2002 Lincoln LS v6 Overheating. Help!!!

UPDATE: Today I took the car to the mechanic and the thing seems to be serious since the mechanic told me that It's probably that fan cooling engine fluid is getting water from somewhere.

He said He has to take a look closer on monday because there is a valve in all hydraulic systems that may be the reason of the problem.
 
yaselpolo said:
UPDATE: Today I took the car to the mechanic and the thing seems to be serious since the mechanic told me that It's probably that fan cooling engine fluid is getting water from somewhere.

He said He has to take a look closer on monday because there is a valve in all hydraulic systems that may be the reason of the problem.
Click to expand...

Find a new mechanic. The hydraulic fan system does not get near the engine coolant anywhere. Take it to someone who knows something about the LS.
 
joegr said:
Find a new mechanic. The hydraulic fan system does not get near the engine coolant anywhere. Take it to someone who knows something about the LS.
Click to expand...

Yes that what I though. I think is a mixed of two fluids. I swear first time I used Mercon, then Mercon V.

Just guessing
 
Dude, seriously, try and flush it out yourself, you can't make it any worse, just don't run it without any fluid.
Drain it, add fresh fluid, run it with the A/C on high, repeat it a couple of times. You can do this yourself.

You might very well be able to clear up the fluid and possibly save the pump, you don't know until you try.



attachment.jpg


Maybe even get one of those suction guns or your wife's turkey baster and get that Pepto Bismol out of there.
add Mercon ATF, repeat until clear. If it doesn't clear up, at least you tried ....

sample:
500px-UsingTurkeyBaster.jpg
 
BigRigLS said:
Dude, seriously, try and flush it out yourself, you can't make it any worse, just don't run it without any fluid.
Drain it, add fresh fluid, run it with the A/C on high, repeat it a couple of times. You can do this yourself.

You might very well be able to clear up the fluid and possibly save the pump, you don't know until you try.



attachment.jpg


Maybe even get one of those suction guns or your wife's turkey baster and get that Pepto Bismol out of there.
add Mercon ATF, repeat until clear. If it doesn't clear up, at least you tried ....

sample:
500px-UsingTurkeyBaster.jpg
Click to expand...

wow BigRigLS, The first picture right there looks exactly like mine. The fluid is almost white and frothy.

How is the proper procedure to flush and refill the fluid? Also where can I get that vacuum or pump to extract the fluid?

Thank you so much for your help!!!
 
Oh man sorry you already explained! I didn't read it. Sure, I'm going to try it out. I will keep posting updates!
 
yaselpolo said:
... where can I get that vacuum or pump to extract the fluid?
Click to expand...


Try the dollar stores, no need to spend big money on a baster.

31NQSFrCsAL._SL500_SS500_.jpg



~ however, be prepared the pump may be done!
 
I agree

try it yourself, a turkey baster works great. keep emptying the tank fill with fresh fluid run car, drain tank again, fresh fluid run and drain. Small money, maybe save you big bucks.

this happens to many of us with the hydraulic fans, avoid quicky oil change places and other places who say they will fill the fluids, they don't know what this tank is.

I remove the old fluid and put in new every once in a while to keep the system going.
 
Last edited:
Guys, Yaselpolo is my neighbor. In introduced him to LVC some time ago. Let me tell you a little about his issue so that you guys better understand. He loves his LS & recently had the car polished & brought back to life. He's not a professional but he does know a little about cars. I can tell you he did NOT mix coolant fluid with the fan fluid. This issue has been going on for about a week now.

One thing he forgot to mention is that the car will maintain the temperature at normal then suddenly skyrocket. It's not like it progressively gets there. At least this is what he explained to me the last time he overheated. He told me the car's temp was fine then suddenly it overheated. Initially I thought it would be the water pump or a stuck thermostat but then he explained to me the issue with the fluid in the fan resevoir.

Then he also explained to me there's an intermitent whinning noise that comes from the engine bay & when he turns the car off you can still hear the whinning fade away for a couple seconds.

