Car Overheats in Summer. Doesnt get Hot In Winter

Twista · Dec 17, 2007

Anyone know the problem? Already changed the thermostat more than once, so thats def not the problem.

For the summer time i have to blast the heat on MAX and that brings my engine temp down just fine. In the summer its Goes to NORMAL till i turn on the heat.

However, its winter now and whenever i turn on the heater..

you guessed it
It drops my engine temp back down to NORMAL so i dont have any good heat in the car.
If the car is sitting in one place running for about 10 minutes in the winter it will heat up to NORMAL just fine, but soon as i get moving and driving it drops back down to NORMAL on the temp guage.

SO, WTf is my cars problem?

WTF

RandyStinchcomb · Dec 17, 2007

maybe, are you using oem Ford thermostats or some aftermarket ones?
could also be some blockage in the fins of the A/C condensor and Radiator, check and sea, clean them out if needed.........

SVT32VDOHC · Dec 17, 2007

Weird. I would also check the fins. When ever I put a Mustang together with used parts I always blow the fins on the RAD and the condensor. Even if they look clean, you should see the crap that blows out of there. Do it outside. What a mess in the garage.

SilverBullet00 · Dec 17, 2007

My old mustang was doing that when the intake manifold cracked around the t-stat housing. You might want to check that out. You could always rent a pressure tester from your local autoparts store.

BTW, WHO is the chick in your avatar?

Twista · Dec 17, 2007

SilverBullet00 said:
My old mustang was doing that when the intake manifold cracked around the t-stat housing. You might want to check that out. You could always rent a pressure tester from your local autoparts store.

BTW, WHO is the chick in your avatar?

Thanks for the replies.

answers:

all my thermostats have been from autozone or pep boys.

my intake manifold is actually fine. Cracked acouple years ago and was replaced.

the radatior could be the problem. ill buy some compressed air and blow her out.

THanks again.

edit: That chick in my avatar? No idea =]

281CI96Coupe · Dec 17, 2007

What do you guys mean by blow the fins out? Can someone post a picture or something....I have that problem too but not as drastic as twista's.

SilverBullet00 · Dec 17, 2007

Twista said:
Thanks for the replies.

edit: That chick in my avatar? No idea =]

DAMN!

Let us know what you find

mransr · Dec 17, 2007

my first impression would be a T-stat issue...

the symptoms are about what you'd see when running without a thermostat

fast97gt · Dec 17, 2007

Twista said:
Anyone know the problem? Already changed the thermostat more than once, so thats def not the problem.

For the summer time i have to blast the heat on MAX and that brings my engine temp down just fine. In the summer its Goes to NORMAL till i turn on the heat.

However, its winter now and whenever i turn on the heater..

you guessed it
It drops my engine temp back down to NORMAL so i dont have any good heat in the car.
If the car is sitting in one place running for about 10 minutes in the winter it will heat up to NORMAL just fine, but soon as i get moving and driving it drops back down to NORMAL on the temp guage.

SO, WTf is my cars problem?

WTF

ive had the same problem for a year and a half, its not the t-stat. however it was smart to elimanate that first, i couldnt, cause my housing bolts wouldnt break loose, so i left them alone before they snapped off in the head. now to the point, i flushed the cooling system and everything else. i went out on a wimb and replaced the radiator and viola, el presto, its fixed. im gonna say its your radiator man. and no flushing it out is not gonna help for long, cause if you think about it, there cheaply made and if your car has any real mileage like mine, with 147,000 on the clock, with the factory 4.6l in it. good luck

BennyBlown2v · Dec 17, 2007

Clogged/bad heater core maybe? Sometimes at quick lube joints they will fill up your car with the wrong coolant which often mixes with the stock stuff and turns to sludge. Disconnect the in and out hoses on the heater core and run some hose water through the heater core backwards (put the garden hose in the heater core outlet) and that'll flush anything out in there.

