Help! Overheating issue that's abnormal!

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andreww9933

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Okay, so I own a 2002 Lincoln Ls V6. Just recently it's started overheating while idling, but here's all the reasons it's strange. It's not my radiator because I did a flush test on it. So okay, thought maybe a blown head gasket. Nope, coolant tested clean and there's nothing in my oil. Water pump perhaps? Nope, changed that and the old one was fine. Air in the system? Here's where it gets strange. When opening the bleeder valve near the front of the engine, I can get it to bleed, but when I open the bleeder valve for the heater I get nothing. But my car blows plenty of hot air, just takes a minute to get there. Another thing that's strange is that I sat in my yard for fifteen minutes trying to recreate the overheat, switching between heat and ac. After the second or third time of switching to heat, it blew a hose off. I shut it off immediately and haven't driven it since (about two weeks ago). So I'm thinking there's a blockage somewhere, but I don't have a clue where and I need it in June for my vacation. Help!!!
 
Sorry, no it's not strange. It's the usual cooling system problem for the LS.

All the cooling system plastic parts degrade and develop micro cracks. These let air in, and air prevents the coolant from circulating correctly.
Please note that your hose did not blow off due to any blockage. You can completely block the output of the water pump and only increase pressure by one PSI. Pressure is actually regulated to a maximum of 16 or so PSI anyway (by the degas cap). The hose blew off because the plastic barb at the end of the tube it was connected to broke off. This is also common.

You need to replace all the plastic cooling parts, including the degas bottle, and any hoses with any plastic. Also check the front of the radiator passenger side tank, near the top for coolant residue (often white power, sometimes orange) or a crack. In either case, it's time for a new radiator too.

Don't stop with the first defective piece. You'll just be doing it all over again as the next and the next part can't stand the pressure. It all degrades at more or less the same rate.
 
Okay so it's definitely getting air in the system then. The barb actually didn't break off. It appeared as though the hose clamp might have been down too low on the hose but I haven't put it back on yet (scared to death of running it for fear of severe damage) but I can put it back on and check everything for cracks perhaps.
 
You probably won't see them. Another clue is if the plastic looks brown inside. I didn't think the barb was broken when it happened to me either, not till I had the new part in hand.
 
I'll look it over come the weekend. One thing I did see that concerned me when I the water pump was removed was that the connected hub had some buildup inside. It looked almost like calcium buildup. My overall ultimate fear is that my tests were incorrect and I do indeed have a blown head gasket.
 
andreww9933 said:
... My overall ultimate fear is that my tests were incorrect and I do indeed have a blown head gasket.
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Blown head gaskets on the LS are very rare (but a handful have happened) because the LS has failsafe cooling. If the engine overheats, it will not inject fuel every other time in each cylinder. The result is massive loss of power and rough running, but the fresh air with no combustion does cool the cylinder some. If it is still not enough, then the PCM will shut the engine down altogether.

The build up could be that someone mixed water with antifreeze instead of using distilled water. The aluminum block is picky about that.
 
joegr said:
The build up could be that someone mixed water with antifreeze instead of using distilled water. The aluminum block is picky about that.
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I didn't even think about that. It would be a good idea to flush the system then. My water is heavy with iron and that's what is currently in it with my anti-freeze. It has overheated, but never to the point of shutting down.
 
The part that still confuses me is the bleeding situation. I've bled the system before when I swapped to POS hydraulic fan setup for an electric. It bled fine then. This time, as previously stated, the valve on the top side of the engine bled fine. Almost as soon as the engine started in fact. After letting the engine reach temperature and cracking open the bleeder valve for the heater side of things with the heater on max and everything I got nothing even though the heat was blowing fine. Could air be getting in it that quickly from somewhere? Is it possible the dual climate control valve crapped out somehow?
 
andreww9933 said:
I didn't even think about that. It would be a good idea to flush the system then. My water is heavy with iron and that's what is currently in it with my anti-freeze. It has overheated, but never to the point of shutting down.
Click to expand...
Iron and other minerals in tap water will increase tempeture that's why it's always a rule of thumb to use distilled water.
 
andreww9933 said:
I'll keep that in mind when flushing the system this weekend.
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If you have extra money you can always get the 50/50% pre-mixed but the concentrated that you have to mix is cheaper and you get more for your $ buck
 
I'll probably go with the non-diluted coolant. I'm also now feeling kind of dumb because I expected my heater valve to bleed as quickly as my engine coolant bleed valve. After reading I've seen where it can take upwards of 45 minutes depending on the amount of air trapped. Not to mention that little line could be clogged. I'll check that out Saturday while I'm going over all the coolant system.
 
Also, do note that you can't bleed it correctly if the system can't pressurize (micro cracks again).
 
Here's a question, but first an explanation. Here about a month ago my thermostatic control for my electric fan quit, and my car ran hot. I'm wondering if it's possible the coolant boiled and either damaged a plastic hose piece or made a big freaking air bubble in the system I didn't get out maybe?
 
The air would self bleed in a day or two.
It's well known that the plastic parts only last about 6 years. Overheating takes a few more days off that.
 
Okay then, at least now I have a place to start. The pump and radiator are both getting replaced Saturday and once that's done I'll go over all the plastic pieces, though I have no idea where I'd be able to get replacements for any of them if they are broken
 
andreww9933 said:
O... I'll go over all the plastic pieces, though I have no idea where I'd be able to get replacements for any of them if they are broken
Click to expand...

You are not listening.
There's no going over them. They need to be replaced, all of them.

You can lead a horse to water, but you can't make him drink...
 
andreww9933 said:
I came for help, not rudeness. Either way, I'll check and see if they're available at the parts stores. If not, then I guess I'm in trouble.
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Sorry, just trying to save you a lot of grief. If you read several threads on here, you'll see the others that went through the grief and waste I was trying to avoid for you.

Peace out...
 
joegr said:
Sorry, just trying to save you a lot of grief. If you read several threads on here, you'll see the others that went through the grief and waste I was trying to avoid for you.
Click to expand...

It's fine, I'm just aggravated. Just left the part store and they looked at me like I was stupid. So my next question is this. The plastic... Hub I guess? That has the two larger hoses on it, at the top front of the engine, does it have an official name? What would I even tell the clerk to look for?
 
Okay, so from what I'm seeing on the website you provided I'm seeing two numbers. 8B502 and 8260. Hopefully you can make more sense of it.
 
joegr said:
Of course, you are leaving out:
XW4Z-8A080-AA (degas bottle)
Also, the lower radiator hose, exact one depends on if you have oil cooler or not.
Click to expand...

Finding those parts wasn't an issue. It was that one hub piece they couldn't find.
 
I'm not sure what are are calling a hub? The thermostat assembly?
 
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