YACT: Is my car overcooling??? and other issues.

Oct 9, 1999
15,216
3
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So as most ppl know I own a 2000 Ford Focus LX. Its got 81K miles on the clock.
Of late i have noticed that the water temp will drop and doesnt stay on the middle portion of the gauge. I had an coolant change at ~72000miles. I had it changed at pepboys with their ProLine coolant which they use. I had later topped it off with Peak Antifreeze topoff (for any type or color coolant you can top off with it). Pepboys had filled it to the Low Level, i just increased it a tiny bit so it was between Low and High.

So this problem if its one wasnt showing when the days were warm. Infact when driving in august/september it would be in the center or a little to the left of center.

Now I notice, if im idling or going down a hill (with minimal gas - like i did this past weekend going down the grapevine at 70 with no gas in 5th) it goes down and sits a bit above the Cold setting (about 5mm above cold). But it will come back up as soon as you hit the gas or step down on the throttle. Like if im crusing on a flat land with low load on the engine it will go down.

I never noticed this last winter, but this winter i am seeing this. Is the car over cooling? Or is the coolant so effiecient that its cooling really fast.

So is this a problem? or does this mean my cooling system is working fine.

Also i got this weird viberation. Now it started last year, not sure when though. It's very prominent when the engine is cold. If you drive on teh freeway for 10 minutes or so (appox about 10 miles) it disappears and teh car runs smooth. From teh engine bay the engine sounds pretty smooth when cold even with teh injectors ticking. But inside you can hear the viberation that rattles. I dont know what it might be. I also noticed when i push teh clutch in at times, the viberation quits. I am thinking either the motor mount, oil passages blocked, low tranny fluid (considering i havent had the oppurtunity to change that fluid - mine is a sealed system iB5 tranny from ford and u got to take off the drive shafts to change the fluid).

The car seems to run fine otherwise.. i dont see any problems.
 

Ladies Man

Platinum Member
Oct 9, 1999
2,775
0
76
the cooler the better :cool:

I have the other problem in my t-bird, sitting in traffic it likes to overheat
 

JulesMaximus

No Lifer
Jul 3, 2003
74,550
940
126
Originally posted by: Ladies Man
the cooler the better :cool:

I have the other problem in my t-bird, sitting in traffic it likes to overheat

Every Ford I've owned has done that. :roll:
 

Pepsi90919

Lifer
Oct 9, 1999
25,162
1
81
my 95 taurus' gauge sits just a little bit above cool, but still in the 'normal' range...it usually doesn't go above the middle.
 
Oct 9, 1999
15,216
3
81
Originally posted by: Wahsapa
that noise... is called owning a ford... welcome to the club :beer:

that's what a friend said.. but i have seen focus's that are way smoother when cold.
 

Pepsi90919

Lifer
Oct 9, 1999
25,162
1
81
Originally posted by: MercenaryForHire
People spend thousands to keep their engines as cool as possible, and you bitch when it happens for free? :confused:

- M4H

it has to stay within a certain temperature range.
 

Kalvin00

Lifer
Jan 11, 2003
12,705
5
81
Originally posted by: Pepsi90919
Originally posted by: MercenaryForHire
People spend thousands to keep their engines as cool as possible, and you bitch when it happens for free? :confused:

- M4H

it has to stay within a certain temperature range.

Yep. Engine parts don't like to be run at 100°-they like 180-200.

Also, if the car never warms up, the computer will make it run in full rich mode, resulting in poor gas mileage, and poor performance.
 

IEC

Elite Member
Super Moderator
Jun 10, 2004
14,595
6,067
136
Hehehe... not as bad as the U-Haul truck my family used to move up here to OR. It was an ancient diesel that overheated standing in traffic... when my dad and I opened up the hood I noticed there was NO fluid in the coolant reservoir. So that's where that burning smell was coming from...

Summary:

U-Haul pwns your wallet.
U-Haul is teh suck.
Don't rent U-Hauls.

:D
 

CombatChuk

Platinum Member
Jul 19, 2000
2,008
3
81
Originally posted by: Kalvin00
Originally posted by: CrackRabbit
It might be that the thermostat is stuck open.

:thumbsup:

Did they change the Thermostat? They could've put a cheaper one instead (i.e. opens up when it's not that hot)
 
Oct 9, 1999
15,216
3
81
Originally posted by: CombatChuk
Originally posted by: Kalvin00
Originally posted by: CrackRabbit
It might be that the thermostat is stuck open.

:thumbsup:

Did they change the Thermostat? They could've put a cheaper one instead (i.e. opens up when it's not that hot)

no its the stock thermostat.. im thinking that maybe at fault. Im going to see if i can have that taken care off. I dont have my tools with me. But more so i got to take teh coils off to get to the thermostat. I just dont have the time to go do itmyself.

Time to find a 170F thermostat.. i believe that's what it uses.
 

thomsbrain

Lifer
Dec 4, 2001
18,148
1
0
my accord will cool down a little bit if you go barrelling down a hill at 65 MPH for ten miles straight without touching the gas pedal on a cold day, or if it's really cold out, like 20 degrees. but other than that it stays at normal temp. i guess my thought would be the thermostat.

also you should google "focus temperature" or "ford focus thermostat." i've found googling that sort of thing has actually helped me correctly identify car problems in the past.
 

imported_Phil

Diamond Member
Feb 10, 2001
9,837
0
0
Something's definitely wrong- I'm driving a 2004 Focus 1.6 estate at the moment, and it's not doing that.