Ford :: Tempo 1993 Overheating - Temp Needle Goes Up Almost To The Redline
Mar 26, 2014
I have a '93 Ford Tempo 2.3 liter with a/c ....it OVERHEATS ... love the car, but when I sit in traffic, the temp needle goes up almost to the redline, I have to shut the car off .... it happens all year round ... if I'm driving up a hill the temp starts climbing, if I turn the heat OFF the temp climbs, in summer when I put A/C on the temp climbs ... I've put 3 Thermostats in, a new Water Pump, there are NO leaks in Radiator, I've replaced Hoses ... no I'm not a mechanic, I've brought it to garages ... other than the overheating issue it's a good lil car, uses maybe 1 QT of oil every other month ... when I lived in SC had the same car....SAME PROBLEM...had a 1995 Windstar that did the same thing, replaced radiators etc nobody could figure it out, or didn't want to....what is it with Fords!
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After a trip of about an hour to the Fryeburg Fair yesterday I noticed my temperature gauge needle was going way up. I was able to park my car and went to the fair for about 4-5 hours. Before we left I checked the coolant level as the car had cooled off enough to take the cap off. The coolant right to the top and was green. I checked my oil level and that was fine. On the way home my son suggested that I turn the heat on. I did so and the temp gauge went down to normal and stayed that way all the way back home to Lewiston, Maine. I'm thinking it might be the thermostat but thought I would for any other possible reasons my car is doing this. The car has about 216,000 miles and I did have the thermostat replaced a couple of years ago.....???
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Well, I'm still driving the same old 1998 Honda Civic DX two-door coupe, and I've got a problem with overheating. The temperature gauge needle doesn't get quite to the red, but it's popping up higher than usual, and I'm concerned to see it getting anywhere near the red. It usually spikes when I get off the highway and stop at a light, but it also does it occasionally in a drive thru, and recently, I discovered that when I give it a little gas in neutral, it brings the temperature gauge needle down to normal.
Here is the history of recent repairs and troubleshooting:
-About 3-4 years ago, I had a leaky radiator replaced, so the one that is in there isn't very old.
-Last year I had a mechanic replace the thermostat, the radiator fan, and the radiator cap when I started having this problem.
-A few months ago, I had the timing belt serviced (the entire kit, not just the belt), but since the water pump looked fine and the car has so much mileage (275,000 miles), I opted not to replace the water pump. (I regret that now. I usually replace the water pump with every other timing belt, but I've learned my lesson.)-I've been to several shops to get a diagnosis, but they have a hard time getting it to overheat at all, so they can't diagnose it.
One guy suggested the water pump might be worn out (inside, without leaking outside). Another guy suggested that "if it was the water pump, you would know it's the water pump." Each mechanic has done a pressure test on the cooling system and a flow test on the radiator, and they all say they are fine. One mechanic theorized that I might have a very small head gasket leak, but nobody else thinks that is the case and there is no sign of coolant and oil mixing. Besides, the temperature gauge has never been in the red.
-One mechanic who tried to diagnose the problem recommended replacing the plugs, plug wires, rotor, and distributor cap. After doing that, it is running better than it was, but that didn't resolve the overheating problem. He also retarded the spark timing, but it is self-adjusting, so it re-advances itself after a couple days of driving. I can hear what sounds like minor knocking, but it's always made that noise since it was new.
-Everyone who has tried to diagnose the problem says the thermostat is opening and closing as it should, and the radiator fan comes on and shuts off when it should.
I'm done getting second and third opinions, and I'm ready to start throwing parts at it. Do you think I should start with the water pump? What are your thoughts? Don't tell me to replace the car. I just bought a new motorcycle.
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My 1991 Nissan 240SX (only 85K miles!) has an intermittent overheating problem that began last November. Needle usually right in middle, but occasionally would quickly rise to danger zone. In Nov., I got new radiator and pump, as well as all new spark plugs. Was OK for about 3 months, then started overheating occasionally. In shop a day and a half while they tried to find the cause. Gave me a new thermostat. Then test showed there was a leak in head gasket. Instead of expensive repairs, I put 8-oz bottle of K-Seal in cooling system. Reviews all over the web gave me confidence it would seal all leaks. But within 5 minutes, it overheated. Tried again later, same result.
