Radiator cooling fans airplane LOUD Overheating 2004

[Gus Gutz]

I will bet there is some sort of electronic controller that tells the fan to spin up. I will bet that controller is bad or going bad. At least that is what I was told when my fan would not spin up to full speed and my car would over heat. In my car I have the hydrolic fan, but there is something that tells the fan to speed up and slow down. In my case the fan was not told to speed up. Once replaced, everything was fine.

 

[BluByeU]

I will bet that your over flow bottle also called a degass bottle has a minute crack in it. This crack or split closes & seals itself as the coolant drops back to ambient temps but as the under the hood temp increases as you drive the split or crack in the coolant overflow degass bottle opens or spreads apart allowing coolant to leak

 

[CaliBird]

Gus, yeah the fan in my 03 is electric. I should have left well enough alone. I only drive the thing maybe a max of 5 miles away from home, then it sits while I play golf or get something to eat then back home. Been putting a 16oz glass of water into it about once every 10 days or so, but with winter coming on I thought I would try and stop the leak with "stop/leak", so I wouldn't have to go through so much antifreeze.

Now I'm guessing - "stop/leak" clogged something up, that wasn't suppose to be clogged. The fans never ran until I put in the stop/leak.

Had this Tbird for over 6 years and every time I've ever got more than 5 miles from home it has broke down.

Thanks for the input.

Elsie, I feel for you. I had my 2002 for almost six years, putting only 5K miles on it, but spending $5,135 (the receipts I can find). Mind you, I did inherit the car with 150K miles on it from my dad who bought it new, and took it in for every scheduled maintenance, to the dealer, and also spent money on non-scheduled maintenance/repairs. But, when I got it at 150K miles, it seemed to fall apart even more, all of a sudden. What was the most frustrating, though, was the cooling issues. Temperature gauge showing 50% then escalating to 100%, when engine not hot. Fan coming on in winter. Leaky cheap bakelite thermostat housing. Failed heater/A/C coolant control valve...here's some of the repairs in the last 5K miles:

A/C new
A/C manifold hose assy
thermostat
thermostat housing
coolant temp sensor in intake manifold
radiator
Ignitions coils
upper/lower radiator hoses
hydraulic pump solenoid
power steering switch/actuator
coolant control valve

Because of the above, I was going to put it up for sale at the end of August, but a few weeks ago, the hydraulic pump solenoid and the power steering switch/actuator went out again. The dealer cannot find the parts, which are 'national backorder'. I found one of the parts on eBay, and as an aftermarket part, and showed my mechanic, but he said he still needed an other part which none of us can find, anywhere. The dealer told me that many of the parts for this generation of Thunderbirds, especialy the '02s, are harder and harder, and if found, expensive. If the part was found for my '02, cost to repair would be another $1000 or so. My issue was that if it went out again, or if anything else went out, it may be unrepairable due to availability of parts.

I looked online to see what I could get for this car, if fixed. Prices weren't all that great, especially since I'd have to hope to get the parts, and pay for the repair. But what I found most interesting was that for all the 2002 - 2005 Thunderbirds I found for sale within 250 miles of me, even with below suggested prices being asked, the average time on the market was many, many months, to a year and more. I thought, even if fixed, it would be difficult to sell my Thunderbird. Darn, I'd just paid $191 registration for the year, but I knew what I had to do.

I sold it to an auction company two days ago. I hated to, because the engine was still very strong, it ran great (but for the cooling issues), it was fun to drive, it was a convertible, it was in otherwise good shape, no dents/dings...and it was my dad's baby. But late Friday night, they came and took it away.

I'd like to get a newer Thunderbird, but I'm afraid to do so.

Good luck to you.

 

[05Dave]

Does this car have one or two cooling fans? After driving a few minutes, with engine temp gauge exactly between H and C, "it" or "they" begin sounding like a prop plane getting ready for takeoff. Anyone else experienced this? What could be the cause?

If you have this problem, you need to change the water pump. Ford knows about this issue only too well. Do not install a new pump from Ford. Purchase a high quality rebuilt pump. The problem is that the impeller on the original pumps corrode and dissolve in the coolant. I paid my local Ford dealer $1500.00 to fix the upper rad hose as I left the pump with cooling fans running on high for too long and the engine finally overheated.
To verify the issue once the engine is hot and running check both upper and lower rad hoses for temperature. If they are not both similar temperatures the issue is either thermostat (unlikely) or the water pump.

If you have this problem, you need to change the water pump. Ford knows about this issue only too well. Do not install a new pump from Ford. Purchase a high quality rebuilt pump. The problem is that the impeller on the original pumps corrode and dissolve in the coolant. I paid my local Ford dealer $1500.00 to fix the upper rad hose as I left the pump with cooling fans running on high for too long and the engine finally overheated.
To verify the issue once the engine is hot and running check both upper and lower rad hoses for temperature. If they are not both similar temperatures the issue is either thermostat (unlikely) or the water pump.

I also got a rebuilt water pump, rad hose, coolant and a synthetic oil change for the $1500.00. Car is back to normal rad fan cycle and drivability now.

Will try these tips; thanks!

Your water pump needs changing. The stock Ford pump has a poor quality impeller which deteriorates over time. When the engine is hot and running check both top and bottom rad hoses for the same temperature. If they are not identical in temperature to the touch, then coolant is not circulating. If the vehicle still has the stock water pump get changed with a quality rebuilt not a new Ford unit. This is a problem every Fird dealer should be aware of. They told me and fixed mine. There should be a service bulletin.