'03 MM overheating!

[scippy]

So I left the engine running while washing my Maurader in the drivway all the time listening to some good tunes....I thought it was strange to hear the fan go on rather quickly, but paid no attention to it & kept on washing & a whistling!
Corner off my eye saw the cloud of vapor pushing from under the hood. Raced to shut the engine down and noticed the temp gauge was vertical.
Opened the hood to see the coolant boiling in the fill tank with alot of it
spewing out of the overfill.
I let everything cool down first then took a look at the water pump area &
everthing looked rather normal, no dripping!
After having it shut down for 20 mins I started it up again and this time I turned the heater on to see if it would blow hot....the air stayed as cool
as if the AC were on even as the temp gauge soared upward....I'm not a
mechanic, but I thought that was strange!.........Any idea's from the Gargae would be really great!................Thanks, Scippy

[fastblackmerc]

So I left the engine running while washing my Maurader in the drivway all the time listening to some good tunes....I thought it was strange to hear the fan go on rather quickly, but paid no attention to it & kept on washing & a whistling!
Corner off my eye saw the cloud of vapor pushing from under the hood. Raced to shut the engine down and noticed the temp gauge was vertical.
Opened the hood to see the coolant boiling in the fill tank with alot of it
spewing out of the overfill.
I let everything cool down first then took a look at the water pump area &
everthing looked rather normal, no dripping!
After having it shut down for 20 mins I started it up again and this time I turned the heater on to see if it would blow hot....the air stayed as cool
as if the AC were on even as the temp gauge soared upward....I'm not a
mechanic, but I thought that was strange!.........Any idea's from the Gargae would be really great!................Thanks, Scippy

Check to see if your fan is working.

You may have a stuck thermostat.

When you refill you need to properly burp the cooling system or you will have air pockets.

[scippy]

Fan is working........I guess that means bad thermostat?.....I never turned a wrench on my MM......would this be easy enough to do with adequate mechanical skills?...............How do you make sure your cooling system has burped?

[RacerX]

How do you make sure your cooling system has burped?
http://reischeperformance.com/refill.html

It's easy. Park on a slight incline if possible.

[scippy]

That's very helpful of you, Thanks RacerX.........in a related procedure,
is there a PDF for replacing a new thermostat? as it seems I need to do that...would also like to replace with new coolant as well...Thanks, Scippy

[RacerX]

From the Workshop Manual:

[scippy]

74K and I never flushed or replaced the coolant outright nor for that matter the thermostat...I think I'm do. Should I replace with the same type OEM thermostat -or- is there benefit for a different type? ..I have a completely stock '03 MM.......RacerX Much obliged!

[cat in the hat]

Every set of instructions I have seen for draining the coolant just say to open the petcock. This will obviously leave a lot of the old coolant in the system. Is there a recommended way to get it ALL out ?

[RacerX]

Just replace with OE. MOTORCRAFT Part # RT1110
Not a prob! :beer:

[fastblackmerc]

Every set of instructions I have seen for draining the coolant just say to open the petcock. This will obviously leave a lot of the old coolant in the system. Is there a recommended way to get it ALL out ?

Remove the lower radiator hose.

[myrodr]

To get everything out you need to pull drain plugs out of the block. I got lot more out after i did the hose draining. Now i will always drain the block

[scippy]

Is the thermostat directly over the oil filter???........I think I found it, but not exactly sure. Also, what size socket would you use to remove the bolts.......Thanks, Scippy

[RacerX]

No! Don't take that apart! It's in the hose the metal "Y" connector is in front of that.

[scippy]

Phewwww!!!...."glad I asked first"..........Thanks!!!:o

[scippy]

Would anybody have the correct order of placement when putting the thermostat and 0-ring back into the housing?..........seems I fumbled it into
the pan of coolant before I could take a good look :mad2:

[fastblackmerc]

The thermostat goes in with the top pointing to the single hose end. Gasket should go into the single hose end housing.