homerm06

my 93 ford crown vic has been acting strange lately. i had replaced the valley hose from behind the water pump to the heater core, i bypassed the h/c so that the hose goes directly to the intake...

anyways, the car overheats out of no where and spills all the water/coolant out of the reserve cap.

i haven't really pinned what the problem was exactly but i believe it might be the radiator itself.

it seems like the cooling system might be clogged?

any ideas? thanks!

Bert

What's the temperature of the engine when it does that?

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Bert

homerm06

when it's running good, it's just above the letter "N" on the temp gauge or a 1/4 of the way up. the temp guage has NORM along the side "N" being the lowest and "M" being the highest temp...

when it overheats it'll go all the way up to the "M" kinda looks like the fuel gauge when it's full... I turn off the car and water is spewing out of the reserve cap. The cap is on tight...

i am really starting to thing the radiator is blocked or gets blocked every so often or the thermostat gets stuck.

last night the temp went WAY high and a few moments later, it went back to normal like something released the water and circulated it... i'm brainstorming and all i can thing of is the radiator and the thermostat?

R.S.LOGAN

Test thermostat ,try bleeding cooling system , if air in system and still pressurising do a block test in case head gasket gone .

Bert

If it seemed to suddenly cool down, I'd suspect the thermostat first. It may be sticking and finally open. Does it have the proper thermostat in there? They look different than the some of the other cars.

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Bert

homerm06

@R.S.LOGAN: How do I do the coolant system bleeding and block test? Can I do those from home?

@Bert Yeah that was my guess, I got the the thermostat from Autozone the beginning of December. It's a Duralast Thermostat that is supposed to open at 170 °F. I couldn't get ahold of an actual Motorcraft since the nearest dealer is about 90 miles from here.

Today is when I had the most trouble with it, and I have a pic to show how high it got today:

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As you can see it was WAY high compared to how it is normally which is just above the "N" on the temp gauge. And it wasn't even hot today... I can't imagine when it's summer here in S. Tx?

R.S.LOGAN

If you get a block test kit , it's simple to check .The fluid changes colour if it detects hydro carbons in cooling system . To bleed , run engine and loosen slightly the highest hose and see if any air comes out . Watch you dont get water over you .

jwko

It also sounds to me like a clogged cooling system (radiator)

homerm06

Ok well the valley hose I replace blew open again, we towed it from Pearsall, Texas back home. Tranny gave up too, I think the engine and tranny over heated... Loss now. Just gonna project it as a hobby now and get another car :( The vic did do us some real good, being homeless, our wedding, our child, and some other memories it has from us. My wife and I decided not to junk it because of that...

I really appreciate the help, time, and advice from everyone on this board. Everything was greatly appreciated... My '93 Ford Crown Victoria LX with it's Morse code ticking engine has died... But I hope it will rise again MWAAHAHA! :) Hope to see everyone again :)

Bert

You can search here for replacements. Car-Part.com--Used Auto Parts Market We wish you the best and hope to see you back here soon.

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Bert