# Please help! car overheating **URL:** \ **Category:** Maintenance/Repairs\ **Tags:** overheating\ **Created:** [July 22, 2014, 5:12am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/please-help-car-overheating/86161 "2014-07-22T05:12:25Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![pilotcar94](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/5e9695/32.png) [@pilotcar94](https://community.cartalk.com/u/pilotcar94)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2014, 7:25am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/please-help-car-overheating/86161/21 "2014-07-22T07:25:41Z")
And the fans are blowing towards the engine, on high, at all times. ---
**Author:** ![pilotcar94](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/5e9695/32.png) [@pilotcar94](https://community.cartalk.com/u/pilotcar94)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2014, 7:31am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/please-help-car-overheating/86161/22 "2014-07-22T07:31:57Z")
It’s never done that before never went more than half way in 6 years. ---
**Author:** ![EK\_Hammer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/77aa72/32.png) [@EK\_Hammer](https://community.cartalk.com/u/EK_Hammer)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2014, 7:33am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/please-help-car-overheating/86161/23 "2014-07-22T07:33:59Z")
My guess is it’s the gauge, but why it’s normal sitting still and goes up while driving is perplexing. I wouldn’t think resistance would be a factor in that scenario. The only wat to find out is temporarily wire a new gauge in the cockpit to watch it while driving. Test your thermostat or replace it. You may have gotten a bad one. ---
**Author:** ![pilotcar94](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/5e9695/32.png) [@pilotcar94](https://community.cartalk.com/u/pilotcar94)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2014, 7:46am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/please-help-car-overheating/86161/24 "2014-07-22T07:46:05Z")
I’m gonna do that, thank you everyone for all the help and info. ---
**Author:** ![Fender1325](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/96bed5/32.png) [@Fender1325](https://community.cartalk.com/u/Fender1325)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2014, 7:58am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/please-help-car-overheating/86161/25 "2014-07-22T07:58:52Z")
Get a meat thermometer from the store and take off the rad cap, start the car and run it for a while till it’s up to operating temp. Find out what the correct operating temp is supposed to be. I think the gauge could be faulty. If you can get the thermostat out you can boil it in water and see if it opens up. ---
**Author:** ![bing](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/bing/32/4619_2.png) [@bing](https://community.cartalk.com/u/bing)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2014, 10:18am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/please-help-car-overheating/86161/26 "2014-07-22T10:18:07Z")
I wonder if maybe you have a bubble in the system yet that needs to be purged out. Aren’t Fords famous for this? Especially if the sensor is right by the thermostat. So maybe when stopped its reading the sensor is reading the air from the bubble and once you get going again, its reading the water temp. Maybe the thermostat is a little warmer than it should. I don’t know, I’m grasping. Don’t think you really have a big problem though, just a little more fluctuation than one would like. ---
**Author:** ![Oliver70](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/7993a0/32.png) [@Oliver70](https://community.cartalk.com/u/Oliver70)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2014, 5:37pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/please-help-car-overheating/86161/27 "2014-07-22T17:37:32Z")
Does the heater blow hot air at idle when an “overheat” is indicated? ---
**Author:** ![Yosemite](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/yosemite/32/643_2.png) [@Yosemite](https://community.cartalk.com/u/Yosemite)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2014, 6:07pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/please-help-car-overheating/86161/28 "2014-07-22T18:07:48Z")
I agree with @Fender1325; Let it get to opperating temp and check the thermometer. If it rises above 220 shut it down and let the engine cool. It should get to Around 200, but watch it closely after 170 and you should see it go up to opperating temp and then drop 10 degrees or so when the thermostat opens…then back up. I remember my dad boiling thermostats to be sure they were opening at the right temp. Yosemite ---
**Author:** ![pilotcar94](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/5e9695/32.png) [@pilotcar94](https://community.cartalk.com/u/pilotcar94)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2014, 7:21am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/please-help-car-overheating/86161/29 "2014-07-24T07:21:38Z")
Ok so I just replaced the thermostat with a 165 degree, changed the temp sensor and gauge, the car still overheats. I’m puzzled. ---
**Author:** ![pilotcar94](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/5e9695/32.png) [@pilotcar94](https://community.cartalk.com/u/pilotcar94)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2014, 7:23am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/please-help-car-overheating/86161/30 "2014-07-24T07:23:08Z")
Put an electric thermometer at the mechanic shop and it was well over 265 ---
**Author:** ![pilotcar94](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/5e9695/32.png) [@pilotcar94](https://community.cartalk.com/u/pilotcar94)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2014, 7:25am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/please-help-car-overheating/86161/31 "2014-07-24T07:25:37Z")
Mechanic said he can’t figure out why it’s over heating either we have done heads, radiator, thermostat twice and stepped down, water pump, and sensors. Idk what else to fix. I took it to three different places just incase the first me hanic was just trying to get $ and none of them could figure it out. Passed pressure test on cooling system. ---
