The radiator on the new car looks like is in bad condition with kinks and dents in it, as there is no coolant loss as far as I can tell could this be what is causing the slight over heating problem? (see previous sensor post for background, I don't want to repeat stuff here) this is a general question btw, the car is being looked on Friday by mechanic.
It just seems a bit strange that the radiator is in bad condition and it only starts overheating in traffic, you can feel the air flow round the pipes and the radiator is hot but if some bars are damaged could it just not be working efficiently?
Slight tweak to subject line, tempted to add it to the numerous other threads concerning Rattle's Fiesta, ;lucky HJ's not charging by the Post ! - PU
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A radiator is constructed of tubes through which the coolant flows, and fins which conduct the heat from the tubes to the air. Superficial damage to the fins is of no great importance. Could you describe the damage more precisely?
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L\'escargot.
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'you can feel the air flow round the pipes' air flow ?? Please explain. Modern radiators use very small channels in the rad and a kinked one could severly effect the operation. I would carefully inspect the front of the car and seems for a front end crsah damage. Regards Peter
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sorry meant water flow, the radiator is hot but I agree with you Peter that it wouldn't take much damage to cause problems with the airflow, and of course the fan sensor is in the engine block and controlled by the ECU so even if the radiator doesn't work properly the fan would still kick in.
There is quite a few kinked channels.
I've checked the following:-
No cream on oil
No coolant loss
No white smoke
No water round the water pump
Aux belt seems properly tensioned
Fan does kick in when it gets very hot (normal for these cars)
Thermostat has been replaced.
No obvious leakage from the hoses.
It takes provocation to get it to overheat e.g 20 mins of revving and idling but as others said on this site it seems that is not normal as it shouldn't over heat at all.
Will take a picture of the radiator later.
The car is HPI clear but I suppose that means nothing, the drivers door has a different mirror and it sometimes sticks, so it looks like the car may have been involved in a minor accident, the the panal gaps all seem even.
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It takes provocation to get it to overheat e.g 20 mins of revving and idling
Well, just stop provoking it then! Who else, under normal circumstances, revs/idles their engine for 20 minutes?
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L\'escargot.
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The fins look badly dented in some areas and looking back at the service history it looks like the radiator sprung a like in 2003, which has obviously been fixed but is probably relevant. Dented in some areas would be the best way to describe it.
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Possibly damaged in an accident or by some "mechanic", sprung a minor leak as a consequence and then fixed with radiator sealer added to the coolant. This may account for poor circulation.
659.
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I don't think modern radiators have a lot of leeway in terms of spare cooling capacity if partly blocked or damaged.
If in doubt, replace it. It is much cheaper than repairing an engine damaged through overheating.
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Thanks
Just checked the coolant last night, doesn't seem to be any lost but its very hard to tell if a mm is missing. I ma just praying its not a cracked block or cylinder head :(.
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Turns out it was just the heater control valve :). Will cost £60 inc labour to get it fixed providing I get the part from Ford (£37).
The mechanic said this is what would have been causing the slight over revving problem as the ECU would have got confused.
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What date is it,I doubt heater control valve would cause that ??
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Late 97 Endura, the ECU seems very advanced to be, even the radiator fan is directly controlled by it, none of them old fangeled thermotatic switches here.
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Rattle
The heater control valve issue only affects the Zetec S and Pumas.
Idle flare is a known characteristic of the Endura and Ford have had many goes at sorting it - without notable success. Live with it.
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Are you sure? I have just tested the heater and it dosn't work, the air coming out is quite cold despite it being on red and the engine temp being in the middle, also one of the pipes going into the valve is cold, the other is hot.
Surely they can go on any car?
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>>I have just tested the heater and it dosn't work
If the valve has packed up (siezed) then you wont get heat through to matrix,replacing should fix it.
But it wont cure your other problem,only the water temp to heater
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Heater control valves with nunbers starting with 98 and ending in A or B can - and do - fail; but they only cause the overheating issue on the two variants mentioned.