fast97gt · Dec 17, 2007

BennyBlown2v said:
Clogged/bad heater core maybe? Sometimes at quick lube joints they will fill up your car with the wrong coolant which often mixes with the stock stuff and turns to sludge. Disconnect the in and out hoses on the heater core and run some hose water through the heater core backwards (put the garden hose in the heater core outlet) and that'll flush anything out in there.

i tried the same thing, but even if its clogged the heater core circulates a minamel amount of antifreeze compared the main system, but might be worth the try. also if you read his thread carefully, he says if he blasts his heat during the SUMMER it cools down. so that tells me and anyone else that the heater core is flowing properlly sooo....

281CI96Coupe · Dec 18, 2007

I replaced my radiator, and my heater core is working normal. I do not get it either. before the intake manifold popped it would always stay at the "R" in NORMAL. but now with the replaced one. At lights or idle it tends to go to M and while driving back to R. I hate the fluctuation. It used to be stable.

Im just going to hardcore flush it out when it gets warm.

COramprat · Dec 18, 2007

My 96 overheating issues was the fan. It apparently was the design of the fan but I'm not sure if yours is the same. Mine used to run hot in the summer but after my fan swap the temp stays in the middle of normal.\

Twista · Dec 18, 2007

im leaning towards the radiator more now. The fan wouldn't cause it to cool off in the winter because it never comes on unless the car is sitting in 1 place for along time causing it to get super hot. But while driving it never comes on and the temp is still @ normal.

WHere can i get a cheap good radiator at because even ebay has high prices?

fast97gt · Dec 18, 2007

Twista said:
im leaning towards the radiator more now. The fan wouldn't cause it to cool off in the winter because it never comes on unless the car is sitting in 1 place for along time causing it to get super hot. But while driving it never comes on and the temp is still @ normal.

WHere can i get a cheap good radiator at because even ebay has high prices?

pay some money for your rad. man, cause these 4.6s rely on proper heating, and lubrication. trust me and others on this man. you dont want the rad popping cause you cheap. buy one from ford or fluidyne. i did the fluidyne way, and boy am i glad.

jstreet0204 · Dec 18, 2007

The stock guage is not telling you anything except that it is operating within a normal range. Before buying anymore parts, at the very least turn on the digital cluster gauge and get the temp reading. It will be in celcius so you'll need to convert it, but then you will actually know how cool or hot it is actually running.
Here are the instructions.
http://www.mustangworld.com/ourpics/fcar/dtcodes.htm

hobbes80 · Dec 19, 2007

Another vote for fan, unless your seeing a loss of pressure in the coolant system.

I lost the fan on my motorcycle and it would overheat when standing still, but be fine when in motion.
My truck has a cracked tank on the radiator and it runs fine when I'm moving in the summer, but if I sit in traffic I need to put the heat on max to bring the temperature down...... but if your not dripping coolant anywhere, its totally dry, then I vote fan/radiator.

SVT32VDOHC · Dec 19, 2007

Blowing the fins.. I mean take compressed air, and blow them out. IT works wonder with used radiators.

eliteJAE · Dec 19, 2007

i had a HUGE problem with this when i first got my car. the problems i was told i could have were:

-radiator gets really dirty and crappy, inside and out, and circulation and heat exchange is poor.
-t-stat went bad.
-fan cycles arent kicking in when theyre supposed to.
-coolant mix out of whack.
-i needed to "burp" the system.
-heater core screwed up.
-head gasket is screwed and is letting in exhaust gases into the coolant, thus raising temps.

mine turned out to be the head gasket, but my symptoms were retardedly exaggerated because i live in Arizona

anyways, this was everything i was told until i could find the problem, hopefully urs aint too serious.

Smokeurhonda · Dec 20, 2007

Sounds like clogged Rad.

Car Overheats in Summer. Doesnt get Hot In Winter

Twista

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RandyStinchcomb

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SVT32VDOHC

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SilverBullet00

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281CI96Coupe

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