tcw82

I have a '97 Thunderbird with about 92,000 miles. Recently, it has been overheating. I flushed the coolant system, but it still has been overheating. I think it is either the thermostat or the engine fan. The temperature gauge goes down as I'm driving about 50 mph, but it goes up when I'm stopping, so I think its the fan. Has anyone else have this problem? Is the fan itself broken or maybe a fuse? Is it easy or cheap to repair? Thanks.

mirage_indigo

I've got a 96 v6 and it had / is having essentially the same problem. It used to eat coolant until the reserve was almost empty then mysteriosly stops.

One radiator replacement later, it's better, but still periodically has weird tempeaturre spikes. I'll be stopped at a light and the temperature will spike. Soon as I get moving it goes back down, so I'm thinking it's the fan. Good thing my commute is short. I'lllet you know what I find out I'm headed into the shop soon for some bad back brake noises.

-Matthew

tcw82

I took it in on Friday to Midas, and they said the electric motor was going out. They said they managed to get it going by hitting it. My dad replaced the motor yesterday. I'm going to take it on a test drive to see if it works.

mirage_indigo

Which electric motor: in the water pump or in the fan?

-Matthew

MyFordSucksHrd

DEFF THE WATER PUMP... I had the same issue and could never figure the f%cker out... try to replace the water pump. Time Consuming is the best way to describe a water pump replacement... A mechanic will do a better job... but takes at least a day and 300-350 dollars...

97LXBIRD

sir i am having the exact same problemmine will overheat to the point to where it pushes all of the coolant out of my reservoir tank!! i have a new thermostat,new waterpump, flushed system,new reservoir cap, and its still overheating!!! my temp gauge will reach 3/4 high sometimes before my fan kicks on the when it does activate it will only run for 1-2 minutes and kick off and the car will still be hot!? im thinking the electric motor on my fan, ill kep ya posted on my progress,, please do the same for me

v8mick

My 97 3.8 v6 never overheayed but the gauge always went to 3/4 and then dropped to half. As its antifreeze time again I thought ide better have a closer look, and the coolant fan was on constantly.
Took the thermostat out and not only was it in the wrong way round, but it only opened about 2mm when pan tested, flushed rad and replaced coolant temp sensor. The temp only goes to a 1/4 now but the fan is still on. So not too troubled by it. I would say that a lot of probs caused by sticking stats.