Overheating. Air in cooling system?

black97lsc

black97lsc

Registered
Hi everyone, I had my serpentine belt go out on me Friday night and almost immediately the temp gauge went all the way over to the Hot side. After I found a safe spot to pull over and shut it off, I noticed the smell of coolant and some coolant had spilled out from the coolant overflow area.
I replaced the belt and then checked the coolant lever by opening the coolant resevoir. I heard a hiss like when you open a can of soda. Immediately after I did that, I thought that may have been a mistake. Did I let air into the cooling system?

I took the Mark out for a quick 5 minute ride when I noticed the Check engine temp message on the message center and the temp gauge all the way over to the hot side. Before I put on the new belt, I inspected the pulleys and they were all in good shape spun freely especially the water pump.
I don't think the fan came on, but I'm not sure. It definitely wasn't on when I shut the car off.

Would the fan not coming on cause the car to overheat within 5 minutes? I wasn't driving in traffic and it was about 75 degrees out Saturday afternoon. Maybe something was damaged when the serpentine belt shredded like the fan or component that turns on the fan? Or is it that I did let air into the system when I opened the resevoir?

Any help is appreciated!
 
You have to get all the air out. You do this by refilling coolent thru the crossover tube. Remove the beauty cover on front of engine (over thermostst housing). Remove the plug cover...if you nebver had it off, it may be a bear to remove the first time. Fill with 50/50 coolent until you see it start to rise in the overflow tank.

Replace crossover filler plug, start cat and let it run until up to temp....or take it for a ride. It may send warning that your coolent is low...return home, let cool and do refill again...repeat until you no longer get the warning light. Yes, it's a PITA, but necessary.
 
budpytko said:
You have to get all the air out. You do this by refilling coolent thru the crossover tube. Remove the beauty cover on front of engine (over thermostst housing). Remove the plug cover...if you nebver had it off, it may be a bear to remove the first time. Fill with 50/50 coolent until you see it start to rise in the overflow tank.

Replace crossover filler plug, start cat and let it run until up to temp....or take it for a ride. It may send warning that your coolent is low...return home, let cool and do refill again...repeat until you no longer get the warning light. Yes, it's a PITA, but necessary.
Click to expand...

Thanks, I'll try that! Also, I went to Autozone and they didn't know what coolant was recommended for our car, they just said I should match up the color? At first they said I should put some Orange GM labeled coolant and when I told them that the coolant in the car is Green, they said I should put the green one in. I'll do a search here, but what should it be? Does color matter or brand?
 
I buy the green Prestone 50/50 mix. I don't think the brand matters IMHO. I think it's more important to flush the cooling system and change the coolant every 2 years.
 
DO NOT BUY THE GM COOLANT! It will cost you major money. And costly engine repairs because it doesn't mix with the ford stuff.

And you DO need to match up the color. Prestone mixes will most other coolants I would recommend it. I have always used it in all my Ford cars.
 
If you did get air in the system, you may have to refill and run several times to get all of the air out. The fan is only needed at low speeds. Definitely check out the fan operation. It is possible you blew a head gasket when it overheated. Probably not if it didn't get that hot.
 
I got around to checking it all out this weekend. The Mark seems to be running fine as I was out running errands on Sunday with no problems.
I bought the Prestone, not the premixed stuff, and flushed out the cooling system. The plug on the crossover tube was very stubborn, it didn't want to come lose, but once that was done I ran clean water from the garden hose down the tube while it drained from the radiator drain hole until the water was clear.
The only thing that concerns me is the amount of coolant I added. I was only able to get one Prestone gallon (non-premixed) into the cooling system. I'm sure there was water in the system already, but this would mean my coolant to water mix is going to be an undesirable percentage, right? Since the cooling system capacity is 15 liters and I put in 3.78 liters of Prestone, that would mean I'm hovering around 25% coolant and 75% water?
 
Well there are plugs in the end of the block... but they are usually very hard to get to etc.

The best way to do this is to take it to a place that can do a flush using a machine... this costs around $100 but it insures proper coolant mixture etc.

I am quite puzzled by what you're stating in your mixture reference? When you drain the radiator you only get about 1-2 gallons out. So if you added pure coolant to replace that you're running too much coolant if anything.
 
This should help...

Coolant Replacement

NOTE:
Some coolant/water will be retained in the cylinder block if cylinder block drain plugs are not removed. When refilling cooling system after flushing, adjust coolant mix ratio to obtain a 50/50 mix. Be certain to account for approximately 51 quarts of water left in the cylinder block when drain plugs are not removed.

1. Bring engine to normal operating temperature and turn engine OFF. With cooling system under pressure, inspect cooling system hoses and clamped hose connections for leaks, excessive deterioration, or contact wear. Inspect radiator installation retention. Note any discrepancies, and proceed.