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he seemed to be quite convinced it was that causing the problem :(. Not sure what type of valve I have fitted.
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I bought the new valve as the heating is not working, the shop told me to check the voltage to valve in case its the control panal. I have done this and the valve is getting a constant 12v supply regardless of any heating setting. Is this correct?
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No; if this is the set-up that I think it is, the voltage across the valve should be variably pulsed by the control panel.
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Just bought a new control panal for £15 as its a Ghia and the part is £200 new. If it is not that I can just sell it again.
So I am right in thinking the voltage should 0v if the valve is open and 12v if its closed and this is changed by a variable resistor on the hot cold control knob?
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Just thought if it was stuck on 12v then wouldn't that mean the valve is always open and the heating should blow out hot rather than cold?
I am starting to think this problem will just drain £100's and will never be fixed :(. Its already £80 spend.
My personal thoughts are its the valve, possibly control panel and a dodgy radiator.
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As far as I can recall; it's a variable duty cycle pulsed signal. Try examining it with an oscilloscope.
Although the heater is not right, I'm far from convinced that you have an overheating fault at all. Bear in mind that I've seen a coolant temp of 119C and a head temp of 148C before the fan comes in on a normally-working Ford. They are designed to run hot.
Apart from the gauge going up when stationary; [as they are supposed to] do you have the slightest evidence that the engine has ever physically overheated. [Boiling; bumping; spewing water etc.]
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Does the guage go into the red?
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Mike Farrow
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Not since changing the stat, it goes across the A (NORMAL) and towards L in heavy traffic on a day like this, but it did go will into the red before the stat change but Ididn't notice it till it was already in the red I have always switched the engine off when the needle gets to L in a stimulated traffic jam.
I've never been another car that gets hot like that but maybe its because the engine bay is quite cramped.
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Yep. After day two the car rent into red, the ECU went start reving mad self revving etc and you could feel the heat from the bonnet as soon you opened it, the cooling fan kicked in etc, since changing the thermostat it has seemed to be a lot better but the needle still seems to go too high to me I mean it really does go towards red after 20 mins of traffic jam simulation but maybe it is just normal? All the Fords I had ran really cool but maytbe they didn't even have a theromstat fitted (old bangers).
The car is not overheating but I just don't think it is cooling as efficiently as it should be doing. I wonder if it could be worth swapping the stat for an official ford one? Maybe one with a lower opening temperature.
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A std. Ford t/stat is 88deg.C but you can get the cold climate version which is 92deg.C..As I said before,as long as it stays out of the red,you're OK-these gauges are ultra-simple-don't expect them to 100% accurate.At least Ford only use colours-some manufacturers show degrees on the gauge and people expect that to be the temperature where you'll be lucky if it is within +/- 10 deg.
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What was the opening temperature of the old and the new 'stats?
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No idea :(
I have been told the ford ones have a hole drilled in them but I am not sure if this type if needed the Endura or just the Zetec.
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Should just add most the time its on R and M I guess today is the real test day as it is 26c out there the first truly hot day since it overheated.
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Which country are you in? It's freezing out - only 14.9C and blowing a stiff northerly gale.
Nothing but cold, wind and rain for weeks - never realized that August was now a winter month.
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All genuine Ford t/stats will have either a hole in them or a small slot/nick in the edge of the opening plate to allow air out of the system.
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ok thanks guys.
I will get the control valve changed and also replace the stat with a genuine ford one as the new one is a cheap £2.50 copy thing. If the heating still dosn't work I have a new control panal waiting to go on and I can sell it if it does work.
I live in central Manchester. 23.4 according to my outdoor thermometer, 26c according to the car. Been lovely and sunny here the last couple of days. In fact August has been nice, July was a complete washout though, not a single bit of sun just rain rain rain.
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When you get the stat it will be marked with it's start of opening temp. 82, 88, 92 and 97 are the common ones.
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