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Overheating & Steaming Issue

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FruitJuice

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Discussion starter · #1 · (Edited)
Hi all,

I'm currently driving a 2002 Ford Focus LX SOHC with about 185k miles. Lately I've been having issues with overheating.

It first started about three days ago. I was idling in a drive-thru, and as I accelerated I could hear a fairly loud knocking/clicking noise that seemed to be coming from under the hood, but it would go away once I got up to a decent speed. I started heading home and when coming to a stoplight, the car shut off. I pushed it off to the side and popped the hood and didn't really see anything except for a small amount of coolant dripping from the hood. I was close to home so decided to see if I could just drive the car home. It started fine and I have yet to hear the clicking noise again. The car seemed to drive perfectly with no noise, except the temperature gauge kept creeping up to red and it died three times on the way home. Each time it died, I was able to almost immediately start it back up with a small amount of hesitation from the car.

The next day, I decided it was time to replace the water pump (as I expected this to be the culprit, and knew it probably needed to be changed anyways). While I was at it, I also replaced the timing belt, timing belt tensioner, and serpentine belt. Completely drained the coolant and refilled with new coolant mixed with tap water.

After putting everything back together and starting up the car, everything sounded and seemed to run perfect. I took the car for a spin around the neighborhood and everything seemed normal and the temperature gauge was normal as well. I decided it was fixed and took it out onto the main roads. As I was driving, I kept my eye on the temperature gauge and noticed that it was creeping up to red. It got all the way to red, so I pulled over and shut off the car to cool it down enough to drive home.

When I got home, I popped the hood to notice a large amount of steam and coolant pretty much everywhere. It was dripping from the hood of the car and pretty much everything in the engine bay was just wet. The coolant reservoir was very full, with some large air bubbles at the top.

Overall here are the symptoms:

- Temperature gauge gets up to red within a few minutes of driving, particularly when accelerating.

- Coolant steam/leakage in engine bay on multiple occasions.

- Coolant reservoir was full to the very top with some air bubbles.

* I have replaced the water pump, timing belt, serpentine belt, and checked all fluids.

Any ideas on the culprit?
 
#2 ·
Moved to General Tech Chat for more looks.

Much to figure out there, where it's leaking for a start along with why the overheating - even if the head gasket is still OK now.

Fluid check for cross contamination is a good step, you can look at plugs as well to see if anything is getting into the cylinders.

Find the leak source before another test run, and proceed from there for further checks.
 
Discussion starter · #3 · (Edited)
sailor said:
Moved to General Tech Chat for more looks.

Much to figure out there, where it's leaking for a start along with why the overheating - even if the head gasket is still OK now.

Fluid check for cross contamination is a good step, you can look at plugs as well to see if anything is getting into the cylinders.

Find the leak source before another test run, and proceed from there for further checks.
Click to expand...
Thanks for moving the post.

I don't have access to the car until later tonight or possibly tomorrow. I would like to ask you a couple questions in the meantime if you don't mind.

I've been doing a lot of research and it seems highly likely that I could simply have a faulty radiator reservoir cap that is not allowing for proper pressure/temperature of the fluid. Along with this, there may be air trapped in the cooling system from when I drained and refilled the radiator fluid.

I am basing this off of noticing a significant amount of liquid around the reservoir cap, as if that was where it was leaking from. I assume that the liquid was dispersed throughout the engine bay by leaking onto my serpentine belt, which in turn sprayed it all over the place. Also before I drove, I had noted that the radiator fluid level was slightly below the 'maximum' line. After driving and having the car overheat, the reservoir was as full as could be, with very noticeable air bubbles sitting at the top. I was almost worried that the cap might blow off.

I have read a few instances of people solving an overheating issue similar to mine with a new radiator reservoir cap while also purging the cooling system of air.

Does this sound like a likely solution to you, given my symptoms?
 
#4 ·
Can't tell at this point, run hot enough to boil it pressure or not from the story as I read it.

