Ford Focus 1.8 zetec 2001 - Overheating?

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Sun 15 May 2011 16:03
Ford Focus 1.8 zetec 2001 - Overheating? - ickey877

Hi,

I recently changed my thermostat housing, keeping my original thermostat. Hadnt had any problems beforehand (Aside from the leak).

Now, the fans on the radiator dont seem to kick in and the temp gauge goes to mid way after about 3 minutes of normal driving and stays there. The needle seems to move quickly straight to mid way and dont think this is right?

Any ideas please?

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Sun 15 May 2011 17:01
Ford Focus 1.8 zetec 2001 - Overheating? - Collos25

Sounds like you have a air lock providing the thermostat was not damaged run the engine without the expansion chamber cap and the air will come out when the stat opens.

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Mon 16 May 2011 15:56
Ford Focus 1.8 zetec 2001 - Overheating? - ickey877

Sounds like you have a air lock providing the thermostat was not damaged run the engine without the expansion chamber cap and the air will come out when the stat opens.

Thanks for that - I did do this when i intitally refilled the system (with cabin temp set to hot). Let it run for about 2 mins... Do you reckon it still needs longer?

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Sun 15 May 2011 18:46
Ford Focus 1.8 zetec 2001 - Overheating? - Avant

Moved to Technical.

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Mon 16 May 2011 16:13
Ford Focus 1.8 zetec 2001 - Overheating? - Collos25
Much much longer
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Mon 16 May 2011 16:34
Ford Focus 1.8 zetec 2001 - Overheating? - ickey877
Much much longer

OK - Have left engine running for about 5 mins now with cap off. Temp gauge moved to mid way and top pipe for radiator then got hot ( I assume this mean thermostat is working).

Pipe that comes off bottom of rad then got warm (assume this means rad is not blocked?)

Then two smaller pipes at top of expansion tank then started producing fluid, more so from the one closer to the wing.

All the time, no fans and temp gauge didnt budge past mid way.

Only other thing I noticed is a white residue around cap - could this mean a leak causing loss of pressure? But would this be the only problem?

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Mon 16 May 2011 16:15
Ford Focus 1.8 zetec 2001 - Overheating? - ickey877

OK - Have left engine running for about 5 mins now with cap off. Temp gauge moved to mid way and top pipe for radiator then got hot ( I assume this mean thermostat is working).

Pipe that comes off bottom of rad then got warm (assume this means rad is not blocked?)

Then two smaller pipes at top of expansion tank then started producing fluid, more so from the one closer to the wing.

All the time, no fans and temp gauge didnt budge past mid way.

Only other thing I noticed is a white residue around cap - could this mean a leak causing loss of pressure? But would this be the only problem?

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Mon 16 May 2011 16:40
Ford Focus 1.8 zetec 2001 - Overheating? - unthrottled

The temperature gauge is heavily damped and insensitive. It will move to half way after only a couple of minutes idling. Obviously you can't heat up a 250lb engine from cold with a couple of minutes idling. I wouldn't expect the fan to kick in for at least 10 minutes.

In winter it can take about 20 minutes to properly warm up an engine.

Be patient!

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Mon 16 May 2011 16:50
Ford Focus 1.8 zetec 2001 - Overheating? - ickey877

The temperature gauge is heavily damped and insensitive. It will move to half way after only a couple of minutes idling. Obviously you can't heat up a 250lb engine from cold with a couple of minutes idling. I wouldn't expect the fan to kick in for at least 10 minutes.

In winter it can take about 20 minutes to properly warm up an engine.

Be patient!

Well, engine been going for 20 minutes or so and still no fans and no movement on temp... - more patience needed? I clicked the air con on and fans kick in straight away.

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Mon 16 May 2011 17:06
Ford Focus 1.8 zetec 2001 - Overheating? - unthrottled

No. How odd. Do you have the bonnet open or closed during the procedure? Do you rev it much when the thermostat opens?

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Mon 16 May 2011 17:14
Ford Focus 1.8 zetec 2001 - Overheating? - ickey877

No. How odd. Do you have the bonnet open or closed during the procedure? Do you rev it much when the thermostat opens?

I started by keeping the engine at about 2k revs to get the thermostat open, then closed bonnet to get temp up leaving it to idle.

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Mon 16 May 2011 17:21
Ford Focus 1.8 zetec 2001 - Overheating? - unthrottled

I would try it the other way round! A higher engine speed is actually less good at heating an engine up (it chucks a higher proportion of the heat out of the exhaust). I would only rev it when the thermostat is open and the expansion cap off in order to get the coolant flowing faster and have more chance of driving the air bubbles out of the system.

I don't envy you sitting on your drive running the engine for hours on end and going nowhere. Been there, it's not fun.

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Mon 16 May 2011 17:30
Ford Focus 1.8 zetec 2001 - Overheating? - Peter D

"Only other thing I noticed is a white residue around cap" Please detail this deposit, where exactly, is it like Mayo. Regards Peter

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Mon 16 May 2011 17:34
Ford Focus 1.8 zetec 2001 - Overheating? - ickey877

"Only other thing I noticed is a white residue around cap" Please detail this deposit, where exactly, is it like Mayo. Regards Peter

HI,

no, it's like a dry salt residue.... Its around the rim and down the side of the tank, as if something boiled over and left a stain....

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Mon 16 May 2011 17:41
Ford Focus 1.8 zetec 2001 - Overheating? - unthrottled

a mixture of boiled antifreeze and tap water will leave a salty deposit. I wouldn't worry about it.

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Mon 16 May 2011 17:48
Ford Focus 1.8 zetec 2001 - Overheating? - ickey877

a mixture of boiled antifreeze and tap water will leave a salty deposit. I wouldn't worry about it.

Excellent thanks, off to sit on the drive for an hour or so! Will update with what happens...

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Mon 16 May 2011 20:52
Ford Focus 1.8 zetec 2001 - Overheating? - unthrottled

Incidentally, is the heater matrix working?

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Sat 20 Aug 2011 12:37
Ford Focus 1.8 zetec 2001 - Overheating? - robmelllin

Hi, i have the exact same problem, fans don't come on even after running the engine for 30mins but the fans come on when i put the AC on.

Did you fix the problem?

What did you do?

Many thanks.

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Mon 16 May 2011 17:48
Ford Focus 1.8 zetec 2001 - Overheating? - Peter D

Check the seal in the cap. Regards Peter

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