WARNING:
NEVER REMOVE COOLING SYSTEM CAP UNDER ANY CONDITIONS WHILE ENGINE IS OPERATING. FAILURE TO FOLLOW THESE INSTRUCTIONS COULD RESULT IN PERSONAL INJURY AND/OR DAMAGE TO THE COOLING SYSTEM OR ENGINE.

WARNING:
TO AVOID BURNS FROM SCALDING COOLANT OR STEAM, USE EXTREME CARE WHEN REMOVING THE PRESSURE CAP.

2. Drain coolant as follows:

a. If radiator is still hot, carefully wrap a thick cloth around the cap and rotate slowly until pressure begins to release. Step back until the pressure is released.

b. Then rotate cap until free. Remove the cap.

c. Open radiator draincock and disconnect engine coolant return hose at coolant inlet connection on oil filter adapter to drain the coolant system.

d. Flush reservoir with clean water, drain.

e. Correct/service/replace any components found to be malfunctioning in Step 1.


Cleaning


Tools Required:
~ Rotunda Battery and Anti-Freeze Tester 021-00046

To remove rust, sludge and other foreign material from the cooling system, use an appropriate cooling system flush such as Premium Cooling System Flush FIAZ-19A503-A (ESR-M14P7-A) or equivalent. Removal of such material restores cooling efficiency and avoids overheating. Always remove the thermostat prior to pressure flushing. A pulsating or reversed direction flow of flushing water will loosen sediment more quickly than a steady flow in the normal direction of coolant flow. In severe cases where cleaning solvents will not properly clean the cooling system for efficient operation, it will be necessary to use the pressure flushing method. Various types of flushing equipment are available.


Coolant Refill

1. Refill engine cooling system as follows:

a. Close radiator draincock and install engine coolant return hose to inlet connection.

b. When refilling the cooling system, use equal parts of water and coolant as follows:

Coolant Specification: Use only a permanent-type coolant such as Premium Cooling System Fluid E2FZ-19549-AA (ESE-M97B44-A and ESE-M97B43-A) or equivalent.

Freeze protection may also be checked by using either a Rotunda Battery and Anti-Freeze Tester 021-00046 or equivalent, or a Hydrometer. A 50/50 mix of coolant concentrate and water will provide approximately -37°C (-35°F) protection, and provide the necessary anti-corrosion protection.

Fill cooling system as outlined in this Section.
Click to expand...

You can purchase an antifreeze tester most anywhere. Test the antifreeze and adjust the mixture from there if you have no current issues.
 
Thanks again guys, I'll pick up a coolant tester to be sure of it effectiveness. If its not I'll go with the procedure you posted Driller.

Maxmk8, I figured I had this 25/75 coolant to water ratio because of what I added. I ran clean water through the cooling system until it came out clean through the radiator drain plug. I was adding the clean water through the plug in the crossover pipe. I stopped adding water when it was clean and let it finish draining out the bottom of the radiator and closed that. I then added one gallon (3.7 liters) of the non-premixed coolant through the plug in the crossover pipe and that's all it would take. Since the cooling system capacity is 15.1 liters and I only added 3.7 liters, I figured the rest of the fluid in the system is water. That would make it a little over 11 liters of water. I did turn on the car briefly to get the coolant to circulate while I was adding clean water.
This is the way I would flush cooling systems in the past so I figured it would be good for the Mark too.
 
If the t-stat wasn't open, you didn't circulate water through the block. That is why you disconnect engine coolant return hose at coolant inlet connection on oil filter adapter to drain the coolant system.

Likely only the radiator was drained of coolant with some residual dilution of coolant in the remainder of the system.

Even with proper service procedures, typically only 80% is drained.
 
driller said:
If the t-stat wasn't open, you didn't circulate water through the block. That is why you disconnect engine coolant return hose at coolant inlet connection on oil filter adapter to drain the coolant system.

Likely only the radiator was drained of coolant with some residual dilution of coolant in the remainder of the system.

Even with proper service procedures, typically only 80% is drained.
Click to expand...

You're right, I completely forgot that without the car being warm enough, the thermostat won't open.

Well, I bought the coolant tester and tested the coolant in the system, it registered towards the lower end of the "protection" range. I believe it was only registering to -24 degrees protection which I figured was low. I decided to test the tester by measuring the protection level of new, still in the container coolant and it registered the same amount of low protection. The conversion scale also indicates that overheat protection is low. Are these testers accurate? Should I worry? The temp. gauge reads normal even after driving for a few hours with the A/C on in warmer outside temps.

This is the tester I bought:
http://www.acehardware.com/sm-prestone-anti-freeze-coolant-tester-af1420bup--pi-1289876.html
 
-24*F doesn't sound that minimal according to this chart.

art_protection_chart.jpg
 
Well, so far the temp gauge has remained consistent, in the normal position, as we've had a warm Sept/Oct and I've been driving all over with the a/c on. I guess I shouldn't worry too much. Thanks for the help guys.
 
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