Overheating Puma info..

[JonnyP]

I have a puma that has a fluctuating temperature needle. It goes up into the red above 50 mph sometimes, but sometimes its ok. Putting the heater on or reducing speed will bring the needle back down.. It seems its a common problem for many Fords, not just the puma.

I thought I would put all the info I have gathered from trawling through this site looking for answers (mine is not sorted yet, but I have not had time to try anything yet).

These are some of the things I have found that could fix the problem.

The radiator could be blocked
Try changing the HCV (heater control valve). Info here.. http://www.projectpuma.com/viewtopic.php?f=51&t=12365" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
Try changing the thermostat.
The water pump may be faulty.
The expansion cap.. I am not sure what was meant by this, perhaps someone could explain.
The coolant temperature sensor.
Blocked or damaged pipes..
Head gasket.
The heater matrix.
Air locks in the system.. How to change http://www.projectpuma.com/viewtopic.php?f=51&t=9818&p=134477#p134477" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

I will update this fred as I investigate my problem, but I am hoping others will add with hints n tips and especially if they fixed this issue on their cars as I have not yet found a definitive answer yet

 

[caligula]

I put steel seal head gasket repair fluid in my cooling system and all the coolant turned to solid jelly last week, ive had every item on the cooling system replace and its sort of fixed but I cant find the location of the radiator fan switch, do you know where it is ?.

 

[bennymc]

This may help.

First overheating problem I had:

I had this a year ago where my temp needle would hit the red after about 20 minutes of driving. I'd notice the cooling fan kick in and then have to be very careful with how I was driving so as not to do any damage. I was advised it was most likely a faulty HCV but a full service fixed this problem, so I ignored it.

Second overheating problem I had:

Just last week at the end of a 200 mile journey it happened again. Only this time it emptied all the water out despite there being no leaks. All the heaters went cold and after topping up the coolant again the temp still shot up if I went past 3rd gear. It would go back to the middle again if I stayed in a lower gear with higher revs.

I went ahead and bought and new HCV as it was beginning to p*ss me off and fitted it myself using this guide http://www.projectpuma.com/viewtopic.php?t=12365" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; - it was really easy to fit especially since I have NO experience in this sort of thing.

End result is that did actually totally resolve the overheating issue and is a very common problem in Pumas, Fiestas and KA's since they're all similar. I strongly recommend you do this, as it sounds to be precisely what happened with mine and will almost certainly sort yours too. It's now nice to be able to drive care free again

the HCV itself cost me £40 exc. VAT from a ford dealer - DONT be tempted to go for a cheaper one from ebay or something as I've read all sorts of horror stories about them.

That said, though the issue was fixed, my heaters are still stuck on hot and I have asked for help myself here (http://www.projectpuma.com/viewtopic.php?f=65&t=20371" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false so if anyone could have a look that'd be brill

 

[JonnyP]

Thanks Benny. I personally am going to change the HCV, as well as take the rad off and give it a good clean out, and change the thermostat, but I am too busy with work at the mo.
But, I have seen freds on here where changing the HCV does not fix the problem for some people (using the genuine Ford one).
Thanks for your input. All info of the subject welcomed.

Caligula.. Sorry, I am new to Pumas and do not know. Try searching as there is a lot of info on here

 

[JonnyP]

I been busy lately and not had time to do any work on the car, but one thing is weird.. Its stopped overheating. I have only done about 100 miles or so, but the needle is staying in the middle no matter what speed I do. Maybe its the cold weather we bin having, but I am thinking (hoping) I just had an air lock in the coolant system. I had the cylinder head tested at my local garage and thats all ok, so that was a relief.
I got me a 500 mile round trip coming up, so that will be a good test for it..

 

[quest63]

I have a puma that has a fluctuating temperature needle. It goes up into the red above 50 mph sometimes, but sometimes its ok. Putting the heater on or reducing speed will bring the needle back down.. It seems its a common problem for many Fords, not just the puma.

I thought I would put all the info I have gathered from trawling through this site looking for answers (mine is not sorted yet, but I have not had time to try anything yet).

These are some of the things I have found that could fix the problem.

