Changed thermostat and still overheating

[rallyeluke]

As above i have changed the thermostat on my puma 1.7 16v 1999 model

at present the car is still overheating.


I have filled the engine with about 4 1/2 litres of water in the engine, no coolant yet as i need to buy that tommorow.


The engine is getting up to temp, staying there for about ten mins then temp is fluctuating. gettin up to 115 c on the digital dial.


as soon as it gets nearly to the red i shut it off and let it cool down.


Would the action of having no coolant in the engine cause it to overheat?

ie. is there some anti boiling properties in the coolant?


Also does anyone know which way the thermostat is supposed to be round in the housing?


i fitted the new thermostat back into the vehicle the way the old one came out.


The way the old one was fitted, was with the pointy side of the thermostat facing the front of the car.


Is this correct?


many thanks for any help or advice you can offer.


lucas tunnicliff

 

[jacko]

thermostat will only go in one way.....

yes the coolant will help keep temps down...ie water boils at 100c coolant goes quite a bit further.....and also inhibits the water eating your alloy engine.....

did u change the heater control valve (hvc)? i highly recommend you do. here is no real reason it should affect the running temp but believe me it can.....!

also, let it get upto temp, turn off, undo coolant cap A LITTLE & be careful of scolding yourself but this pressure release tends to shift any air locks in the engine....a right problem with the zetec se. you should see air bubbling into coolant tank, let cool, top up, repeat

 

[C.B.Autos]

Either you have. an airlock or worse case, head gasket failure,

i normally use a coolant suction tool. build up a vacumn in the coolant system then turn a tap and let it suck the coolant in, no air locks and a very easy enjoyable refill

 

[rallyeluke]

i dont believe just yet it is head gasket as the symptoms are currently not showing of HG failure.

Im going to have a good go at bleeding it today and gettin a decent red coolant, halfords red coolant stops boil over up to 108c (if you believe the marketing blurb which coincidentally i do lol)



if that does not work i will go down my local ford dealership on tuesday when it opens and buy the correct HCV for my car and switch it over.

If that does not work i will be asking lots of questions about how to change the water pump.



lol.

 

[red]

Good luck Luke

 

[jacko]

if u rev the engine and you can see water being pumped from the thin pipe into the coolant chamber the pump should be fine......

 

[rallyeluke]

right well been having a good go and bled loads of air out the system, have added two litres of the halfords advanced red coolant to the expansion tank and let the fan kick in twice then unscrewed the expansion cap slightly and released any air, then repeated around 4 times. Have only had the car get up to temp while idling but so far temp has not gone above 107 maximum. Im about to take it for a test drive now and see how high it gets to. Apologies but im writing this on my mobile phone. Will edit it later and put relevant spaces etc. Cheers lucas.