Whether there's a head gasket problem to put combustion gasses in the coolant, if the fans worked or not, unknowns left in the equation.
 
Discussion starter · #6 ·
LarryTate said:
Sounds like boiling coolant getting shot out of your reservoir cap. Are you not able to see where its leaking from after running it a while?
Click to expand...
I have yet to see any leaks that occur during idling. I have turned the car on and let it idle for a short period of time and saw no leaks. During the two times that I did experience leaks, it was after driving for a fair distance and fluid was all over the place, making it difficult to pinpoint the location of the leak. With that being said, I am still fairly confident it is leaking from the reservoir cap.

Tomorrow I plan on idling the car until it reaches normal operating temps while looking closely for any leaks.

EDIT: Here is my current hypothesis. The clicking sound that was initially heard (very first symptom) was a sign of my water pump going out. In response, the car overheated (temp gauge red hot) and shut off. After installing a new water pump and draining/refilling the radiator fluid, I may have made two mistakes. 1) I possibly allowed for excess air to enter the cooling system, and/or 2) I did a terrible job mixing the coolant. I used Prestone Antifreeze/Coolant and mixed it with probably 70% TAP water or more. After the fact, I read that tap water should be avoided as it will easily boil causing the reservoir to overflow (along with the minerals in tap water being bad for the cooling system).

Could these mistakes cause my temp gauge to read red hot after driving a fair distance, as well as cause excess boiling/pressure in the reservoir causing it to leak through the cap? I somewhat suspect a faulty cap as well.

I know that there are many variables in play and more troubleshooting/diagnosing is required, but I don't have access to the vehicle until tomorrow and I'm trying to get a good understanding of the problem at hand before I can see the car.
 
#8 ·
Check for symtoms of blown head gasket (milky oil, water on inside of oil cap). It can cause extra pressure in the system and push fluid through the safety hole in your res cap. If its not the head gasket, theres got to be an external leak somewhere.
Ive used nothing but tap water in some cars with no problems except having to refill it every now and then due to evaporation, but its not good for your seals and when winter comes itll freeze. When you fix your system drop that universal prestone crap and use a ford specified fluid. I like zerex gold for mine.
 
#9 ·
OP quit reading and do more thinking, the 'net has you looking at EFFECTS that will never ever cure a CAUSE.

You blew a leak because the motor got hot, now you have to fix the leak but that alone does not touch your problem because it is most likely an EFFECT.

No mention of two of the most important things you check instantly even though somebody higher up nudged you. Wrapped in your own (wrong) thoughts you stepped right over it.

Thermostat.

Were the fans EVER working?

Keep fantasizing over that leak and the 'bad cap' and car is going straight to the scrapyard and what most of you(them) do. You're already overheating the car enough to almost be there now. Time to quit playing games or get used to the idea of walking.
 
#11 ·
There's nothing wrong with using tap water to dilute antifreeze. That said, 30/70 water-to-antifreeze is a bit high. Most recommend 50/50 at the minimum. I use 70/30, but I'm in the frozen north and not cracking the block from freezing is important to me.

Using JUST tap water and nothing else is a bad idea, no matter what your climate, at least for long-term use.

Check the fans. Turn on the car and turn the AC to high. Both fans should come on at high speed. If they don't, check the resistor at the top of the fan assembly--it may be fried, as is common on these cars. These fans work in tandem...they will be either both off, both on low, or both on high. If only one is coming on, your fan is shot.

Repeatedly driving an overheating car will lead to all sorts of bad things. Warping the aluminum head is a real possibility, which then lets coolant into the oil, which then ruins the rest of the engine. You may already have done damage.
 
#13 ·
I haven't used distilled water in a radiator or battery in 45 years. Tap water works forever here. Water in and of itself is bad for the seals and rust regardless of where it comes from, the antifreeze lubes the water pump seal to help with that and has corrosion inhibitor to stop rust.
 
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