twinbopilot
Well-Known LVC Member
Hello to all the other LS riders out there! I'm a newbie whose been lurking on the forums for the last week or so trying to figure out the overheating problem on my '00 V6 LS that I bought for $1800 because the previous owner's mechanic said the car would need $4000 in repairs.
The overheating would only occur when you were sitting in traffic with the a/c on. If the car was moving at any decent speed, there was no overheating. When it did overheat, you could turn off the a/c and turn on the heater full blast and it would cool down immediately. It seemed clear to me that the problem was not enough airflow over the radiator. I saw that the hydraulic fan was turning, but it didn't seem like it was turning as fast as it should. Also, the fluid in the fan reservoir seemed cloudy - maybe thats why the fan wasn't turning properly?
Just to be crystal clear, the reservoir we're talking about here is on the passenger-side of the engine compartment near the strut mount. It has a fan symbol on the cap. I did siphon out what I could from the reservoir and replace it with fresh fluid, but it didn't seem to have any effect on the fan speed.
Just to show the ignorance of the mechanic, he told the previous owner that the transmission fluid went through the radiator and the radiator was leaking water into the tranny so the car would need a new radiator and tranny (thats where the $4000 came from)! I've seen this misperception about the LS posted on other auto forums so thats likely where he got it.
The mechanic must have thought that the fan fluid reservoir was for actual transmission fluid (which it is, but the fluid drives the hydraulic fan, not the tranny!). Must be why he thought there was water in the tranny. Apparently he had no clue how the system actually works.
Not wanting to spend $1000 on a new hydraulic fan system, I went down to the "Man Mall" (junkyard) and found a 16" pusher style fan for $30. "Pusher" just means it goes in FRONT of the radiator instead of behind. I have no clue what it came from, but my guess would be a Japanese car because they tend to use pusher fans more than domestics. It was fairly thin (maybe 4" max width at the motor) which would be important later. If I was the patient type, I could have ordered one from eBay for about $40. The local auto parts stores all wanted $65 and up for the same part. YMMV.
Next I bought a Hayden thermostatic fan control (P/N 3653) for $17 at Pep Boys. So with $30 for the fan and $17 for the controller - a total of $47 invested for this repair/modification. Not too shabby if it works out.
To begin the mod, I removed the black plastic radiator cover, and the smaller plastic cover in front of the hood latch mechanism. Right away I noticed lots of leaves and trash stuck in front of the radiator so I cleaned it out as best I could. I thought cleaning out the leaves alone may be enough to fix it, but it still overheated.
Next, I removed four screws from the lower fascia that allowed me to drop the under-body cover plate and get access to the front of the radiator from below. This is where I will insert the fan.
Its actually the condenser in the front, fan fluid cooler in the middle, and radiator in the back, so technically I will put the fan on the condenser, but I digress...
I noticed right away that the horns were going to have to be relocated. They were exactly in the way of where the fan needed to go. They come off easy with one bolt. I simply relocated them to another spot and used the same bolt. I did have to extend the horn wiring about a foot to accommodate the relocation.
So now to install the fan. You'll likely have to get a little creative as to how you mount the fan. I slid the fan into place from below and mounted it to a bolt sticking out on the rear of the hood latch mechanism. It was a perfect spot to secure the fan, at least on the top. Down below I used aircraft safety wire to secure the fan to the condenser.
There is a 1" thick wiring harness that runs behind the bumper. It wasn't completely necessary, but I relocated it up and it front of the hood latch so as to give the fan more clearance. Just know its easy to move if you need a little more room for the fan.
Next I installed the temp. controller behind the passenger head light. I wanted quick access in case later I needed to adjust the temp. that the fan kicks on. The temp. probe is supposed to go on the backside of the radiator but you can't get to it due to the fan shroud. I was able to pry the fan shroud back about a half an inch at the top. It was just enough to install the probe.
Now for the power source. I used the 20 amp fuse slot in the relay box right behind the passenger headlight. This way the fan is only powered when the key is in the "run" position.
Now replace the lower body cover and the two upper covers and you're set!
Now the car can sit in traffic at 100 degrees with the a/c on and never even break a sweat! The temp needle NEVER goes over halfway anymore.
You can hear the electric fan kick in if you're not moving and don't have the stereo on, but overall its pretty quiet. It even looks factory installed (at least mine does).
If the original hydraulic fan quits working entirely, I will probably have to remove it and install a puller-type electric fan to replace it. But that would be a MUCH harder job than this was. This could be done in a hour. Replacing the factory system could take an entire weekend.
There's been a lot of talk about the LS electrical system not being able to support electric fans. Ford did switch to electric fans on the LS when the seat heaters were redesigned to draw less amperage. My car doesn't have seat heaters and I've never had an electrical issue. Once again, YMMV.