**Author:** ![pilotcar94](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/5e9695/32.png) [@pilotcar94](https://community.cartalk.com/u/pilotcar94)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2014, 7:27am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/please-help-car-overheating/86161/32 "2014-07-24T07:27:04Z")
Also it’s somehow losing antifreeze ---
**Author:** ![Yosemite](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/yosemite/32/643_2.png) [@Yosemite](https://community.cartalk.com/u/Yosemite)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2014, 7:31am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/please-help-car-overheating/86161/33 "2014-07-24T07:31:11Z")
How long did the pressure test take. If he was rushed, he masy not have let it sit long enough to show a bad head gasket. Yosemite ---
**Author:** ![pilotcar94](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/5e9695/32.png) [@pilotcar94](https://community.cartalk.com/u/pilotcar94)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2014, 7:45am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/please-help-car-overheating/86161/34 "2014-07-24T07:45:35Z")
Like 10min ---
**Author:** ![ok4450](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/e9bcb4/32.png) [@ok4450](https://community.cartalk.com/u/ok4450)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2014, 8:14am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/please-help-car-overheating/86161/35 "2014-07-24T08:14:49Z")
If the car only overheats while it’s at speed and considering the fact that the radiator has been replaced, you might consider the possibility of a missing air dam. The air dam is the narrow strip of plastic spoiler underneath the lower radiator support and is designed to basically pile up air in front of the radiator. Air dams can go missing due to curb strikes or hitting critters on the highway. It will not affect temps at idle or low speed; only at elevated road speeds. It could also be the A/C system pressure is too high based on the comment about the temp dropping with the A/C off. Maybe the orifice tube is clogging up due to Black Death. There was also a service bulletin quite a few years back about erroneous gauge readings on Sable and Taurus car but I simply cannot remember the details on it. ---
**Author:** ![pilotcar94](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/5e9695/32.png) [@pilotcar94](https://community.cartalk.com/u/pilotcar94)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2014, 8:26am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/please-help-car-overheating/86161/36 "2014-07-24T08:26:47Z")
I just walked out to the car and looked under it I see pieces of the thing your talking about, but it’s not there anymore, also I put a bunch of card board boxes under my car, nothing from the engine is leaking but my exhaust pipe when I ran the car had a lot of burnt liquid come out of it. Like someone took a bucket of water and mixed oil and slime and then ran it through the pipes. Could that be antifreeze? I’ve found a engine for the car for 500$ and the shop will rebuild it for cost of parts should I do that and just junk the old one? Or will I just have the same problems ---
**Author:** ![pilotcar94](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/5e9695/32.png) [@pilotcar94](https://community.cartalk.com/u/pilotcar94)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2014, 8:27am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/please-help-car-overheating/86161/37 "2014-07-24T08:27:22Z")
I have spent to much money on the car in the past month to sell it ---
**Author:** ![ok4450](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/e9bcb4/32.png) [@ok4450](https://community.cartalk.com/u/ok4450)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2014, 9:33am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/please-help-car-overheating/86161/38 "2014-07-24T09:33:58Z")
That air dam I referred to really needs to be in place before anything else is done as it can make a 30 or 40 degree difference in cooling system temperature while on the highway. Those air dams are pretty critical on vehicles with swoopy noses and a small frontal area. It’s difficult to offer advice on what to do as I have no way of knowing definitively what’s going on with the engine. The liquid out the tailpipe may or may not be a problem. Maybe a hydrocarbon test of the engine coolant will show whether or not there’s any head gasket issues and is something I’d seriously consider before wading into an engine replacement or rebuild. Just curious, but does your car have the 3.0 or 3.8? The 3.0 Vulcan engine is just about bulletproof. ---
**Author:** ![Roose](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/ce73a5/32.png) [@Roose](https://community.cartalk.com/u/Roose)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2014, 10:07am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/please-help-car-overheating/86161/39 "2014-07-24T10:07:19Z")
Did you checked fan switch? It sounds like a problem with the fan switch. Last time I got a same issue with my car, it starts overheating while driving. But it is normal in it’s rest, later I checked with Service Plus in Ontario and they found the problem lies with fan. The thing is fan doesn’t run all the time and it runs only at a certain temperature and I think that is around 180 degrees. So it is better check your fan switch again and hope that will solve the issue. ---
**Author:** ![insightful](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/insightful/32/2732_2.png) [@insightful](https://community.cartalk.com/u/insightful)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2014, 7:41pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/please-help-car-overheating/86161/40 "2014-07-24T19:41:56Z")
You need an overnight pressure test of the cooling system. I think you’ll find coolant in a cylinder in the morning. [Previous page](https://community.cartalk.com/t/please-help-car-overheating/86161.md?page=1) [Next page](https://community.cartalk.com/t/please-help-car-overheating/86161.md?page=3)