overheating.

[55CrownVic]

I have an 01 V8 LS. 136000 miles. Don't drive it a lot now but on my last drive of about 15 miles it gave a check engine temp message, lit up the engine coolant temp dash light and gauge went to hot. Did not go into fail-safe and did not light up check engine light. Air conditioner compressor did kick off. I was about a half-mile from home so drove on with no noticeable loss of power. Checked coolant in degas bottle and was in normal level. Allowed engine to cool, scanned for codes and had no codes at all. Started up and let warm up. Temp went to middle of gauge like normal. Drove a short ways, no overheating. Replaced degas tank, aluminum coolant parts, new thermostat several months ago. All Motorcraft parts except the Jag alum parts. Worried about getting very far from home now. Anyone have any ideas on any thing to check or test?

 

[don-ohio]

People with the Gen I have been posting troubles with the hydraulic fan. Could it be that? don-ohio ^)

 

[55CrownVic]

Thanks for reply Don. Fan is working. Overheating occurred at highway speed so fan wouldn't be a big factor. I had just run it thru the gears and up to about 4000 RPM before shifting to 5th gear and driving at 60 MPH. About 1/2 mile after that is when it got hot. Guess I will drive it around the section mile several times to see if it re-occurs before I get far from home. Ben

 

[don-ohio]

I'd make sure if you have a pressurized system that you have at least 50/50 mix of antifreeze and you have it bled out correctly. Could be a little air from boiling? I'm getting ready to blow out the radiator and condenser fins on my Aerostar van. Bugs are like insulation and can rob the cooling efficiency also. don-ohio ^)

 

[02LincLS]

Yeah, as said above, the bleed procedure is picky, and still sometimes needs to be done a few times. Verify 50/50 mix with specific gravity tester.

Pressure test the system and cap with mityvac kit.

Clean the radiator too (and the other coolers in front of it). I hit over 236 via bluetooth obd, cleaned the radiator, and now on the hottest of hot days it wont go over 220. Nominal is 212 with small momentary spikes here and there as you would expect based on speed and acceleration and other variables. Lots of sand, and small pebbles came out of mine as well as a couple leaves I couldn't see until I removed the plastic on top and the air dams down below. Just be gentle so you don't bend the fins over (no pressure washer).

I also have a condition where I run warmer on the highway and I'm still looking into it. I may also need to replace the lower radiator hose as it can be under vacuum and collapse, limiting flow. It feels like its too rigid to be that, but until I either swap it or stick an old camera phone under there to watch it while I drive, I won't know. I might have some old plastic debris stuck some where in the system.