1998 Ford Mustang 3.8L -hot as hell in Dallas, TX

did you flush the engine block as well.?

In a 96 mustang 3.8, having an air bubble of less than a liter in the block will cause this.. Have you bled the block completely? On mine "r" in normal I consider to be verrry warm. On a 97 degree day, in traffic I'm between "O" and "R"

lmfao your girlie car is prone to alot of problems check intake and timing cover for leaks bend over ya fat pig and get under car make sure t stat is ok then ya know its the heads because those girlie motors are POS

h u r c a s t

No, I don't know how and none of the service techs recommended doing so. I'm not a mechanic so I just did the obvious. Is it something a person with general automotive knowledge can do or is it a job for a pro? Let me know your thoughts, thanks,

Never heard of such a thing but, then again I'm not a mechanic. I just did the obvious. How do I bleed the block? Is it a job for a mechanic or is it something I might be able to handle. Let me know, Thanks, the information is appreciated.

I'm not saying that you have an air bubble in your system, but the best thing is to install what a dealer or a good shop will have. It's an tool that is hooked to your radiator and the coolant is put under a vacuum. It purges out the air and only takes a minute or two. You could also have thermostat, radiator or water pump problems. The radiator can plug up, especially if neglected. The 3.8 does have a reputation for bad head gaskets, but not all of them do. I have a 3.8 '88 Cougar with over 300K miles and the head, pan and valve cover gaskets have not been touched. It constantly gets 27+ MPG on the highway, not bad for a heavy car. If the 3.8 has head gasket problems and gets fixed, it's a great engine, despite what some people will tell you. My '88 is proof. (I expect the head gaskets to go someday, they just haven't yet.......)

I ran some similar problems with my 94, only to find out eventually that the gauge was just LYING!!!

I replaced the sender also, but finally I bought a $20.00 mechanical gauge, and installed it under the dash so I could double check the factory gauge.

Sure enough, when factory says it is HOTTTT the other gauge shows it around

I guess the cluster itself is bad, but I haven't gotten around to swapping it out yet.

I forgot to mention that I also replaced the thermo temp sender sensor. I have noticed my RPM gauge has not been marking correctly since I started having problems. Would the instrument panel have anything to do with your situation? Is that what you were referring to, the cluster? Let me know, Thanks,

I think I can rule out the thermostat because I just recently replaced it. As for the water pump and radiator, they are the only other items I have yet to replace. The pump isn't leaking and other mechanics have said it's not the issue. I have maintained the radiator by flushing the system every summer so I don't think that constitutes neglect. The guys over at Jiffy lube tested the coolant and they said it was fine. I'm really at a loss because other than this heat issue, the car runs great. MPG is around

thanks for the information. What does the heater core and return system have to do with the cooling system? If it promotes air flow, then I understand but I'm leaning more towards the radiator because the engine only heats up in stop and go traffic. You said yours was blocked, how did you come to that conclusion? Is there a way to visually inspect the system or is it an internal issue? Any additional information would be appeciated. Thanks again,

Ok, I've got some new info. Tell me if this sounds peculiar. When I run the A/C, the radiator fan kicks on immediately. Otherwise, it only turns on when the temp sensor tells it to. The problem is the timing. It's like a see-saw affect. I run the A/C, the temp goes up. Kill the A/C, the fan kicks on after the temp sensor tells it to(30-40 seconds), it cools, then heats up again when I turn the A/C back on. This is at idle speed in indirect sunlight. It's been doing the same thing on the road except it tends to run hotter in rush hour traffic. Since the heat has been so intense lately, it sometimes won't read cool until I park the bitch. I really haven't pushed it but I'm sure it will eventually overheat if the temp outside reaches above 100 degrees. Another observation I made was the coolant flow. Even at warm or hot temps the coolant doesn't seem to circulate. It just bubbles and overflows from the cap. I already replaced the thermostat so could a clogged radiator restrict flow this drastically? Assuming the the thermostat is working, then is the radiator the likely culprit. Let me know what you guys think, I'm just about worn out. Thanks,

appeciated.

Interesting....my heater core isn't leaking but the mileage is at 157k. Who can I taker her to get the block flushed? What does the procedure entail? is there a drain plug or is it just a vacum of some sort? Thanks,

"Pete Sampogna" wrote in news:V_kye.9373$ snipped-for-privacy@fe09.lga:

Ditto. I had a heating problem with my '75 Bobcat. Changed the thermostat, no good. It had a 4 row radiator and was still running hot.

I found out when the el cheapo rebuilt water pump the previous owner had installed suddenly sheared off one day, taking two rows of my four row radiator with it. The impeller was a piece of stamped metal with hardly any fins on it. About all it was doing was stirring the water.

The factory pump I replaced it with had a nice cast iron pump chamber on it. The heating problem went away, even though I replaced the 4 row with an old 2 row I had laying around.

There are 2 things now I won't buy rebuilt - starters and water pumps. The added cost of a new one is far worth it.

My '83 Mustang GT was heating when I got it. Did all the usual troubleshooting, and finally removed the air conditioner condenser, which was blocking a lot of the air flow. (AC wasn't working, anyway.) The heating problem went away, which tells me my 2 row radiator is marginal. I don't know why they put a 2 row radiator on an air conditioned car - it should be 3 at the least.

I took it to Redding last week in 105 degree heat and it ran no hotter than "R" in NORMAL, even sitting at long lights. Before it was never lower than "A" and pegged the needle if I cut the car off for any amount of time.

I would definitely look at a 3 or 4 row radiator. That AC condenser blocks a LOT of air. I held mine up to the sun and could barely see any light through it.