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I have an issue with a 1993 Ford Tempo. It is owned by a auto parts store and is used for deliveries so it gets a lot of use from day to day. Several different mechanics have looked at it and no one can figure out exactly whats wrong.
The issue is this - The car stalls out at about 2 or 3 oclock everyday after being used for deliveries starting at 9 oclock. It will stall while idling in park, while stopped in drive, while coasting/accelerating in drive. The temperature is normal. Is will start to idle and run very rough and the car is less responsive to the gas pedal about 10 minutes before it stalls.
Once it stalls, if it is allowed to sit for about half an hour it will start and run fine for a little longer but eventually stall again. After it sits for a few hours it is fine to run for a few hours again. If you try to start it right after it stalls the first time the engine will turn over but stall out again in a few seconds, if you keep trying to restart it it will eventually not even crank. Also it will occasionally stall like this/run rough in the first 10-20 minutes of driving.
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I changed the harmonic balancer in my 93 ford tempo but the rattle came back!! Last night we tightened the bolt on it with 700 psi but it's still rattling! Could it be a bad balancer or another part that is lose? It rattles at idle and goes away while driving. It just started again the day before yesterday (I thought my husband was just looking to play with the car more) and by last night it got really loud. It's a deeper rattle then the rattle it had before we changed the balancer. Could there be something way out of balance that is causing the balancer to do this?
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First, the specifics: 1993 Ford Tempo 4-cyl Auto 78,000 miles (the proverbial little old lady car.) From a stop, the car will rev clear up to about 30 mph before shifting out of first into second. It will stay in second well past 60 mph, and even then, I have to kick it hard to make that happen. It's not that it won't shift; bit it seems to delay well past where it should. If I do manage to get it into 3rd, there's a pronounced thunk when it downshifts at a higher rev than it should when I slow down.
Now the background & other info: It's not my car. My B-I-L lent me this car because I ride a motorcycle all winter, & he took pity on me for the rainy & snowy days. In return, I offered to fix an annoying rattle. The problems went well past that, of course. The second day I drove it to work, it overheated and spewed clouds of steam in the parking garage. I had to have it towed home. That turned out to be a split in one of the heater hoses.
Disturbingly, however, the temp gauge on the dash never rose off of "C" on the ride in. I had expected to be replacing a water pump, but the heater hose seemed to be the only issue. Just the same, I replaced the thermostat and the temp sensor because I suspected the burst hose was a symptom, not the cause. Sure enough, after it's all put back together, the dashboard temp gauge is working better, and a short hop to the grocery store showed no overheating. At least that problem seems solved.
Prior to the coolant issue, the car drove fine (for one day); the shifting problem only surfaced afterward. As a last piece of info, I'll add that I had to add an entire quart of transmission fluid to bring the level between the marks. I didn't check that previously, so I can't say if that was a pre-existing condition. So then - what's the fix here? Could an overheated engine cause the tranny problem? Any chance this can be fixed simply? (FWIW, the rattle is the A/C pulley.)
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Car: 2006 sonata GLS V6, 62,000 mi
Abstract of symptom: Delayed cooling fan kicking in
Full Symptom description: 2 weeks ago, I was stuck in slow-going traffic. All of the sudden, I found the engine temperature gauge was pointing at the redline, which had never happened before! Then I was about to make an emergency stop on the shoulder, the gauge was falling back to the midline within 30 seconds. As I kept driving in the traffic, the gauge just fluctuated between mid-high to redline. There was a moment I had to stop and shut the engine down, then 1 minute later I restarted the engine, the gauge turned normal again: a little bit under the midline. Then the traffic improved, and the gauge stayed calm all the way home.
Then I noticed that the overheat problem only happens on slow-going/stop traffic; in another word, when I am driving down the interstate @60 mph, engine temperature is always perfect. (a little bit under the midline) At the parking lot, I triggered the problem to re-occur by idling while I was watching the cooling fan--and I found the fan didn't kick in until gauge hit mid-high. After fan kicked in, the gauge fell back to midline, but seemed never to the perfect status. (a little bit under the midline).
Differential: Coolant quality and quantity are good; no visible leak on radiator/hose; when I started a cold engine in the morning and turned on A/C at the same time, the fan kicked in immediately. And it seems that keeping A/C on can prevent overheat from happening, even in slow-going traffic.
