Overheat! Trip To Venice Beach From Hell

[noel cosio]

Hello everyone my 91 fox body over heated for the first time ever this weekend and id like to hear the best and worst case scenarios!. Okay so i drove to venice beach this saturday it was a hot day and i ran my fox a little hard on the freeway. I had the a/c on by the way. When i made it to the beach i was in a very long line into the parking lot i was idling stop and go for maybe 25 minutes. I didnt look at my temperature gauge so i wouldnt be able to tell you if it was high but i accidentally stalled out. Once i tried cranking the car back on it had trouble and wouldnt start. On the second crank steam starded coming out of my hood. I popped the hood and the water in my reserve was boiling! Bubbling out of control. I had checked my coolant and oil just that morning and bothe were topped off. My resevoir was not bone dry but it was low. once it cooled down the resevoir was full of dirty
murky coolant. I wasnt patient and opened my radiator too soon and alot of coolant spewed out and burned my face... I then waited for my car to cool off and refilled it with a gallon and a half of coolant. I parked it and went to the beach looked at some ass and tittys for about 3 hours. Aftet i filled my radiator a not a single drop leaked out. And after those hours at the beach the resevoir had gone down again i started it and drove home very carefully. On the way back it drove fine the temerature needle stayed in the low and only went up about a third from the middle mark. What could be the reason for my over heat ? And do you think i can still drive it to and from work daily until i have money to get it checked out ??

 

[CarMichael Angelo]

What ever happened to cause the over heat was probably directly related to the long time spent idling, which is a reason to look at your fan/shroud/radiator. Is everything stock, and as old as the car is in those three categories?

 

[stykthyn]

How old was the coolant? I agree with Mike. Check those items.

 

[hoopty5.0]

If you have under drive pulleys, I'd bet that is a large part of the problem. I hate those things

 

[Micheal Nadeau]

Sitting in 100 degree weather, with the a/c on and not moving. Weak fan clutch, added heat from condenser, and not paying attention to the gauge is what happened. Like stated earlier, check the fan clutch. Start the car, shut it off and watch how long the fan spins. it should stop pretty soon after the car is shut off. If not, the viscous fluid inside the clutch has broke down to a point of "I'm not working today" Any time a car over heats, its a good idea to replace the thermostat and anti-freeze. Make sure you get a good 50/50 mix. Straight anti-freeze wont do that, freeze, but it also isn't very good at keeping the temperature down.

 

[FoxMustangLvr]

Time to throw that stock radiator away and replace it with a good aluminum one. You can keep the stock mechanical fan but like another member said, check the fan clutch. I'd just go through the whole system, drain and fill coolant, replace hoses and thermostat if all these are old and haven't been replaced in a while. Not that expensive to replace all with new and way cheaper than a new short block.

 

[noel cosio]

What ever happened to cause the over heat was probably directly related to the long time spent idling, which is a reason to look at your fan/shroud/radiator. Is everything stock, and as old as the car is in those three categories?

Yes every things stock

 

[noel cosio]

C

How old was the coolant? I agree with Mike. Check those items.

Coolants about 4 months old

How old was the coolant? I agree with Mike. Check those items.

 

[noel cosio]

Sitting in 100 degree weather, with the a/c on and not moving. Weak fan clutch, added heat from condenser, and not paying attention to the gauge is what happened. Like stated earlier, check the fan clutch. Start the car, shut it off and watch how long the fan spins. it should stop pretty soon after the car is shut off. If not, the viscous fluid inside the clutch has broke down to a point of "I'm not working today" Any time a car over heats, its a good idea to replace the thermostat and anti-freeze. Make sure you get a good 50/50 mix. Straight anti-freeze wont do that, freeze, but it also isn't very good at keeping the temperature down.

Thanks will do i was just hoping its not blown heads. What would be a sign of blown heads?? Also what degree thermostat do u guys recommend???

 

[noel cosio]

How old was the coolant? I agree with Mike. Check those items.

About 4 months old what degree thermostat do u guys reccomend

 

[hoopty5.0]

Stock replacement will be fine for you.

 

[Micheal Nadeau]

If you blew a head gasket, you would have overheated again on the way home. Coolant in the oil (the oil on your dipstick will look like a frappuccino) and a misfire that would consistently get worse would be your two major signs. You check out the fan clutch?

 

[Noobz347]

Thanks will do i was just hoping its not blown heads. What would be a sign of blown heads?? Also what degree thermostat do u guys recommend???

Get the cooling system squared away first.

You can look to see if there's coolant in the oil or oil in the coolant. If not, don't worry too much. Cast iron heads anyone? hehe

Anyway.... This is the PERFECT time to ditch the stock fan and shroud. You can install an electric fan and controller over the top of a new 2 core radiator. Keep the same style thermostat at the same temp.

You said it only happens at idle? If that's true then your cooling system is up to the task of cooling your motor. You're just not getting enough air when the car is still. Electric fans will cure that forever... Or until your next power mod where you'll need a new radiator.

You will also need to look into a 3G alternator upgrade.


Welcome to the sickness man.

 

[stykthyn]

If you are truly worried about a blown gasket you can buy a kit that tests for hydrocarbons in your coolant.

 

[mikestang63]

Check your fan blades- are they black or covered with gook? That is the fluid leaking out of the clutch. Are they or the fan center cracked? Are the tips worn down- that is a sign of worn motor mounts.

A good stock fan will properly cool a stock mustang. However, if the fan and/or clutch need replacing, as others have said, this is the perfect time to replace that with an electric fan. You will also need to upgrade the aternator to a 130 amp 3g unit. The cost for a decent fan, controller will be anywhere from $100 to $300 depending on if you buy used or new and what brand. For the alternator same thing- around $100 to 300 used vs new.

Here is what I recommend and what I have run on many mustangs

Go to any junkyard and find a used alternator from any of the following (about $30-40)
94-95 - Mustang 5.0
94-00 - Mustang 3.8
94-96 T-bird 3.8 non sc
95-96 - Windstar 3.0
96 - Sable 3.0
93-99 - Taurus 3.0
94-96 - Cougar 3.8 v6

If you want a new one they run about $100 from rock auto.

Then find a fan from a 90-95 3.8 V6 Taurus- grab the pigtail connector ( about $20-30)

You will need to order the following

Fan controller- Flex a lite variable speed controller ( about $120 from Summit)
3g install kit- contains proper length of 4 gauge wire, stator wire connector, bolt for alernator, zip tie, instructions. Bought mine off a buddy on the Corral.net http://forums.corral.net/forums/ele...ternator-upgrade-complete-kit-small-case.html

You will also need to buy some red and black 10 and 12 g wire, shrink wrap, and connectors. There are some other odds and end that are covered in the following. When you are done, you will have a much better charging system and a fan that can handle well over 400hp.

How to install the alternator
http://www.stangnet.com/mustang-forums/threads/3g-swap-these-the-basic-steps.866228/

Here is a good writeup on the fan install as well as a good one here on stangnet

http://forums.corral.net/forums/gen...01-taurus-fan-flex-lite-33054-vsc-how-do.html