Loud whining/screeching noise followed by rapid overheating. 2001 Lincoln LS V8

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8SidePolygon

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I have a 2001 v8 LS with overheating issues at the moment. After starting the car the cooling system works great for the first 10-15 minutes. The temp stays at operating temperature with slight changes in accordance with the thermostat opening and closing, exactly as it should. Then after those 10-15 minutes go by when you press on the gas after around 2k rpm there's an extremely loud screeching noise that I think gets louder with higher rpm (hard to tell with the 3k neutral limiter). Once this noise starts I can watch the temp needle go up and in about 1-2 minutes the overheat light is on and another minute later flashing check engine light is on. I thought that noise might be the water pump but I've just replaced it and there is no change to speak of. I have also replaced the degas bottle, thermostat housing, and thermostat. My fan is swapped fan for the 2003 model electric fan, which I have rigged to be controlled via remote switch (the fan works as intended, its very loud). I am starting to run out of ideas here and any advice would be highly appreciated.
 
Hey, I don't know how to fix your problem but I am curious if this is occurring after something was replaced or worked on. Might be worth explaining a little history for the gurus here. Best of luck to you man, I vividly remember the days my LS would overheat and I was always stressed about it.
 
Jiwek said:
Hey, I don't know how to fix your problem but I am curious if this is occurring after something was replaced or worked on. Might be worth explaining a little history for the gurus here. Best of luck to you man, I vividly remember the days my LS would overheat and I was always stressed about it.
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Well the car overheated while I was on a joy ride, I do remember whining then but I don't remember it being as loud but that may have been because the hood was shut. I had triple A tow it to my garage, where I bled the coolant system, and found out that overheating it had fried my thermostat, I also noticed my fan was not working, and found cracks in the degas bottle. At the time I thought it was just a bad drive belt bearing and the degas bottle was the reason it over heated in the first place. I replaced the thermostat and swapped in the aluminum jag thermostat housing while I was at it. I then found out one of the previous owners had swapped the fan and done a poor wiring job which resulted in a melted fuse holder. I yanked out all the wires and made a new, more efficient setup. This is when I noticed that the overheating was happening specifically when the noise was occurring, which made me think it was the water pump, which seemed like the most logical explanation. But after I replaced that nothing changed. Diagnosing the issue is difficult because I have barely any time after the noise starts before the engine needs to be turned off. There are a few other issues that I'm planning on addressing later, the power steering pump was improperly replaced by the previous owner, it leaks and the pulley bearing doesn't turn quite right, there is an exhaust leak, the valve covers are also leaking, and intermittent minor rough idling that usually doesn't last longer than 10 seconds or so (this does not seem to correlate with the noise from what I've noticed). None of these issues would cause overheating to my knowledge though.
 
8SidePolygon said:
Once this noise starts I can watch the temp needle go up and in about 1-2 minutes the overheat light is on and another minute later flashing check engine light is on.
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Stop running it to where the "red light of death" comes on... unless you want to torch the engine.

It might be a water pump problem, but keep doing what you are doing, and you won't have to worry about it
 
Since your LS is a Gen 1, You probably have issues with the timing chains and tensioners.

That makes the engine go (mechanically) out of time, which can cause a lean condition...which will cause the engine to get overly hot.
 
The Gen 1 v8 LS uses a hydraulic system to rotate the fan. The hydraulic actuator goes bad and causes problems.

People on here have found a "work around" by using an hydraulic actuator from a Jeep cherokee.

Others have deleted the hydraulic fan completely, and changed the belt and pulley setup altogether.
 
Post the codes? We need actual numbers.
If you think the noise is related to something on the front of the engine you can remove the belt for a short test or if after inspection the belt might need replacement.

But be aware that you WILL need to replace ALL the plastic cooling parts. There is no way around this. Age and temperature have done the damage. It's not easy anymore to find the parts either so you might have some trouble finding them.

But gather your parts and do it in one go otherwise the cooling parts will fail one by one and you will do multiple repairs in the same area.
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8SidePolygon said:
I have a 2001 v8 LS with overheating issues at the moment. After starting the car the cooling system works great for the first 10-15 minutes. The temp stays at operating temperature with slight changes in accordance with the thermostat opening and closing, exactly as it should. Then after those 10-15 minutes go by when you press on the gas after around 2k rpm there's an extremely loud screeching noise that I think gets louder with higher rpm (hard to tell with the 3k neutral limiter). Once this noise starts I can watch the temp needle go up and in about 1-2 minutes the overheat light is on and another minute later flashing check engine light is on. I thought that noise might be the water pump but I've just replaced it and there is no change to speak of. I have also replaced the degas bottle, thermostat housing, and thermostat. My fan is swapped fan for the 2003 model electric fan, which I have rigged to be controlled via remote switch (the fan works as intended, its very loud). I am starting to run out of ideas here and any advice would be highly appreciated.
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Check fan belt tension. Sounds like it is slipping as it gets warm from running. Tension should be no more than 1/4 - 1/2"deflection.
 