As we speak he's outside with the baster pulling out all of the fan fluid. All the help being provided is greatly appreciated! Thanks guys!
 
UltimateSVT said:
...One thing he forgot to mention is that the car will maintain the temperature at normal then suddenly skyrocket. It's not like it progressively gets there. At least this is what he explained to me the last time he overheated. ...
Click to expand...

Don't get too caught up in that. That's not abnormal for the LS, or for many other cars. The problem is that the temperature gauge lies to you. It quickly goes to the half way mark, and then stays there. It will stay there until the engine has actually started to overheat. So, it's only a few degrees between a just-over-half reading and a hot reading. The gauge makes you think that it suddenly went from normal to full hot.
 
UltimateSVT said:
.... Yaselpolo is my neighbor .... As we speak he's outside with the baster pulling out all of the fan fluid
Click to expand...

Oh a sight to be seen!

hope it works out for him, no harm in at least making an effort in getting that fluid-gone-wild out of there.
 
The cooling fan fluid is getting its normal color, but the noise still there. I was reading some old posts here at LVC and according to the symptoms @Travis2000LS said the Hydraulic fan Pump Actuator It could be gone. Here is the link where I found this info http://www.lincolnvscadillac.com/showthread.php?t=76101

Any advice will be so apprecciated!

Actually, Thanks all of you guys for your time. Also thank you UltimateSVT for helping me to explain my issue.
 
UPDATE: After two days cleaning the Engine Cooling Fluid. The flushing was successfully done. I drove over 80 miles and the car hasn't overheated again. Anyway, today I noticed the fluid started changing its color slowly.

One thing to explain is, when I did the flush. I noticed the Hydraulic Fan Actuator has wire and they were almost unplugged, so I plugged them back and everything was perfect.

Today the car started making the annoying noise and the fluid is changing color again.

What do you think guys? Now, Im confused again. Do you think the Actuator is gone?

Any help is appreciated,

Thanks
 
That's too bad the fix didn't last, if it's about to start changing the color of the fluid again, it may very well be the pump itself.

as for the actuator, try the following and see if the pump changes speeds.

1) Start the car when cold ---> ensure A/C is turned off.
2) Note the fan speed.
3) Turn on A/C.

~ Fan should speed up noticeably ???
~ Fan pump speeds up but makes an abnormal noise ???

If it does then the actuator is fine but the pump is done.
With the fluid getting frothy like that again, the pump is doing something wrong.

~ Is the fluid showing signs of foamy with mass of small bubbles ?


Perhaps others can step in an elaborate as I've actually myself never dealt with the Hydraulic Engine Cooling Fan assy. on my LS (yet!)
 
Joegr,
the 'Actuator', it just controls the fan speeds ON/OFF and in between ?
can the Actuator become sticky and only come on at full power ?

I'm still leaning towards the pump being done. or the solenoid on the pump needs replacing (cheaper).
 
yaselpolo said:
Yes, I just started foaming a little bit.
Click to expand...

Probably you have a leak somewhere on the suction side of the system. It is also possible that the plastic screen at the bottom of the hydraulic reservoir is clogged.

The leak could be at the reservoir, the suction hose, or most likely the pump. It could be small enough that you may not be losing any fluid, just getting air sucked in. Of course if you weren't losing any fluid, you probably wouldn't have been adding any before.
 
joegr said:
Probably you have a leak somewhere on the suction side of the system. It is also possible that the plastic screen at the bottom of the hydraulic reservoir is clogged.

The leak could be at the reservoir, the suction hose, or most likely the pump. It could be small enough that you may not be losing any fluid, just getting air sucked in. Of course if you weren't losing any fluid, you probably wouldn't have been adding any before.
Click to expand...

Thats a good point! I remember when I bought the car I had to refill the hydraulic reservoir a couple times because I was losing fluid.
 
