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Tempreture gauge going high - ford escort

Not long after starting my 1.6 Zetec Ford Escort, the temp needle starts to climb to just before red and yet the fan does not kick in.

I have just replaced the temp sender at the bottom of the thermostat, but the problem still exists.

One thing I have also noticed is that when the lid is on the expansion tank, that the coolant level does not rise, but if i take off the lid and just cover it with a decent wad of blue roll, it fills and the temperature gauge does not go to red.

Any ideas, I am thinking now its my thermostat, but do not want to waste any more cash without asking people who know more then me.

TIA

Tosh

Reply to
Tonyhag
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Does the radiator get hot & does the radiator switch (which is what controls the fan) work?

Reply to
Duncan Wood

sounds like an air lock, but it may be caused by a failed head gasket, leaving the cap off or even just loose will allow the air out more easily.

(I have, in the past, known people drive for years with the cap loose just because of this condition)

Mrcheerful

Reply to
mrcheerful

I presume the radiator is getting hot if the care is running for some time.

Tosh

Reply to
Tonyhag

If it was a failed head gasket would I not have oil seep somewhere?

Tosh

Reply to
Tonyhag

If the car is working correctly then sure. Since it isn't, that's a rather dangerous assumption to make. Especially since you suspect it's the thermostat. If the radiator gets hot the thermostat is not causing the overheating. Otherwise, it probably is.

Reply to
David Taylor

The fan motors tend to stick and pop the fuse. Mine did the same.

Reply to
Shaun

No, the leak is usually between the compression bit and the water system, so effectively the engine running blows into the water system, in extreme cases the engine may reverse fill the combustion chamber with water, then the engine runs badly at first start up until it blows the water out, again, in extreme cases the engine may not even turn over if enough water gets into one or more cylinders. Either way the first signs of head gasket failure are usually overheating and or air locks.

mrcheerful

Reply to
mrcheerful

Is the temperature sender also the switch for the fan? A temperature sender is just that - it is connected to the guage to show a temperature. For operation of the fan you will need a switch and it sounds like that has gone. No idea where it is located on that particular model. You could always try the thermostat as that would make sense if the radiator was not getting hot - it could explain why the controller for the fan isn't switching it.

Reply to
pete

It was the thermostat, thanks for all the help.

Tosh

Reply to
Tonyhag

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