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I have a 2004 Grand Prix and it is displaying the symptoms of overheating but the temp gauge is not going above normal operating temp. I replaced the thermostat twice, and after driving for about 10-20 mins coolant comes out of the overflow. I'm at a loss, I'm thinking temp sensor(?) But I don't want to keep throwing unnecessary money into it. The fans work fine, the heater blows as it should.
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Wifey calls me this morning while im already on the road saying that the MFD is indicating, hi temp, but the temp needle is at 0, as it should be when the car starts first thing in the morning. This was just this morning when she was leaving for work. Told her to shut down, and restart car, warning gone, ok good to go but not even reaching to end of street the gauge needle is already at operating temp (90). Met here back home and took a look under the hood. The coolant canister was well below min.
The car is a 2009 wagon with 20k kilometers. So off to the dealer to check for any leaks. they did a pressure test on the system and no leaks. They said the coolant had evaporated and it is not unusual.
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Looks like I'll be late for work today.. damn it's cold.. the temp needle went up to hot I immediately cut it off. It shouldn't have hurt her right?
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I have a 2005 Elantra GLS with a couple thousand miles over 100K. There is what appears to be an overheating issue with my car. When I'm driving it in city driving usually less than 45 MPH, the heater blows cold air. However, on the highway (greater than 50 MPH) it blows hot air and the temp needle stays in the normal range (just below the halfway point between hot and cold and more towards the cold). However, when I slow down and come to city speeds, the temp needle starts to rise and the heater blows cold air.
The needle went to the red zone this morning but as soon as it got to the red zone, it slowly came back down to the normal point (within 2-3 seconds). And @ the same time, the heater started blowing warm/hot air like it would be functioning normally. When the needle got the red zone, my car didn't stop or I didn't see smoke coming from the hood or anything like. It was almost like something (maybe thermostat) tripped and allowed the engine to cool.
After doing some research on this, the potential issues point to thermostat, coolant level, radiator crack. I haven't checked how the coolant level is doing but I will check that this weekend.
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After about a 5 mile drive my '05 6 cyl Santa Fe always smells hot. The temp gauge needle always stays mid point. Coolant is good and is changed regularly. No oil in coolant or coolant in oil. No cracks in recovery bottle or hoses. All hoses tight, has been pressure tested and is ok. No heater core leak, no visible leaks anywhere in the engine compartment or under the car and no green patches on the radiator. After about a week of driving the recovery bottle level is down about 3/4" but the radiator is full to the neck. Where the coolant is going and how to locate the source?
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My car overheated last August and the mechanic changed the thermostat. Since then the temperature needle does not leave the bottom of the dial and I'm getting no heat (except occasionally while idling). My husband has changed the thermostat two more times (180 and 195 degrees), plus checked for air in the cooling/heating system. Anything else he should look at?
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A friend has a 2005 Honda Civic with approximately 120,000 miles that she just bought the end of 2013. The car was kept immaculate by the previous owner. This week as she was driving, she said the temperature needle suddenly went all the way to H. Earlier in the day, she had noticed the A/C was not consistently cool but didn't think much of it as there were no other problems with the car. When the temp needle suddenly went to H, she shut off the a/c and before she could pull over the temp needle went back to normal. She checked the coolant level which was very low and she took it to the dealer who ran multiple tests including checking the thermostat, cylinder compression tests, etc but they could find nothing wrong. I keep telling her there is a reason it did that and that coolant doesn't just disappear and that I think she should take it back.
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It reached 93 here today and it has always taken too long for my AC to reach a cool temperature. I have never had the AUTO setting slow the fan down even at highway speeds. I am moving to TX in the next few months and I already know what it is like driving it down there...HOT! I could really like improving the efficiency of the AC of my Ex.
Can I use the same insulation used for home AC lines on the truck? Is there any high-temp insulation I could fun over the lines? I found a coolant shut-off valve for the heater core on 7.3 trucks, but not for the 6.0. Is there an equivalent for us with the 6.0?
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Well I have a 93 Explorer and when the air temp gets over 100 it stalls. It sounds like it starves for fuel. The fuel pump was replaced. A year or so. Ago but it sat. For a year I replaced the fuel filter.
