cannibal

First post :D
Ok, here's the skinny. 94 taurus (3.0 v6 vulcan w/ 85k miles, not flex fuel) overheating issues started 2 days ago. Coolant was overflowing out of the reservoir and you could hear gurgling or air bubbles inside the cabin with the engine off. I replaced the radiator and thermostat about a year ago and figured it was the t-stat going bad again, chalking it up to faulty manufacturing. I pulled the thermostat and it seemed ok, replaced with a new one and new gasket. Still overheating. No visible leaks anywhere.
Flushed the radiator, pulled the water pump, flushed the block and the heater core. There was no blockage. Replaced the waterpump and serpentine belt while i was in there, and replaced the radiator cap.
I'm waiting on the gasket sealant on the WP to cure and will test the system today after work, I'm hopeful that this will fix the problem but i have a feeling that the headgasket might be blown. there's no oil in the water when i flushed it...and no coolant in the oil but this issue just cropped up. I'm not seeing the tell tale white smoke either...but bad headgasket would make sense of the gurgling and the overflowing coolant in the puke tank.
I'll be doing a leakdown test today if she's still overheating
Is there anything else it could be? I'm near the end of my rope
thanks

chipset

I guess you needed to replace all those parts anyway. You have to pressure test the system. You are describing a blown head gasket. a cracked head will do the same thing.
The motor must come apart. You will be playing guessing games all week or run out of
money throwing not needed parts at it.

cannibal

With exception of the thermostat, which wasn't very much, those parts were about due anyway. I'd have done a cooling system test before all that other stuff but I don't have the tool for it. I had planned on making one today as it shouldn't cost more than 20 bucks and would be good to have around.
I forgot to mention that the air blows cold out of the heater in the cabin, which is why i pulled the water pump.
Thanks for your advice, it's greatly appreciated. I had feared a bad head gasket but was just making sure I wasn't missing anything to check for. :)

chipset

You have just won the $64,000 answer. No heat in the heater core. You have a blown
head gasket. That pressureizes the cooling system with exhaust gas and stops the water flow to the heater core. Remember the heater core is above the engine in the highest part of the fire wall. A cracked head ? could be, but not likely because your heads are cast. If you have a cracked head replace it. Here is the thing. You don't just replace the gaskets you HAVE TO find out why they blew out. Bad gaskets,bad block,bad heads. Bad gaskets, no problem. Bad heads or block, problem. That engine uses torque to yield or torque stretch bolts in the head. You must use new bolts. Even if the manual says you can use them over, DON'T. Just a word of warning. You had better know what your doing if you repair this engine yourself. Many parts on this engine are aluminum and only take 10 lbs. of torque and has to have loctite applied or the bolts will
come loose. The most important thing. GET THE MANUAL. Good luck.

jwko

How was the impeller on the old water pump? Was it ate away?

cannibal

It was definitely showing signs of ware but still had meat left on it. there was a little sand type sediment on the impeller but I think that's common on these cars...at least I think I remember reading a TSB on that some time ago.

chipset: Thanks for the heads up on the bolts. I was factoring in the cost of those when I was trying to decide if replacing the gaskets would be worth the trouble. I might go with a cheap-o gasket in a can repair, I only need the car to last me a week before I scrap it.

I'm still going to do the leakdown and cooling sytem compression tests because i'd like to be 100% sure of the issue, even if all the symptoms are pointing that way.

thanks for all your help, i'll keep posted what i find out

chipset

If you only want the car to last another week don't spend the $3.98 on the gasket in a can crap. The fuzzy stuff on your water pump impeller is a combination of oxide and
contamination of your antifreeze. Normally a week can go by in a few mins. if you are not
looking. The 3lt. is a beautiful engine. Almost bullet proof. My advice, if you can spend the money fix it. Usually the car falls apart before the engine quits. The transmission is
another story. If you put a cooler on it and go by what the owners manual says the trans. will last forever. good luck.

cannibal

Thanks for the good luck, I didn't see your response before I decided to do the bottle fix. That seems to be holding so far, I'll give it a proper test tomorrow.

When I scrap the car I'll be keeping the engine and other odds and ends. Definitely not the trans tho. I'm not fond of the ford slosh-box. I'll likely link the engine up to a manual gearbox from a ranger and throw that into a formula-b chassis...but I'll be rebuilding it well before that happens.

As for the water pump, the contaminants on it looked like sand. Not so much on the fuzzy side. I'll take a picture of it and post it when I get to work in the morning.
Thanks again for your feedback

tbird100636

Dumb question, I'm surprised anyone didn't ask already but is the radiator fan coming on at all???

__________________
Master ASE Certified L1 Chrysler Technician- still a Ford fan at heart.
1964 Thunderbird Hardtop- Chantily Beige- 390 FE 4V V8-Uncle's Car
1966 Thunderbird Convertible- Red- 390 FE 4V V8- Uncle's other car- waiting for paint and body work!!!
1967 Mustang Convertible- Blue- 289 V8- helping a friend re-assemble this classic

cannibal

Yes the fan comes on, i did a leakdown test and cyl#1 had a bad gasket leaking into the coolant. took care of it and will be posting a new thread shortly on a speedo problem =P
here's a picture of the waterpump i promised...