Hey guys. I've been watching Yasel back & forth with his car & it's frustrating. He has a small son & his wife & they depend on this car solely. He sold a 2dr Honda Civic (let it be known, I don't do rice, lol but...) it was very dependable. The LS was way more spacious & luxurious. He needed a 4dr car because his wife had a baby on the way & the car was offered to him at a good price but just a few months after he bought it, when it's not one thing, it's the other. When it's not a broken door handle, it's the clock spring or the factory alarm or a door lock or the window motor, etc... At this point he has decided he is going to sell the car. He needs something way more dependable.

Now, that being said, we were talking about a link he found on Google but he didn't save the link. It explains how someone swapped the OEM fan/pump system on their LS for a standard 2 speed electric fan.

Which fan fits best on the LS? T-Bird? He wants something he can pretty much install himself & wire it so it can run permanent. We are in Miami. Our winter is 65 degrees & our summers are 92-98 degrees so a permanently running fan is not a bad thing down here. As always, any help is greatly appreciated!
 
UltimateSVT said:
...
Now, that being said, we were talking about a link he found on Google but he didn't save the link. It explains how someone swapped the OEM fan/pump system on their LS for a standard 2 speed electric fan.

Which fan fits best on the LS? T-Bird? He wants something he can pretty much install himself & wire it so it can run permanent. We are in Miami. Our winter is 65 degrees & our summers are 92-98 degrees so a permanently running fan is not a bad thing down here. As always, any help is greatly appreciated!
Click to expand...

http://www.lincolnvscadillac.com/showthread.php?t=70387
http://www.lincolnvscadillac.com/showthread.php?t=74868
http://www.lincolnvscadillac.com/showthread.php?t=9246
http://www.lincolnvscadillac.com/showthread.php?t=68306
 
UltimateSVT said:
Which fan fits best on the LS? T-Bird? He wants something he can pretty much install himself & wire it so it can run permanent. We are in Miami. Our winter is 65 degrees & our summers are 92-98 degrees so a permanently running fan is not a bad thing down here. As always, any help is greatly appreciated!
Click to expand...

Mark VIII's will work and so will the mid 90's T-Bird LX. I believe it to be a V8. Both have the a Mark VIII 18" fan blades which fit really well into a GenII fan housing with the use of a homemade adapter plate because the motors are a different bolt pattern. Im not sure if the GenI fan housing is the same as a GenII minus an auxillary pump mount, but if so then those two fans fit and put out the some of the most cfms.

There are pros and cons which have been metioned many times. This can be done for much cheaper than replacing the whole hydrolic assembly, and, in some cases, more reliable....10 yr service life isn't half bad though.

He needs to be aware of the electrical draw. I went for fitment and cooling ability, which is why I have an old T-Bird fan and Flex-a-lite 31165 controller. Total cost $140 not to mention odds and ends -- Warning! This option puts serious drain on the system!...Hites flex-a-lite setup is probably least energy consuming, very reliable, and cooling he says works just fine....its a little more costly though.

As for the GenII conversion by Oddball, that's a lot of electrical work involved, and it will take time to fabricate it all together (seems like he has a more immediate need). The big plus with that is you never have to worry about the temp controller crapping out or being calibrated properly.

All options are good....but don't rule out repairing the current system. It could be salvaged with just a few parts.

Good luck.
 
I haven't noticed any mention of the Degas bottle. When was it last replaced? I know you said the coolant level is steady but that doesn't mean there isn't a small air leak.

If it overheats at highway speeds, I would look into replacing cooling system parts too since the fan wouldn't be pulling any more air at those speeds than whats already being forced in.
 
I took the car to AutoZone for scan, I got the following codes:

B1095
B1605
U1262
P0125

The car since yesterday afternoon is working normal. So far no problem with the tempeture or engine fan cooling fluid. I'm wondering why sometimes work like a champ and then start doing the same annoying noise.

Also, today I got new lights on (ABS) and TRAC on.

My car looks right now like a Christmas Tree all lights on and everytime a Turn the car on start beeping for a minute o more.

Wow guys, I heard a lot bad things about LS but mine has all the issues.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Members online

No members online now.
Total: 159 (members: 0, guests: 159)
Back
Top