2000 Ford Focus Ztec cooling question

Hi all, Appreciate any ideas on how to approach this.We have a 2000 Ford Focus wagon with approx. 45k miles on it. Just a few days ago as I pulled onto an exit ramp from the highway I noticed the temp guage needle easing to the right (it's never been greater than 12 o'clock since we bought it new) and as I pulled off into the parking lot of my destination it eased up fairly close to the right white hash line, which is before the red. I killed the air conditioning and just watched it while idling in the parking lot it went down a bit then back to where it was near the hash but it never crossed into red. When I revved the engine a bit the needle went down a bit to 12 o'clock position. After a 2 hour meeting I decided to see how far i would get. Driving 60 mph it stayed straight 12'oclock for

12 miles but after pulling off the exit ramp the same thing started happening. When I am going 35-40 the needle is about 1 o'clock (or a bit more) and it slowly rises when stopped at a light but has not hit the red zone.Coolant is at max level in reservoir, although I noticed that the coolant seems clear, like water. We had it flushed at repair shop on 3/8. I've seen pink and green coolant colors in other cars before and I honestly don't know what color it was when we bought it as it was my wife's car. I would think if it had something to do with that this would have occured before now. So I drive it around today and for the first 20" of driving around town (30-40 mph, stop lights etc) it was rock solid 12 o'clock then started creeping up again, never overheating though. Any ideas on possible causes. Knowing the 2000 Focus as a lot of us do in here, there could be a lot of causes, unfortunately,
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focus_owner
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If the car started ot overheat right after you had it flushed, the answer is in there. I would start by testing the coolant with a tester. It should be green (at least my '01 ZX3 is). If it is not up to strength, drain, flush and refill with a 50/50 mix of coolant and water - distilled is better here.

You could also have a thermostat problem, but I would first make sure you coolant is at the right strength. Other less likely possibilities are a water pump problem, air bubble in the system (this cooling system does not seem prone to that) or bad temperature sender/guage - is it really overheating or does it say it is and is not?

Also check the operation of your electric fan by idling it until it comes on and ot the temp reading. IF if mostly overheats in traffic , this is an area to check out.

Let us know what you find.

Gary

with approx. 45k miles on it. Just a few days ago as I pulled onto an exit ramp from the highway I noticed the temp

since we bought it new) and as I pulled off into the parking lot of my destination it eased up fairly close to the right white

watched it while idling in the parking lot it went down a bit then back to where it was near the hash but it never crossed

o'clock position. After a 2 hour meeting I decided to see how far i would get. Driving 60 mph it stayed straight 12'oclock for

When I am going 35-40 the needle is about 1 o'clock (or a bit more) and it slowly rises when stopped at a light but has

that the coolant seems clear, like water. We had it flushed at repair shop on

3/8. I've seen pink and green coolant colors

bought it as it was my wife's car. I would think if it had something to do with that this would have occured before now. So I

stop lights etc) it was rock solid 12 o'clock then started creeping up again, never overheating though. Any ideas on

be a lot of causes, unfortunately,

Reply to
Gary

What ever became of the coolant issue. Just curious, because we, like you, have a 2000 focus wagon with 40K, and are experiencing overheating issues. We made it home, luckily, but noticed the next morning that our coolant resivoir was below the fill line. We just had it brought in about a month ago for it's scheduled oil change, so they should have topped all the fluids off. Any thoughts before I bring it in and bend over? Thanks.

Reply to
b2v

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