I hope this post helps someone because I've certainly learned a lot in this forum.
Thanks to all who have contributed.
The overheating would only occur when you were sitting in traffic with the a/c on. If the car was moving at any decent speed, there was no overheating. When it did overheat, you could turn off the a/c and turn on the heater full blast and it would cool down immediately. It seemed clear to me that the problem was not enough airflow over the radiator. I saw that the hydraulic fan was turning, but it didn't seem like it was turning as fast as it should. Also, the fluid in the fan reservoir seemed cloudy - maybe thats why the fan wasn't turning properly?
Just to be crystal clear, the reservoir we're talking about here is on the passenger-side of the engine compartment near the strut mount. It has a fan symbol on the cap. I did siphon out what I could from the reservoir and replace it with fresh fluid, but it didn't seem to have any effect on the fan speed.
Just to show the ignorance of the mechanic, he told the previous owner that the transmission fluid went through the radiator and the radiator was leaking water into the tranny so the car would need a new radiator and tranny (thats where the $4000 came from)! I've seen this misperception about the LS posted on other auto forums so thats likely where he got it.
The mechanic must have thought that the fan fluid reservoir was for actual transmission fluid (which it is, but the fluid drives the hydraulic fan, not the tranny!). Must be why he thought there was water in the tranny. Apparently he had no clue how the system actually works.
Not wanting to spend $1000 on a new hydraulic fan system, I went down to the "Man Mall" (junkyard) and found a 16" pusher style fan for $30. "Pusher" just means it goes in FRONT of the radiator instead of behind. I have no clue what it came from, but my guess would be a Japanese car because they tend to use pusher fans more than domestics. It was fairly thin (maybe 4" max width at the motor) which would be important later. If I was the patient type, I could have ordered one from eBay for about $40. The local auto parts stores all wanted $65 and up for the same part. YMMV.
Next I bought a Hayden thermostatic fan control (P/N 3653) for $17 at Pep Boys. So with $30 for the fan and $17 for the controller - a total of $47 invested for this repair/modification. Not too shabby if it works out.
To begin the mod, I removed the black plastic radiator cover, and the smaller plastic cover in front of the hood latch mechanism. Right away I noticed lots of leaves and trash stuck in front of the radiator so I cleaned it out as best I could. I thought cleaning out the leaves alone may be enough to fix it, but it still overheated.
Next, I removed four screws from the lower fascia that allowed me to drop the under-body cover plate and get access to the front of the radiator from below. This is where I will insert the fan.
Its actually the condenser in the front, fan fluid cooler in the middle, and radiator in the back, so technically I will put the fan on the condenser, but I digress...
I noticed right away that the horns were going to have to be relocated. They were exactly in the way of where the fan needed to go. They come off easy with one bolt. I simply relocated them to another spot and used the same bolt. I did have to extend the horn wiring about a foot to accommodate the relocation.
So now to install the fan. You'll likely have to get a little creative as to how you mount the fan. I slid the fan into place from below and mounted it to a bolt sticking out on the rear of the hood latch mechanism. It was a perfect spot to secure the fan, at least on the top. Down below I used aircraft safety wire to secure the fan to the condenser.
There is a 1" thick wiring harness that runs behind the bumper. It wasn't completely necessary, but I relocated it up and it front of the hood latch so as to give the fan more clearance. Just know its easy to move if you need a little more room for the fan.
Next I installed the temp. controller behind the passenger head light. I wanted quick access in case later I needed to adjust the temp. that the fan kicks on. The temp. probe is supposed to go on the backside of the radiator but you can't get to it due to the fan shroud. I was able to pry the fan shroud back about a half an inch at the top. It was just enough to install the probe.
Now for the power source. I used the 20 amp fuse slot in the relay box right behind the passenger headlight. This way the fan is only powered when the key is in the "run" position.
Now replace the lower body cover and the two upper covers and you're set!
Now the car can sit in traffic at 100 degrees with the a/c on and never even break a sweat! The temp needle NEVER goes over halfway anymore.
You can hear the electric fan kick in if you're not moving and don't have the stereo on, but overall its pretty quiet. It even looks factory installed (at least mine does).
If the original hydraulic fan quits working entirely, I will probably have to remove it and install a puller-type electric fan to replace it. But that would be a MUCH harder job than this was. This could be done in a hour. Replacing the factory system could take an entire weekend.
There's been a lot of talk about the LS electrical system not being able to support electric fans. Ford did switch to electric fans on the LS when the seat heaters were redesigned to draw less amperage. My car doesn't have seat heaters and I've never had an electrical issue. Once again, YMMV.
I hope this post helps someone because I've certainly learned a lot in this forum.
Thanks to all who have contributed.
