Cooling System Problem..............

[2kblackgt]

Ok, so I just replace my factory intake with the upgraded factory intake and now it seems my car's operating temp is higher than usual. What's normal operating temp? There seems to be no leaks or anything. The temp hand has been in the middle of the gauge every since i changed the intake. Is this a sign of a blown/cracked head gasket?

 

[Skud]

My car has always been in the middle of the gauge. It's been like that for 60,000 miles.. I think it's normal..

Riley

 

[2kblackgt]

Ok, I coulda swore that my gauge use to be a little before the middle before I changed the intake, guess I was mistaken. Also today on the way home from work my temp hand was 3/4's the way to running hot by the time I got home. From work to my house is about 30- 40 minutes and it was 95-100 degrees today. What gives?

 

[Skud]

Well, now that doesn't sound normal..

First, double-check the connection on your coolant temp sensor. Make sure it's not shorting out or anything..

Second, I would try and find a way to see if your car is *actually* running that hot. See if you can get one of those IR digital thermometers and read your coolant temp at the crossover. My car runs between 90-97C. I have NEVER seen it hit 100C.

Riley

 

[Tally_4.6]

I've never even seen mine go past the R, when it warms up it moves to about the N, maybe a little over. Never seen it in the middle and i've never had overheating problems.

 

[eliteJAE]

try using the temperatures from the diagnostic mode on the odometer, as far as ive read on these forums, the stock gauges are nice and useless until the situation is REALLY bad lol i drove my car with the needle in the middle and it didnt race its way to the hottest point until my damn car shut off from overheating i dont know if the diagnostic temp is accurate or not but it seems fairly reasonable and corroborates with the fan settings (99C turn on 92C shut off).

 

[TripleBlk]

Ok, so I just replace my factory intake with the upgraded factory intake and now it seems my car's operating temp is higher than usual. What's normal operating temp? There seems to be no leaks or anything. The temp hand has been in the middle of the gauge every since i changed the intake. Is this a sign of a blown/cracked head gasket?

You might want to "burp" any air out of the cooling system by running for a while with the cap off.

If this is a "pre-owned" car, did you check to see if the PO did maintenance ? If not, or unknown, you can flush and refill. The car is new enough not to have grotesque mung in the coolant passages, so you are probably OK. But I would flush and refill if the car is "pre-owned".

I don't place much faith in the factory temp gauge - it seems to be binary - normal , or hot. I have a '99, and I've never seen it move off mid-range , after a few miles driving.

 

[2kblackgt]

UPDATE: Ok so here's the deal, as long as I'm moving the temp hand stay's normal but if i'm in stop and go/stop light traffic the temp will start going up. but once I start moving again it goes back to normal after a while. My cooling fan and everything is working but my dad seems to think that the fan isn't turning fast enough to keep the engine cool. He says thats why when I'm in traffic my temp starts going up.

 

[2kblackgt]

try using the temperatures from the diagnostic mode on the odometer, as far as ive read on these forums, the stock gauges are nice and useless until the situation is REALLY bad lol i drove my car with the needle in the middle and it didnt race its way to the hottest point until my damn car shut off from overheating i dont know if the diagnostic temp is accurate or not but it seems fairly reasonable and corroborates with the fan settings (99C turn on 92C shut off).

I know how to get to diagnostic mode but which one is the temp?

 

[eliteJAE]

im not too sure how many options along the temp. is, but its the option that will say degCXXX the XXX being the temp (for example the block at 92 degrees Celsius is degC092). i think (or ive heard) the temp. readings are from the sensors in the heads. its pretty accurate in my experience, and i use it while driving in town to keep an eye on the temp. since (as stated before by many) the stock gauges suck


EDIT: http://www.mustangworld.com/ourpics/News/99hec.htm good explanation of all the features of diagnostic mode

 

[Mike97gt]

If it only started doing this after you changed the intake then you have air pockets in the coolant.. This can cause serious engine damage so bleed that thing well..


IF it did this before the swap then you might have a inop low speed cooling fan.

 

[2kblackgt]

^It just started after I changed intakes. Do I bleed the system like TripleBlk said by taking the cap off and letting it run? About to give that a try.......

 

[2kblackgt]

Still need help......How do I get the air pockets out of the coolant?

 

[Skud]

I think the easiest way is to put the front of the car up on jackstands.. Then run the car with the reservoir cap off. As the system "burps" air bubbles should come out of the coolant tank and the fluid level should go down. This fluid is replacing the air that just came out of the system. Add coolant to the reservoir as necessary.

Riley

 

[2kblackgt]

Still having problems

I put the car on jack stands and let it run with the cap off until the bubbles stopped coming out. The car still runs at a high temp after a lil bit of driving. So today I'm running my girl and her daughter around town fo school shopping and decide to drive with the diagnostic mode on the tech, the runnig temp was always between 104 - 110. It got up to 111 at one point. So I decide to ride with the air off to see if it makes a difference, the temp dropped down to around 94 and stayed between 94 - 99. So whats the problem or is that normal ?

 

[eliteJAE]

i THINK (not sure) 94-99 is normal temps, thats what mine runs nowadays in 100+ heat, the a/c running will definitely make things worse, not too sure why, but my temps would sore and resist going down when the a/c was running. needless to say, i learned to drive in arizona weather without a/c since then, i got my head gaskets changed, new 180 tstat, radiator flush, oil, plugs, etc. and now it runs around 82-88 on the freeway, and never above 99 in stop and go traffic.

and i did a custom a/c delete where my high pressure discharge line burst and left a nice 2 inch gash

some of things i learned about overheating are:

extremely dirty radiator and condenser can contribute to overheating.
improper water to coolant ratios (50/50, 70/30, etc.)
in my case, blown head gasket pushing hot gas into my cooling system.
crappy or stuck thermostat.
fan not coming on when it should (92-93C i think...)
blockage in radiator or water jackets.
bubbles in the cooling system -.-

i dont know if all this is accurate, but i've read ALOT about all this since it was such a huge problem in my car -.- hope something helps

EDIT: about the 104-110......my car shut off on the freeway because it got to 114 -.- so im not sure if 114 is the threshold for it shutting down.

 

[BobHyatt]

One other minor issue. Previously you had the coolant temp sensor mounted in a plastic pipe. Now you have it in an aluminum pipe. That could get a bit hotter, but it should not be a lot higher.

when you wrap the motor up pretty tight, the water flow volume is high enough to carry any bubbles out of that crossover and on to the reservoir. Putt around and the bubble can stick around there for a while. It's a stupid design, as many vehicles have a bleed port at the highest point. You might could remove the coolant temp sensor (or at least loosen it and let any trapped air out, but it is not at the highest point so it won't be perfect.