Ford Tarus overheating

Put a thermostat in the car. It's there for a reason.

Are the fans working?

Engines can actually overhead if the fuel/oxygen mixture runs too lean. If it runs lean the engine heats up real bad as does the catalytic converter. In some cases the catalytic converter gets fried. The heat on the converter is intense, in some situations the heat can be felt through the floorboards. Once the converter is damaged, your exhaust will start smelling like rotten eggs.

A bad O2 sensor can make the mixture run too lean or rich. But don't simply replace it just yet because those sensors are expensive and can run upwards of $300 by itself. On some cars there are two o2 sensors. One on the exhaust manifold and another one underneath on the exhaust pipe.

I've heard of PCM powertrain control modules going bad. But I'm not sure if that would cause this.

Your taurus uses digital technology to get by. Mechanical and digital co-exist.

Check to find out if there are engine codes. Even if the check engine light is off, there is a possibility that the dashboard bulb for the warning light has burned out.

Also check if the coolant sensor(s) are in good shape. Some cars have two, one for the temp dashboard gauge and another one for the PCM.

Sounds to me like it could be a sensor/computer problem.

Who knows, maybe the engine isn't overheating and it's just the gauge giving a false reading because of a bad sensor. But I wouldn't risk it and take the chance of frying an engine.

We need some basics about your car. What year and what engine? This is starting to sound like a 3.8 head gasket problem, or a really plugged system from the "Brown Coolant" concern in later 3.0 cars. Year and engine would help immensely.

Hey eastward, You're right about the lean mixture but, in computer controlled, fuel injected cars this it is almost a non issue except for a plugged fuel filter. If it was a carb'd car overheating due to a lean mix it would be about 3rd down on the list of things to check. Yea, it could happen now, but I've never seen it in 20 years. No dis intended, just relaying what I've seen. Modern FI cars seem to usually overfuel when things go funky.

Tom Adkins

Ok, probably not head gaskets. This is good. First, how do you know it is overheating? When does it overheat? Idle\low speed? Highway speed? You need to get a thermostat in there. Lack of one can actually exacerbate an overheating condition.

What do you mean by overheating? If it has been overheating for some time now, as you say, I would think that the motor is no longer working.

Jeff

More details, please. What does the temperature guage read? Is it happening at low/idle speed? Highway speed? After how long? What happens in winter? Is the air conditioner on?

And please put your answer after the questions, not at the top of the post, so it is easier to follow your comments.

Thanks.

Jeff

The "hoses were plugged" and you don't think that is a problem?

The thermostat is in the car for a reason, and that reason is to recalculate the engine coolant through the engine UNTILL it reaches operating temperature, at that point it will start to release coolant from the engine to the radiator, but if you have no thermostat, your engine will never reach operating temperature because the coolant is already sent to the radiator. not good for mileage.

I would suggest that you take the car back to stock. Unplug the hoses and properly install the thermostat - if put in backwards you will have heating problems.

Nick

Scary, improper engine temperature can ruin an engine. I'd get the heater problem fixed. I also fail to see how removing the thermostat fixes a problem with the heater. If for instance your heater coil leaked and you didn't want to replace it (why?) then you can run a bypass, you don't just plug the hoses. Anyway, I tend to agree with the headgasket. You can have a faulty head gasket without any lose in power etc. You blew it off without even a so much as a by your leave. How did you check the engine to be sure that a head gasket wasn't the problem? You've replaced the water pump, the radiator and the hoses. This leave the problem to the engine, most common cause of the engine causing overheating.

Head gasket...

Not enclusive, but the most likely suspect...

What year and what motor is your Taurus?

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