4.6 running very flipin' HOT

[St_Brawler]

I live in Phoenix AZ, and it gets pretty damm hot now a days (110-118 degres) My motor gets HOT to the point that it's only one line from overheating. Taht happens if I drive more than 20min with the A/C on (not even blasting) Than if I have to stop at a light I get a nasty smell of gas (fuel) in my car. Anybody else out there with this prob, or some one that knows why it's doing this and how to fix it??? Pls. help this crap sucks..... cus when it gets that hot the car wont even take off, it gets stuck around 1,500 RPM and no matter how hard I step on it it wont do **** . I also have a dif. thermostat of 180. Thanks for all the help

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'97 GT, full lenght MAC headers, MAC Pro chamber h-pipe, Mac 2.5" Cat-back w/chrome tips, AODE 4W70R, K&N, Eibach springs and a 150 NOS wet shot system. Coming very soon, 4.10 gears, trany upgrading, Saleen body kit, and some medium suspension work.

[Hammer]

First I would check and make sure that there is nothing physically wrong with the engine cooling system itself.
Unfortunately, since I'm not a mechanic, I really wouldn't know what to check other than the radiator, coolant level, coolant mix ratio, and make sure that your thermostat isn't sticking...

If you're sure that it's not a mechanical failure, it may very well just be the oppressive heat in your area. (I thought 103 down here in Dallas was bad)

If that's the case, you might want to look for an after-market radiator and/or electric fan....

Just my opinion...


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1998 Mustang GT
13.97@103
"Traction Impaired" or "Nitto Needy"

Pilot Proverb:
If all you can see out of the window is ground that's going round and round and all you can hear is commotion coming from the passenger compartment, things are not at all as they should be.

[GaryDawg]

Here in Vegas it's pretty hot too but my engine temp stays in the middle most of the time. The other day it was around 117 and the temp guage was up a little, I had the A/C on max and at one point I hit around 3500 rpms in third and the car bogged down really bad. It happened three times in a few minutes but hasn't happened since. That day when I got home and parked my baby in the shaded (but still very hot) garage I noticed the smell of gas when I got out of the car... Maybe there's a connection there... I don't have the answers but at least you know it's happened (sort of) to me too...



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My '98 Vegas Pony

'98 Rio Red (Clearcoat) Convertible Mustang GT
5-speed, 3.27 gears
17" Pony Sport wheels
K&N Air charger
Removed Air Silencer
Kenny Brown Extreme Matrix Kit w/Super Subs
All the options...!
Great lookin blonde passenger!
Vegas Baby!!!

Next comes the Steeda Tri-Ax shifter

[spinemup]

bring your car to a dealer and get the free coolant upgrade. its under warrante

[St_Brawler]

My car has over 68,000 no more warranty.... can I do the colant upgrade myself?? What do I need to do >>>??

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'97 GT, full lenght MAC headers, MAC Pro chamber h-pipe, Mac 2.5" Cat-back w/chrome tips, AODE 4W70R, K&N, Eibach springs and a 150 NOS wet shot system. Coming very soon, 4.10 gears, trany upgrading, Saleen body kit, and some medium suspension work.

[fixer]

check to see if your fan is working.

when the temp gets to about"M" it should come on.

with the a/c THE FAN SHOULD BE ON ALL THE TIME.

when the temp hits the right side of "M" or thereabouts with the a/c on, the High speed fan will kick in.

its a two speed fan.

by the way as for making sure the fan is not only coming on, but making sure its pulling enough air, just hold your hand by the alternator and it should feel very strong like a hair dryer on high blow ( that is the force of the air due to the fan).

or

take a rag and set it on the pony in your grill area; the fan should pull hard enough so that the rag gets sucked into the grill and/or does not fall down.

after that it could be a partially clogged radiator, worn water pump or just plain too hot.

also while the fan is running make sure the system is pressurized by squeezing the upper radiator hose.it should be a little softer than squeezing a raquettball.

if you can squeez the hose togther with little or no effort, then you found your problem: stuck thermostat and/or radiator cap not holding pressure.

check your coolant level also.

has it ever done this before?

[This message has been edited by fixer (edited 07-29-2000).]

[Feyd]

I just got a 2000 GT and was reading the owners manual about coolant, etc... It says you can't use the heavy duty orange stuff?!?! Why can't you use it? Does it do something to corrode gaskets or something? I can't figure out how using a better product would harm anything. It says to not even use coolant additives, which sucks, because I'm a big Redline - Water Wetter fan...

[St_Brawler]

Originally posted by fixer:
check to see if your fan is working.

when the temp gets to about"M" it should come on.

with the a/c THE FAN SHOULD BE ON ALL THE TIME.

when the temp hits the right side of "M" or thereabouts with the a/c on, the High speed fan will kick in.

its a two speed fan.

by the way as for making sure the fan is not only coming on, but making sure its pulling enough air, just hold your hand by the alternator and it should feel very strong like a hair dryer on high blow ( that is the force of the air due to the fan).

or

take a rag and set it on the pony in your grill area; the fan should pull hard enough so that the rag gets sucked into the grill and/or does not fall down.

after that it could be a partially clogged radiator, worn water pump or just plain too hot.

also while the fan is running make sure the system is pressurized by squeezing the upper radiator hose.it should be a little softer than squeezing a raquettball.

if you can squeez the hose togther with little or no effort, then you found your problem: stuck thermostat and/or radiator cap not holding pressure.

check your coolant level also.

has it ever done this before?

[This message has been edited by fixer (edited 07-29-2000).]

Well once it gets below 98 degres, the engine cools down and is around "or" in NORMAL. The first time it got all hot I pulled over and opened my hood to see if there was anything wrong, I try to squze the radiator hose and it was rock hard, I let it cool down and then was able to squze it a little. My car runs fine with out A/C and runs very cool at night. I just did a radiator flush and use some stuff to clean it out. Still does it. Not as bad but still gets up there to "AL" in NORMAL. And ithis all started ever since the first time I cracked my intake and had FORD replace it. After that I took it in several time, with no succes and just to hear "We couldn't make it get hot. It's fine"