SOMEBODY PLEASE HELP ME!!!
After getting in an accident with my '93 Mark VIII (I loved that car so much, blue leather interior and blue exterior) I recently bought a '98 Mark VIII LSC from a private seller. I'm still deciding whether or not it's a lemon, or just having problems as a coincidence.
The day after I got the car, I'm driving along, and lose power steering. I pull over, and the serpentine belt is somewhat shredded up. No big deal, bought another one at Advance Auto Parts and put it on. That same day, I get on the road, and the message center displays a message something like... "Engine Sensor Error" or something to that effect. So I start looking for a place to pull over on the highway. Before I get a chance to find a decent spot, the engine starts to overheat and I hear a slight rattling sound when I press on the accelerator. Then the engine shuts off. I think the automatic over-heat shutoff kicked in. I get over, pop the hood, and there's a little bit of smoke and a slight burning smell. ####.
I let if cool off for about 30 minutes and manage to get it to an Advance Auto Parts parking lot, where I park it for the night. The next day I go back to the store after it opens and ask them to plug in their little computer analyzer thing. The store employee gets the printout and it says:
Set DTCs (Codes)
DTC P0117
Engine Coolant Temp
Circuit Low Input
The guy there says it probably is the Temperature Switch/Sender that needs replacing, but they don't have one. Great. I manage to get the car home just before the temp gets to the red zone. I popped the hood to look things over and notice that coolant is coming OUT of the dump tank. Great, another problem. The next day, after talking with some mechanic friends and what they thought of it, I borrowed a friends car and bought a new thermostat and put that in. I turned the car on and let it sit for about 20-25 minutes. Shortly after the temp gauge gets up to Normal, the coolant starts to flow out of the dump tank again (I had refilled the coolant back to cold level before I started that car). So I figure, OK, maybe it's the water pump. Next day I went out and bought a new water pump and put that in. Same problem. Coolant flows OUT of the dump tank after about 10 minutes of warming up and 5 minutes of driving around the block. So I called around and finally found that temperature switch/sender at a NAPA, put that in the next day, and am STILL having coolant flow out of the dump tank after a short test drive.
Somebody told me that it might be the head gaskets, but I figure (and really really hope) that it's not because of the fact that I don't have any coolant in my oil, there's no oil in my coolant, and I don't smell any coolant in the exhaust. I can't figure it out and am getting extremely frustrated now, because I just bought this car! Can somebody please help me?
Appreciate the help that anyone can give me...
P.S. The engine fan does work and comes on.
Brendan Gillespie
'98 Mark VIII LSC
brendangillespie@hotmail.com
After getting in an accident with my '93 Mark VIII (I loved that car so much, blue leather interior and blue exterior) I recently bought a '98 Mark VIII LSC from a private seller. I'm still deciding whether or not it's a lemon, or just having problems as a coincidence.
The day after I got the car, I'm driving along, and lose power steering. I pull over, and the serpentine belt is somewhat shredded up. No big deal, bought another one at Advance Auto Parts and put it on. That same day, I get on the road, and the message center displays a message something like... "Engine Sensor Error" or something to that effect. So I start looking for a place to pull over on the highway. Before I get a chance to find a decent spot, the engine starts to overheat and I hear a slight rattling sound when I press on the accelerator. Then the engine shuts off. I think the automatic over-heat shutoff kicked in. I get over, pop the hood, and there's a little bit of smoke and a slight burning smell. ####.
I let if cool off for about 30 minutes and manage to get it to an Advance Auto Parts parking lot, where I park it for the night. The next day I go back to the store after it opens and ask them to plug in their little computer analyzer thing. The store employee gets the printout and it says:
Set DTCs (Codes)
DTC P0117
Engine Coolant Temp
Circuit Low Input
The guy there says it probably is the Temperature Switch/Sender that needs replacing, but they don't have one. Great. I manage to get the car home just before the temp gets to the red zone. I popped the hood to look things over and notice that coolant is coming OUT of the dump tank. Great, another problem. The next day, after talking with some mechanic friends and what they thought of it, I borrowed a friends car and bought a new thermostat and put that in. I turned the car on and let it sit for about 20-25 minutes. Shortly after the temp gauge gets up to Normal, the coolant starts to flow out of the dump tank again (I had refilled the coolant back to cold level before I started that car). So I figure, OK, maybe it's the water pump. Next day I went out and bought a new water pump and put that in. Same problem. Coolant flows OUT of the dump tank after about 10 minutes of warming up and 5 minutes of driving around the block. So I called around and finally found that temperature switch/sender at a NAPA, put that in the next day, and am STILL having coolant flow out of the dump tank after a short test drive.
Somebody told me that it might be the head gaskets, but I figure (and really really hope) that it's not because of the fact that I don't have any coolant in my oil, there's no oil in my coolant, and I don't smell any coolant in the exhaust. I can't figure it out and am getting extremely frustrated now, because I just bought this car! Can somebody please help me?
Appreciate the help that anyone can give me...
P.S. The engine fan does work and comes on.
Brendan Gillespie
'98 Mark VIII LSC
brendangillespie@hotmail.com
