Very Big Problem

Well got my car back from the dealer and luckily got Cooler replaced, electrical prob fixed. But drove not two miles and the Water temp started to hit the H.
I shut her down and now looking at another trip back to the dealership.

Wonder if they just filled the reservoir with water and not the radiator. Could that be the problem? Or did not wait till the thermostat fully opening when putting coolant back in?

I'm betting they refilled it improperly! If your car is back home at your garage, you might as well do it yourself. It's not too difficult. Just drain the coolant already in there at the radiator.

There is air trapped in the system. You MUST refill the cooling system at the coolant crossover tube location (remove the plug directly in front of the alternator with a 1/4" ratchet end). Keep pouring in coolant until it starts to flow out of the top (with the car off).

After coolant is poured into the system, start the engine. You will need to "burp" the air bubbles (by running the engine with this plug removed, allowing the trapped air to surface and exit into the atmosphere).

Allow the engine to cool, and repeat as necessary.

Did a search on Stangnet and found your link to Coral on refilling the radiator.
I'd like to do it myself, but being this is all warranty stuff I want to make sure they touch it. Just incase anything else is damaged they have no excuses.
I don't know. What would you do (considering this is warranty work)?

I'm at my wits end.

P.S. Oh yeah, about the air trapped in the system. When I released the resevoir cap all the water lines shutterd violently. Could this be an indication of air trapped in the system?

tfritz said:

Did a search on Stangnet and found your link to Coral on refilling the radiator.
I'd like to do it myself, but being this is all warranty stuff I want to make sure they touch it. Just incase anything else is damaged they have no excuses.
I don't know. What would you do (considering this is warranty work)?

I'm at my wits end.

P.S. Oh yeah, about the air trapped in the system. When I released the resevoir cap all the water lines shutterd violently. Could this be an indication of air trapped in the system?

Click to expand...

Unscrewing the resevoir cap "de-pressurizes" the cooling system. The coolant system holds 16psi (should be written right on the cap itself I think). That is normal.

In a nutshell, here is what it "boils" down to (no pun intended LOL). The cooling system must be refilled at the highest point in the cooling system. The highest point of the cooling system on our cobras is located at the coolant crossover tube (right in front of the alternator, via the plug I mentioned earlier). Air trapped inside the sealed cooling system will find its way to the highest point in the system, which is why the "burping" process is necessary.

You could have the dealership drain and refill the cooling system properly for you, but I would be wary of driving the vehicle for a long distance if you need to get it to the dealership because it could overheat on the drive there to the dealer. You could have it towed there as well I suppose (have the dealership cover this for you or use insurance/warranty if available).

I think you might be able to get by without driving the car all the way to the dealership. Give the following a try: Don't drain the radiator, but just remove the plug on the coolant crossover tube. Start the engine, allow it to warm up if the plug is difficult to remove - you don't want to strip the insert/thread on the plug! With the plug removed and the engine running, allow the cooling system to burp itself. You may have to do this a few times and hopefully this will resolve the problem. Watch for air bubbles escaping. It might be a good idea to place a catch can/bucket underneath the car directly below the area of the alternator so you can catch any spilled coolant (don't want animals to ingest ethylene glycol!). Crank up the heater to the floor panel and full blast. Let the engine come up to temperature. Shut down, keep the plug uncapped on the crossover tube. After the engine has cooled off, add in some coolant at the crossover tube location (as much as it will take). Re-start engine and re-burp once or twice more, as necessary.


If the above does not work, then perhaps it is another problem that just happened to coincide with your recent dealership service (maybe a plugged radiator, bad thermostat, etc). Give the above a try first, it should fix it up.

Cobra90GT,

First off: Thanks so much for taking the time for a detailed write-up. I copied and pasted for future reference.

Secondly:
I did take my car back to the dealership for documentation sake (incase of legal actions). I wanted them to complete what they started under warranty work.
Get this, when I told them it was overheating they asked me if I wasn't looking at my fuel gauge which was empty BTW. I told them, I think I know the difference between the fuel gauge and the temperature gauge.

So this is the second time I told them the problem in order for them to get it fixed; they are so incompetent. You where right, they did not fill the coolant system correctly, burping the air out and making sure it's throughout the system. They did that eventually and the car is back in good shape.

Thanks again for the help that you gave to me for free and from someone that knows what they are saying. They need to clone you for their service department mechanics.

tfritz said:

Cobra90GT,

First off: Thanks so much for taking the time for a detailed write-up. I copied and pasted for future reference.

Secondly:
I did take my car back to the dealership for documentation sake (incase of legal actions). I wanted them to complete what they started under warranty work.
Get this, when I told them it was overheating they asked me if I wasn't looking at my fuel gauge which was empty BTW. I told them, I think I know the difference between the fuel gauge and the temperature gauge.

So this is the second time I told them the problem in order for them to get it fixed; they are so incompetent. You where right, they did not fill the coolant system correctly, burping the air out and making sure it's throughout the system. They did that eventually and the car is back in good shape.

Thanks again for the help that you gave to me for free and from someone that knows what they are saying. They need to clone you for their service department mechanics.

Click to expand...

Where are you located in Socal. What dealership did you go to so I can stay clear of it. If you are close to the San Diego area let me know, I might be of help.

01TrueBlueCobra said:

Where are you located in Socal. What dealership did you go to so I can stay clear of it. If you are close to the San Diego area let me know, I might be of help.

Click to expand...

You don't have to worry, It's 160miles from you.
Vista Ford in Oxnard, California

Yes, stay very clear of this dealership and never let them even set eyes on your car. I wouldn't trust them with puting air in my tires, they would manage to mess that up to.