Fixed my constantly running cooling fan

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jberbrich

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The electric cooling fan on my 03 LS V8 had been coming on for months. The problem was the cheap plastic thermostat housing ear clips that retain the thermostat broke off. The thermostat was not sitting properly, thereby causing the engine to run a half of a millimeter high on the temp guage, triggering the fan to come on. I replaced both halfs of the thermostat housing and problem solved. Does anyone have info on where to buy aftermarket cooling system parts that are not plastic?

Thanks.
 
So what parts did you replace to fix this problem?

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Thanks!
 
LS4me said:
Sounds like the thermostat.
Click to expand...

No, it's the housing that holds it. The gen II thermostat is a multipart unit that you have to hold together against spring force and then twist into the front housing.

I think it's part 8592 that the original post was about. I'd replace at least 8548C too.
 
I replaced the thermostat itself along with a flush and that took care of my issue.
 
BlackLS06 said:
I replaced the thermostat itself along with a flush and that took care of my issue.
Click to expand...

Yes, changing the thermostat can sometimes fix an overheating issue. (If we're going to throw out all the things that can cause overheating, this will be another long thread.) However, just changing the thermostat would never have fixed the issue that jberbrich had. (fuzzyb I don't know about.) I've had the bigger plastic piece to fail in multiple locations on my 04.
 
joegr said:
Yes, changing the thermostat can sometimes fix an overheating issue. (If we're going to throw out all the things that can cause overheating, this will be another long thread.) However, just changing the thermostat would never have fixed the issue that jberbrich had. (fuzzyb I don't know about.) I've had the bigger plastic piece to fail in multiple locations on my 04.
Click to expand...

Okay, Thanks.
I am experiencing the exact same symptoms on my 03 that jberbrich described. I was hoping to order the parts ahead of time.
 
To be on the safe side order both the thermostat and housing.

Thermostat is only $13 anyways.
 
When I took my thermostat out, the little piece flew off too. I super glued it down and when it would hold itself for seconds, I used jb weld to hold it down more. It was a pain to compress the thermostat and put it back in it's place. I'll need to replace that housing too so that little broken piece doesn't come off again
 
Jim is off the next two days. If I see him I'll point him here. In any case, I should see him Monday.
 
Update-
I did what BlackLS06 did and that solved the problem. So it was either the $30 thermostat or the coolant lost it's properties. The thermostat housing was fine and was reused.

Thanks everyone.
 
i'm having this issue for the last few weeks. doesn't run constantly but coming on more than in the past.

what are my steps to take? what parts are two listed above - part 8592 & 8548C? on rockauto are they MOTORCRAFT Part # RH134 and DORMAN Part # 902903?

also, they are out of stock on the degas bottle - any idea what their cost was?
 
Mine started with leak in thermostat housing. Ordered new housing from RockAuto. Installed it with old thermostat. (first mistake). At this point did not realize how important it was to bleed system. Car would heat up and cooling fan would race on high, never shutting down unless heater was on full blast.
So I took it Firestone for flush and refill. They did the job and told me "fan keeps running on high we need to do some diagnostics" I demurred and took it home. Decided at this point it needs a new thermostat. I made mistake of purchasing after market model made by Motorad from AutoZone. Installed it and followed bleeding instructions here on LVC. STILL the fan would run fast and car would overheat.
Next I bought the cooling system bleeder with bucket from Lisle. I burped the system (for a good 30 minutes) and removed a lot of air. But STILL the car overheated.
Then a friend suggested I use an OEM thermostat. I went to my local FORD shop and paid 40 bucks for the genuine article which is Made in England. Installed that one and using the bleeder bucket I finally got the LS to run normally without the fan running on high. I am sooooo happy.
Bottom line: use OEM parts.....Purchase and use bleeder bucket from Lisle to remove air from system.
 
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