8SidePolygon said:
Well the car overheated while I was on a joy ride, I do remember whining then but I don't remember it being as loud but that may have been because the hood was shut. I had triple A tow it to my garage, where I bled the coolant system, and found out that overheating it had fried my thermostat, I also noticed my fan was not working, and found cracks in the degas bottle. At the time I thought it was just a bad drive belt bearing and the degas bottle was the reason it over heated in the first place. I replaced the thermostat and swapped in the aluminum jag thermostat housing while I was at it. I then found out one of the previous owners had swapped the fan and done a poor wiring job which resulted in a melted fuse holder. I yanked out all the wires and made a new, more efficient setup. This is when I noticed that the overheating was happening specifically when the noise was occurring, which made me think it was the water pump, which seemed like the most logical explanation. But after I replaced that nothing changed. Diagnosing the issue is difficult because I have barely any time after the noise starts before the engine needs to be turned off. There are a few other issues that I'm planning on addressing later, the power steering pump was improperly replaced by the previous owner, it leaks and the pulley bearing doesn't turn quite right, there is an exhaust leak, the valve covers are also leaking, and intermittent minor rough idling that usually doesn't last longer than 10 seconds or so (this does not seem to correlate with the noise from what I've noticed). None of these issues would cause overheating to my knowledge though.
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It sounds like a bad belt tensioner. I would check my belt tensioner and see if it's weak. If its weak it's letting the belt slip around the waterpump causing overheating and screeching sounds. You can also look for black rubber buildup on the smooth part where the drive belt rides around the waterpump pulley. If you can easily pull slack in you're drive belt by hand then it's time to replace that tensioner. I didn't realize my tensioner was getting weak until i replaced it as preventive maintenence. Thats when i noticed the rubber where it had been occasionaly slipping around the pulley. Mine didnt make any noise though.
If its not a bad belt tensioner causing all you're problems then let me know and maybe i can help you find your problem.
 
Is the belt oil soaked with power steering fluid? If the engine is dry free from oil try the Gates belt. There is very little stretch when installing new. I would try to oil soak the radial spring of the tensioner because of possible corrosion. The other issues of exhaust & valve leaking i had experience correcting. With the exhaust below the valve covers lend to cook the valve cover gaskets especially when above 3000 rpm somewhat pressurizing the exhaust between the exhaust ports and catalytic converter. Remflex is a gasket material in sheet form made of graphite with 2000°F continuous use rating. If you plan of fixing the exhaust leak yourself, the exhaust resealing job will be tough if the engine remains in the car, it will be an arduous job. Before i replaced oe engine, i took care of the exhaust manifolds and egr tube, dip stick tube, intake manifold (valley insulation) valve cover gaskets, use 3/8NPT tap ps valve cover vent, front crank seal and valley throttle body preheat tube. The reason i lay this all out is if you break any of the M8-1.25 exhaust manifold studs, drilling, Easy outting and wrenching the broken stud will be very difficult. You can make manifold aligning (centering) inserts for the large holes to match the small hole diameter or cut up a spare exhaust manifold which i did. I was one of two successful. These steel studs have been annealed or soften because of the heat which weakens them. One benefit with having the engine out, the exhaust manifold gasket/cover clamshell can be insulated ceramic & fiberglass insulation to greatly minimize the engine comparement heat to radiator engine block heat only. If you want details, let me know.

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SteveOwens said:
The reason i lay this all out is if you break any of the M8-1.25 exhaust manifold studs, drilling, Easy outting and wrenching the broken stud will be very difficult.
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It would be better to heat the head (aluminum expands faster than steel) after filing or cutting a square on the end of the exhaust studs... and using the appropriate wrench.
 
And I highly doubt the fan belt is the issue. My LS is coming up on 300k, (original belt) and I have had No issues with the fan belt (but then again, I have a Gen 2 LS.

I suggest to use a long Phillips screwdriver, (like a stethoscope), and probe/put your ear around the engine at various spots... starting with the water pump, and under the valve covers where the timing chain tensioners are.
 
Update: problem was solved, I just hadn't completely bled the coolant system, there must have been a LOT of air in there. I'm not totally sure why it was making that noise but after I spent an hour bleeding out the cooling system (I was surprised how long it took), both the noise and the heating problem went away and she's driving well which is exciting no signs of overheating at all. Also everyone mentioning the belt, I did replace the belt when replacing the water pump which I forgot to mention.
 
Try this convenient valve with a barbed end female 1/4 NPT thread with a long output tube to keep to pour back in the tank.
instead of the M6 plug. Beats burning fingers.

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You weren't ignored. That has become common on the LS
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Yeah sorry this came from a misunderstanding, I've never heard anyone refer to a serpentine/drive belt as a fan belt before and figured they were referring to something in the original hydraulic system, I have learned my mistake.
 
Also to be clear I was not letting it get to the point of the overheat light coming on, it was pretty easy to tell when it was going to overheat in the next 2 minutes or so before it happened. I had a suspicion there might not be any coolant in the water pump chamber, but I'm still pretty young and have a lot to learn. Every other car I've bled the coolant system on or have seen other people do so, it took like 20-30 minutes tops, I didn't expect it to take multiple 30 minute-1 hour sessions lol. It feels very rewarding though and I was so ecstatic to be able to drive her again for the first time in a while. I've learned a valuable lesson though, and that is to a) pay attention to my damn coolant temp and b) be aware of the finnicky issues this car has and stay on top of them.
 
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