Help! 2002 Lincoln LS overheating?

[TGLincolnLSowner]

So I just got the rear tie rods replaced on my car, and on the drive home from my mechanic, the heat sensor said the engine was over heating. It has over heated before, and I'd open the hood when I'd get home and you could feel the heat off the engine and the fans inside the car blew extremely hot air off the engine into the car, but now i pop the hood when it says it's overheating, and the engine is not even close to being hot, and the fans are blowing cold air out into the car. Is this a bad sensor? I would like to think so but I don't want to assume that and then have something actually wrong with it.

 

[BrianDye]

This particular post is for a second gen (2003-2006) but it'll give you an idea of whats going on. Alot of plastic parts on the LS cooling system. Over time, they degrade and get brittle and crack, letting air into the cooling system, and/or coolant leak out even though you may never see a leak on the ground. The degas bottle is also a very common problem as the thread linked below mentions. It cracks commonly in the back, but you'll usually see a puddle of coolant behind the drivers side wheel if that happens. However, when one piece of the plastic breaks/cracks, the rest are right behind it. (As in, its common practice to overhaul the whole system, otherwise you will keep having issues. It could be a day after you replace the one bad part, or it could be weeks or months, but it'll happen)

http://www.lincolnvscadillac.com/forum/showthread.php?91092-GenII-LS8-Cooling-System-Overhaul

BTW- You only have 1 fan

Sounds like you might have air in the system. Air in the system causes a lot of troubles. Have you checked your coolant level when cold?

 

[joegr]

In addition to the plastic cooling system parts, make sure your hydraulic cooling fan is operating correctly.