Why is he still trying to overheat?!?

Question

Hey guys! I am at my wits end with my car! Let me give you the specifics; I have a 97 Ford Contour 2.0l 5 spd man. For the past 2 weeks it's been bordering between trying to overheat and actually doing it! Well I took the car to the mechanic and he said that the radiator was clogged and I'd need a new radiator. Well I took his advice and got it just last Friday. Well, I'm driving it to work today and I opened him up on the highway, and not a hint of overheating. Well as soon as I got off of the highway to pay the toll, the temp started to go up. The fan came on, and the temp still kept rising! I got to work without it overheating, but I was worried. Well driving home from work, the same thing. By the time I stopped at the toll, the temp started to rise again! The fan came on and the needle went to the very top of the range without overheating. For the last 3+miles of driving home, the fan stayed on and the temp didn't drop. So my questions are;
1-Why is it still doing this?
2-Is changing the thermostat part of changing the radiator?
3-Could this be a sensor issue?
5-By the fan constantly staying on like this, could it burn out the fan?
6- And if the fan is in normal to extremely hot, why is it that I'm not getting any heat?
Any advice or help you guys can give me is greatly appreciated! I know I'm cheating some by asking so many questions, but I've come to depend on you guys opinions! Thanks.

robrob · Answer

when you change a clogged radiator you have to think what ever clogged it is gonna clog up other things. sooo you always change thermostat and you always do a radiator flush on the system to unclog the ports of the cooling sytem and heater core, you do not want junk floating around in there to have the problem repeat.

no heat in the heater is a big sign of no coolant or low coolant, your heaters heat comes from the heat of the coolant  when it passes through the heater core < pray its not clogged too. :/

trying going to the auto store and getting a bottle of radiator flush and a new thermostat and see if it will clear out your junk, then flush it out and ut new coolant, if your fans kicking on then there is no electrical problem your coolant is probably not flowing right or the thermostat is clogged too and not opening.
fyi there is a additive called water wetter i believe and it will run the coolant at a cooler temp. also a thermostat that opens at a cooler degree would help too

Geo · Answer

Not Getting Any Heat, is the key. You are low on coolant!! Most cars have a bleeder screw on the thermostat housing. Remove that screw or little bolt and add coolant until it stops bubbling. You may need to start it. You can check your thermostat by feeling the hose off the thermostat housing after 10 minutes of running it should be warm. If not, it's suspect. You're not hurting your fan. You may need a water pump after you bleed it and check the thermostst you'll know.

Michael F · Answer

changing the thermostat is not part of changing the radiator ,it sounds like your water pump may be going out change the pump and thermostat then make sure you have the system full of coolant and no the fan is susposed to run anytime the engine reaches temp. it will turn off when it cools down enough

Anonymous · Answer

Could be head gasket,get it checked.  You say no heat is that from the heater, if so the first sign of  head gasket blown. The heater is often the first to loose hot water as the pipes are normally higher than other pipes, so it looses water  first.

Rick · Answer

Head gasket  needs replacing most likely ..

Lester · Answer

You have no heat because there is air in the cooling system. You have a leak somethere.

XT rider · Answer

you probably didn't need a new radiator, it needed cleaning out.  Although it was probably as cheap to pay him to fit one as it would be to pay him to clean it all out.

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Why is he still trying to overheat?!?

7 Answers