Thermostat?

1997 Escort is air-blend heater not water valve.

You say the cooling fan cuts in. The fan will do nothing to cool the engine if the radiator is not hot, so that's the first thing to check. Run the engine until it's warm. The radiator should eventually be hot at the top and slightly less hot at the bottom. If there's a big temperature difference between the top and the bottom when the engine is hot you then the cooling system is not circulating properly. Change the thermostat in any case, and check the radiator core for signs of deterioration. Also blow out any dust and dirt that may be caught in the radiator fins.

Hi. I have a '97 Ford Escort 1.6 16v. When stuck in traffic for a while, the engine temperature can quickly whizz around to the red. No coolant issues with the car, and the fan does kick in. It just doesn't seem to take much time for the engine to get too warm. I'm happy putting on the heating to cool the engine down again, but I understand that this cannot be a long term solution. Any suggestions? Could it be that I need to replace a heating valve? Thanks.

There is no heating valve?

The water flow for the heater is taken BEFORE the thermostat and as by what you describe the heater cools the engine down again then I'd say you have a faulty thermostat (change this first anyway!) or blocked radiator. If it was the water pump impeller then the car heater wouldn't get enough flow to cool the engine.

Edited by Big John on 22/08/2018 at 20:57