2001 LS cooling system issues

[terr]

Hi all-
About a month ago my LS overheated. I immediately took it to the Lincoln dealer who cleaned dirt and debris from the radiator and replaced a cracked radiator shield. It hasn't overheated since. But 5 days later I had to return the car to the dealer because it was leaking coolant. They claimed they couldn't find a leak and suggested that they install a new thermostat for $178, before I blow a head gasket. I figured they were clueless and took it to another repair shop who discovered that the coolant bottle was cracked. There have been no more leaks, but my cooling fan runs constantly and the temp. gauge creeps up when I turn the A/C on. Should I go ahead and get the thermostat replaced? It's probably due to be changed. Could it be the coolant sensor? Your advice is appreciated!!

Terry

[myndkrime]

My first question would be why the coolant tank cracked? Did the coolant back into that crack it from the heat or was it just wear and age?

When you say that the fan is staying on all the time, do you mean that even when you first crank it up it is coming on(before it has even warmed up)?

Since the system has already overheated before, I would go ahead and replace the thermostat just to be safe....As far as with the A/C on, make sure your evaporator and radiator are clean from leaves and bugs that may have accumulated on them..

[terr]

Thanks for the reply. The fan comes on after it has warmed up, but the temp. gauge will still be in the normal range. I'm assuming that the coolant bottle cracked from wear and tear. I will definitely get that thermostat replaced. I'm not sure why the dealer didn't suggest that when it first overheated. Thanks again for the advice. I am not at all car savvy.

[eL eS]

I am curious. I did not think therostats could be kind of broke. I thought it was good or bad... can someone clear this up for me?

Hoestly it si something I have been thinking about fotr the last few days and I think this issue kind of fits with the theme. How do we know if w are getting BSd by a stealer I mean dealer.

[terr]

I was told by the Lincoln dealer, as well as Bridgestone, that thermostats sometimes "stick", especially after a vehicle has overheated.

[myndkrime]

Overheating can be caused by a "sticky" thermostat. It can be stuck in the closed position and not open which restricts water from flowing through which is was designed to do. Sometimes they will "unstick" themselves and the cooling system will be fine for some time until it happens again. Usually is a good practice to go ahead and replace the thermostat, especially considering how "touchy" these motors. Just a note......Intake on a 3.9L is nothing more than hard plastic...

[eL eS]

thanks guys

[jonota]

Another things is that the spring and or expandable slug inside the thermostat can become warped and angled, causing the flow to be different than normal, usually lower. Under let's say highway loads you would be fine but under heavy heat loads such as stop and go with the AC on it could be a problem. As for fans coming on when your temp seems ok, this could be caused by several things. I'm not sure if it is applicable in this car, but some cars have a coolant sensor for the gauge and a coolant sensor for the computer... and usually the gauge one is from the thermostat area and the computer one is in the head or block. Thus the computer could be reading a much higher temp because the engine is not getting the cooling that it needs. Remember, the gauge reads the COOLANT temp, not the temp of the engine itself.

Jonota

[Carbona]

"gauge creeps up when I turn the A/C on. "

Mine is doing the same thing as I just had my engine replaced a few months back since my last motor blew a piston into 1000 pieces. Since, in heavy traffic on a hot day with my AC on, it starts to overheat. Broght it to the Linc stealer and they told me I need a whole new radiator, approx $900. They claim it is all gunked up inside and can not push through enough water to keep it cool in hot weather with the AC going. They also do not have the proper equipment to clean and flush a radiator so my only choice is to change it. I told them to pound sand and am going elsewhere from now on since they are compelte idiots at this particular place.

[terr]

Sorry to hear about your problems. I went ahead and had the thermostat replaced and it has been working fine so far. Good luck!!

[purelux]

Thats funny they can't clean it, give lincoln a call or e-mail see what they say or will do. If its actually gunked up get some of the heavy duty coolant cleaner which tells you to leave it in for like a day or so or x amount of miles or hours, then flush. Also make sure and use distilled water to help prevent rust/scale build up due to no minerals being in the water. How many miles and what year is your LS, also has the coolant been changed? I use watter wetter and a 40/60 coolant/distilled water mix in my towncar. It doesn't drop the temp reading on the dash the car will operate in its intended temp range despite claims on cool down type products. What watter wetter and royal purple brand does is. To help the coolant to pull the heat out of the motor better. What this does is among other things prevent hot spots from forming in areas such as around the heads. When these areas get hot enough they can actually prevent the coolant from cooling them at all in certain spots (depending on design of cooling system). The redline website has an excellent technical write up about it. It actually may help the car warm up faster as it helps pull more heat out more efficently than without. I did notice the quicker warm up espically in the winter. I have a 98 towncr 4.6 v8 and also now have a meziere electric water pump which if available for the ls 6 or 8 would help at idle as its a static speed for the pump to run at as its not driven by the belt. Also it frees up hp/tq and helps prevent cavitation/foaming at high engine rpms which hurts cooling efficency.