heats. But if you give it some gas and the rpms get up to over 2300 the temp starts dropping immidiatly down to where it should be. Also the heater in the car stopped working not sure if the problems are connected.
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I have a 92 Ford Taurus that runs warm, can overheat, especially in city driving. When driving at faster speeds with less stopping does not give any trouble. The radiator is full. I tried putting a new thermostat in and it overheat just the same. I took it out and it would run warm but not overheat. I flushed out the tranny. There are not leaks. Seems like water will come out to easy from the radiator cap. Thinking maybe it is blocked up some inside the engine. Can a water pump be kicking in and out at lower RPM's
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Okay, admittedly my car isn't top of the line. But I'd rather keep it. It all started one day getting stuck in traffic. Some kid claims something broke, causing him to serve in front of a bus bus and sending the bus into a creek. Luckily, all the kids had been dropped off, and the driver wasn't hurt. In my angrier moments, I figure the kid was texting but have no proof. I was stuck in traffic for 90 minutes, and within sight of getting out of the traffic mess, there was a loud bang and it overheats. Off to the side of the road, call the wife, she picks me up. Take it to the local shop, which replaces the Radiator and the Thermostat.
From then on, if I get stuck in slow traffic or at stop lights, it heats up quick. The dash temperature gauge has the word "NORMAL" spelled vertically. After a few traffic lights, the pointer is at the O or even the N. Before the next incident (below), running too hot would cause difficulty starting unless I pumped the gas pedal, or let it cool down for awhile.
Another incident: a rather sudden loss of power driving. The mechanic claims that the catalytic converters are clogged (the car has two). He opens up one of them, "unclogs" it. This didn't solve the problem. It did seem to clear up the starting problem. There's plenty of coolant in the reservoir.
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Radiator replaced 2 yrs. ago - required major rust cleanout; reservoir replaced shortly thereafter. Recently engine always hot, antifreeze disappearing, reservoir always looks rusty, nothing much coming out underneath, mechanic pressure tested and couldn't find a leak, told to watch for antifreeze in oil, none apparent. Now suddenly car ran hot, antifreeze came out of reservoir, cap replaced, still couldn't find leak. Today said head gasket blown. Repair head gasket, but can't guarantee wouldn't still have radiator problems. Suggested could try Blue Devil head gasket repair but may not work.
Is it worth :
(a) trying the Blue Devil;
(b) repairing the head gasket?
Or will I still have major repair needs with radiator etc.? I really can't afford even a cheap replacement car.
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My Taurus will not turn off. My son calls and says the key turns back from rum but does not turn off. It will still engage the starter motor if you try. I stopped and picked up a ignition lock to install at home. I finally got the lock out while the car is still running and pop in the new one. Still will not turn off. Then the car overheats, coolant everywhere. Get the hose to try and cool it down a little. Break down and pull the distributor wire and the negative cable.
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1998 ford taurus ohv is overheating and coolant is leaking out of fill cap takes forever for the temp gauge to read anything then after 6 or 7 minutes of driving it shoots up to about midway overheats and can hear serp belt squeeling from getting wet from coolant
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Excursuin tranny overheated, Motorhome didn't. X transmission overflowed onto exhaust, lots of smoke. Lost a quart. How best to control transmission temps. Is burned tranny fluid okay to use?
Details: We went from Banning, Ca 2000ft to Pine Cove, Ca 7000ft in 23 miles. My wife's father drove the X with the 7,500lb trailer (total 15k?) while I drove the Ford F53 Class A about 28k. We both have the same engine (and transmission as far as I know).
I kept it in drive and he used 2nd all the way up. I have a tuner from 5 Star and pulled over and put it in park when I hit 230 on the transmission. When we checked into the campground I kept it in park idling and he shut the Excursion off. I know we lose HP and liquids boil at lower temps when at altitude, but I feel this could have been avoided with proper use of the transmission and cool down procedure. What is the best way to cool down the transmission? In my Motorhome a huge loud fan kicks on and the temps go down. On the X is there a point where he fan kicks on to cool the tranny? Is it a zero pressure system like the diff? Does it cool faster in Park or Drive (or off)?
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1996 F-150 5.0... So I bought this truck a couple months ago for a really good price and its my regular vehicle that I use daily. While driving I switched tanks from the front to rear and when i reached my destination i noticed that fuel spilled from the cap, I opened the cap and fuel overflowed. I've read in forums saying that its the Fuel Pressure Regulator or the Fuel Tank Selector Valve . It still drives and runs fine, but I would like to know which part its specifically causing the problem?
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My overflow tank seems to be going empty slowly. The last time I filled it was in March and I filled it to the Full line. Now, the overflow is almost empty. I did 425 KM last night almost non-stop and the level stayed the same since that night and today. So, I am not burning any thru the gaskets. Exhaust is not white neither.
I did see one suspect thought. I have this really small rad at the bottom of the bumper and it seems a little wet around the tubes that enter it. Could it be that? I have no spots on the driveway or road when I park. Specs of my truck:
190 000 KM.
Oil changed on Saturday.
Runs well, no loss of power.
Temps are good.
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I got a 64 F100 with a 292 that I am thinking of installing a coolant overflow tank on to aliviate having to fill the radiator frequently.
The question being............Is it a sealed system or do I need to provide an air bleed to adjust for the presure change within the cylinder I intend to use?
I realise that thermal syphoning will return the coolant to the radiator but am unsure as to weather or not I need to allow the airspace to remain at atmospheric pressure.
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I have owned my 2005 v10 ex since 60000 miles. Have had many dependable family road trips and love my truck.
Recently it has started puking coolant and the overflow tank smells like exhaust. The oil cap has some coolant sludge on it. But there is no coolant mixed with the oil. Or oil in the coolant.
I am pretty certain these are the signs of failing head gaskets. The truck has 193000 miles on it now.
Want to keep it on course. But keep it reliable. So do I buy new engine or do I just replace head gaskets?
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I have a 97 F-150 and my Radiator fluid has been leaking very bad but hasn't been taking the fluid from overflow tank. Actually the new fluid that I put in the overflow has now turned a rusty color....
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I have a 2002 Ford Explorer and I am still trying to figure out why the coolant will overflow in the radiator reserve tank. I put in a new thermostat and a new cap to the overflow tank. When the tank is cold, sat over night, I put in new anti-freeze to the cold coolant line. Then I start up the explorer and let it run for a while. The temp gauge goes up, then drops a tad and cold air comes out of the vents.
After I rev up the engine, I see the coolant level starts to rise in the overflow tank, then it goes to the top and starts to leak out. This takes a while being the thermostat has not kicked in to suck the fluid in. Before this happens, the heater core lines are luke warm. After the tank overflows, the remaining gets sucked into the engine and I get nice warm heat. What causes this. I had the test done to see if the head gasket is bad. The test was negative.
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1993 ranger, 3.0 V6 203,000 miles. As engine warms up coolant in blown into over flow and spills out. At that point system is low and truck runs hotter than norman, 3/4 way across gage. What would be causing overflow to overfill from engine. Could it be a bad rad. cap? Just replaced head gaskets at 200,000 miles. Truck runs good. No oil in water, no sign of visible leakes other than overflow tank overfilling and loosing coolant.
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