The radiator could be blocked
Try changing the HCV (heater control valve). Info here.. http://www.projectpuma.com/viewtopic.php?f=51&t=12365" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
Try changing the thermostat.
The water pump may be faulty.
The expansion cap.. I am not sure what was meant by this, perhaps someone could explain.
The coolant temperature sensor.
Blocked or damaged pipes..
Head gasket.
The heater matrix.
Air locks in the system.. How to change http://www.projectpuma.com/viewtopic.php?f=51&t=9818&p=134477#p134477" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

I will update this fred as I investigate my problem, but I am hoping others will add with hints n tips and especially if they fixed this issue on their cars as I have not yet found a definitive answer yet

The expansion cap is the screw on cap on the water reservoir I guess the suggestion is that you might be losing water from steam escaping from there. You seem to have done your research on possible problems,the thing to do now is to start off with the free options before throwing money at it i.e. run it at idle on the drive with the expansion cap off for 20 mins and gently squeeze the hoses to encourage any airlocks out with the heater in the car set to full hot. check for any coloured residue pink or blue indicating coolant leaks (you didnt say if your losing water) check inside the oil filler cap for white mayonaise residue and check the exhaust for white smoke.Take off radiator and flush it in both directions with a hose.check the auxilliary belt which goes around the water pump is tight.Bypass the HCV valve with copper pipe to see if that helps diagnose your prob.Then think maybe spending a few quid on a new thermostat,and if that doesnt work get a sniff test on your coolant if you think it might be a head gasket.Then it might be time to think about a water pump or coolant sensor.There might be two coolant sensors one for the guage and one for the ECU, and iirc they may be silly silly money new

 

[JonnyP]

I have a puma that has a fluctuating temperature needle. It goes up into the red above 50 mph sometimes, but sometimes its ok. Putting the heater on or reducing speed will bring the needle back down.. It seems its a common problem for many Fords, not just the puma.

I thought I would put all the info I have gathered from trawling through this site looking for answers (mine is not sorted yet, but I have not had time to try anything yet).

These are some of the things I have found that could fix the problem.

The radiator could be blocked
Try changing the HCV (heater control valve). Info here.. http://www.projectpuma.com/viewtopic.php?f=51&t=12365" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
Try changing the thermostat.
The water pump may be faulty.
The expansion cap.. I am not sure what was meant by this, perhaps someone could explain.
The coolant temperature sensor.
Blocked or damaged pipes..
Head gasket.
The heater matrix.
Air locks in the system.. How to change http://www.projectpuma.com/viewtopic.php?f=51&t=9818&p=134477#p134477" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

I will update this fred as I investigate my problem, but I am hoping others will add with hints n tips and especially if they fixed this issue on their cars as I have not yet found a definitive answer yet

The expansion cap is the screw on cap on the water reservoir I guess the suggestion is that you might be losing water from steam escaping from there. You seem to have done your research on possible problems,the thing to do now is to start off with the free options before throwing money at it i.e. run it at idle on the drive with the expansion cap off for 20 mins and gently squeeze the hoses to encourage any airlocks out with the heater in the car set to full hot. check for any coloured residue pink or blue indicating coolant leaks (you didnt say if your losing water) check inside the oil filler cap for white mayonaise residue and check the exhaust for white smoke.Take off radiator and flush it in both directions with a hose.check the auxilliary belt which goes around the water pump is tight.Bypass the HCV valve with copper pipe to see if that helps diagnose your prob.Then think maybe spending a few quid on a new thermostat,and if that doesnt work get a sniff test on your coolant if you think it might be a head gasket.Then it might be time to think about a water pump or coolant sensor.There might be two coolant sensors one for the guage and one for the ECU, and iirc they may be silly silly money new

Thanks for the info :0) But you did not check my last post..!
However, my last post isn't quite right as I had the needle go up towards the red again today :0( I was going up a big hill in top gear at 70mph and she started getting hot, but as soon as I got to the top of the hill all went normal.
Then as I was going through a village at 30mph, the needle started going up again, but was then fine for the rest of my journey.
I will get to the bottom of this (though it may take some time) and I will post up my findings..

 

[Hedley JP]

I had the exact same problem with my Cat and i changed the thermostat and this seemed to make it worse. So my dad spoke with 1 of the head technicians at his work and he advised him that fords are particular to bad air locks that hey cant work out on there own and advised he could take out all the coolant and then put it back in using a special pump that didnt allow any air into the system. I trusted him as he used to be head technician with ford for many years and it worked! ...im guessing that the problem that started it is that id let the water run low (Due to a leak on a pipe, which also got replaced) and i put quite a bit of water in just tipping it in with a standard 2L bottle. This created the 1st air lock and then when i changed the thermostat and also cleaned out the radiator the whole lot of water went in with a hose pipe :/ ....this made it worse but touch wood since the water/coolant was put back in with the pump the car has been fine for the last 6months )))

Hope this helps but if not its hopefully another clue to helping find the probs with our Cats

Hedders ("

 

[JonnyP]

Well, the problem is sorted on mine :0)
I used a coolant flush, did everything thing it said on the instructions, then I flushed the system out with a hose. I took off the top and bottom pipes on the radiator and flushed water through. Then I put in 3 litres of new red coolant/anti freeze and topped up with water and all is hunky dory. I have driven over 1000 miles since and the needle has not moved from where it should be.. Happy days..