2bef

About a month ago it started overheating. I replaced the thermostat but no relief. The fans kick in when the AC is on even when the engine is not warmed up (good!) and seem to run fine when the engine is hot enough for them to kick in, AC running or not. When the temperature "needle" almost pegs on the high end, the AC will shut down. So apparently whatever temperature sensor that shuts down the AC is also working fine.

The guy at Autozone was thinking that there may be some blockage in the radiator. I drained it last night and the antifreeze came out really clean. After the flush the same results - no sludge, rust, residue, metal shavings, nada, zip, zilch.

I haven't driven it yet but since everything came out so pristine I don't expect the flush solved anything related to overheating.

I saw some posts about impellers disintegrating on late 90's models. Any reports of similar issues on 2001 models? I can't see the weep hole but there does not appear to be any evidence of fluid loss below the water pump shaft.

I hate to replace the water pump on the "hope" that will solve the problem. That's a bunch of work and I'm sure the replacement pump won't be free.

Any suggestions, cures or advice is greatly appreciated.

2bef
Allen, TX

bull

I had the same trouble with my 01 taurus last year. Mine only had 87K miles. I replaced the water pump thinking the impellers were shot. It turns out that they were not too bad. The car still overheated.

I also had a radiator flush which was no help.

The overheating stopped after I replaced the radiator.

Good luck.

BlueOvalMan

While we're on the subject of the cooling system have you checked out the condition of your thermostat lately? A faulty thermostat could cause your engine's internal temperature to dramatically spike and thereby spur overheating. Replacing the radiator should help alleviate the situation a good amount, but don't forget to address your thermostat as well :)

jwko

User stated it was replaced with no change.