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I have a 2002 Nissan Frontier with a non supercharged 3.3L v6. The truck is a crew cab, long bed and 4x4. I have had this truck since I bought it used in 2004 with 26k miles. The truck now has 196k miles and I have done a little modifying to make it a bit more off road capable.
I have done all the work to the truck myself, until last fall when I finally broke down and took it to a dealer, who was not able to find my problem, but I will get to that...First of all, the truck has steel bumpers, a winch, a tool box, onboard air system and large tires, all of which make the little 3.3L work hard. However, for three years since I quit making modifications, the truck ran perfectly cool and the temp needle never once went above the normal operating position, even through thick sand at the beach, mountain trails and towing heavy trailers, until last summer.
Late last summer, on 90+ degree days, I noticed the temp needle would start riding above normal when I had the AC on. It didnt matter if I was on the highway, the city streets or idling in the driveway. When I turned off the AC the needle went back to normal. This started happening occasionally at first (once every 2 weeks) then towards fall it started happening more frequently, almost every 90 degree day. Soon after I noticed the problem, it would happen even with the AC off, but not get quite so hot.
After a few weeks of this, I started chasing the problem. I replaced the radiator cap, the thermostat (tested the old one and tested the new one before installing,) I took the radiator to a rad shop and had it boiled and flow tested, I replaced both coolant temp sensors, and then finally the water pump. When none of those repairs made a difference I built new radiator fan shrouds and that made no difference. At this point I was starting to get discouraged so I borrowed a scan tool from a friend and drove around for a few weeks with it plugged in. I was reading live temperature readings of the coolant and verified that the gauge was working correctly.
The truck ran about 200 degrees with the AC off most of the time, then, when I turned the AC on, no matter if I was sitting in park or driving on the highway, the temp would steadily climb until it got to 222 degrees and I would shut off the truck, at that point the needle was near the danger zone and according to several nissan dealership, the highest normal operating temp is 204, but it should stay around 195. At 205 degrees, the needle would start to move above the normal position, so the gauge seems to be fine. As summer turned into fall, the truck started running cooler as the days began to drop into the 70's. I finally got fed up with chasing my tail and took the truck to a dealer with my main concern being a blown head gasket or cracked head.
The dealership inspected the head and tested the coolant for hydrocarbons and said that the head and gasket are not the issue. They advised that the only other thing it could be is my fan clutch. After that dealership visit, the days were cool so I drove the truck all winter without changing the fan clutch. Then, 2 weeks ago, on a 70 degree day, I hooked up my truck to an empty trailer (maybe 1000lbs) and towed it 15 miles. When towing up hill with the AC on, the temp needle started moving. I immediately went to napa and replaced my fan clutch. Confident that was the issue, I drove the truck to the mountains for a camping trip last weekend. While climbing the hills at 40mph and about 2500 rpm, the temp needle climbed to the near danger zone.
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My car overheats then backs off to a normal temp. All the while the heater blows cold air then hot. Water pump is new and thermostat is one yr old. This has to be a thermostat problem does it not?
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Truck runs cool when driving around town about 177. Get on the highway and the temp goes to about 195, go up a mountain pass she climbs to about 210 and I feel that If I dont back off the gas the truck will overheat because the temp just keeps climbing. Go down the highway again on a flat stretch of highway and it drops to 195, get into town temp drops to 177 and even lower when i just let the truck idle.
Truck has a brand new 195 thermostat, fan clutch is only a month old, water pump is about 2 years old, this truck has had head gasket issues in the past but every year I put in the bars stuff and have not had a problem with it since, I started doing the bars stuff about 4 years ago. This is the stuff you flush the system first with not the pour in stuff. 1997 f150 4.6l
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While driving home last night my truck started to overheat, the temp jumped from where its been running at lately (around 210) to 240, I stopped and took it easy getting home. This morning I sprayed down the radiator to clean out any mud that may have gotten in it from field work at the office (its always going through some pretty deep stuff). It ran fine for about an hour then it started to over heat again, I got it home and did a complete radiator flush and then did a test drive. It still overheated so I decided to try something, I released the pressure in the system by unscrewing the cap partially and drove it around again, this time it didn't overheat, put the cap back on and the temp jumped right back up to 240.
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