2009 Ford Fusion overheating help needed.

[cleandan]

I am trying to figure out an overheating issue with my wifes 2009 Fusion.
It has the 2.3L 4 cylinder and is currently at 180,000 miles...I purchased this car new and have taken care of it properly.

A couple weeks ago I heard her driving into the garage and the cooling fan was blowing full blast....which seemed odd as the outside temps were below zero F.
I asked her to keep an eye on the gauge...nothing reported until today.

I drove the car once last week and noticed the heater would fluctuate between blowing hot air and cooler air depending on engine rpm. Basically at idle the heater went away, but once you started driving it came back as normal.

I figured the water pump impeller was failing somehow and not providing enough water movement.
The temp gauge was working fine showing the fluctuations in temp and I could tell the thermostat was opening and closing with temp readings of the upper hose.

Today the car overheated on her drive to work, pegging the temp gauge, but not boiling over...again temps in the negative F range.

I worked on the car and decided to install a new water pump and new T-stat...The car has 180,000 on it so I guess it is time anyway.
After removal the old waterpump appears good, and the T-stat looks good too, but I did not water test that yet.

New waterpump and T-stat installed and not leaking, but now when I run the engine it still acts like there is no water movement in the system.

I had the bleeder valve open and I revved the engine between 2000 and 3000 rpm to move water and nothing. Nothing out the bleeder, no extra coolant sucked in from the fill tank, and the engine went into overtemp limp mode in the garage.

I can guess at some other things that might be happening, like a clogged radiator hose, but I really don't know at this point.

Has anyone dealt with this odd issue of coolant not flowing through the system?
Keep in mind I am guessing at the lack of coolant flow based on indicated temps, lack of temp in the upper radiator hose, and the lack of coolant from the fill tank being sucked into the system after it has been drained enough to do the work because I can not literally look at the coolant like I can on older cars.

Thanks for any and all help.

[shady]

The thermostat has to be submerged in coolant to function. I know on my GM van, anytime you service the cooling system you have to take off the upper radiator hose and fill the system thru the hose. Sounds like you have an air pocket. Sometimes you can get some coolant to the therm. by squeezing the hoses. Also this time of the year it's not uncommon for coolant to be low in the radiator showing up as poor heater output. Don't think because there is coolant in the expansion tank that the radiator is full.  make sure the rad. is full to the top.

[Katz427]

I agree with what has been said, when did you flush the coolant, last? I had a few at work, not Ford, but GM dexcool. The stuff much too my amazement, had turned to jello inside the engine. I had a service engineer look, he confirmed, but quickly replied, there is obviously neglect, no maintenance on coolant system, and we aren't going to warrant anything. Believe me they didn't, though it was part of a fleet, and they threatened, they would not be buying, again.

[Katz427]

I should add, that the coolant bottle, even the coolant, was there ,just not flowing correctly. As I tore it down and got into the block, I found the Jello sludge. I sent a couple samples, to the lab, and notified the engineer. It really just coagulated, in the bottom of the radiator, and engine block.  Weird stuff. The chemical analysis, was pretty clear, what happened. It didn't plug everything up. But definitely was slowing coolant flow. 
Good luck! We had a couple 4cyl, Mercury version s that went over 270k miles, but met up with getting wrapped around other cars.

[machoneman]

Jack the car up, fill via the upper hose as noted and run until hot. Jacking it up helps to eliminate head/block air pockets.

[cleandan]

Thanks for the info guys. it is helpful, even if it only confirms I have been going down the right path.
The coolant has been service well over the years. I don't have my record at hand but the coolant has never been allowed to exceed 80,000 miles...even if the extra life coolant says it can.

The coolant I took out to do the work looks perfect.
Clean with no cloudyness, no debris of any kind...and of course a bit gold colored like the long life stuff should look.

I think I will pull the lower hose to see if any gunk oozes out.

The T-stat I put in has a bleeder with a jiggle pin hole to allow air to pass.
It is a Murray brand and made quite well.
These are a "kit" because it comes as one piece with the T-stat, housing and other things already assembled.

One things I did not verify is the physical location of the bleeder hole.
I saw the bleeder hole and jiggle pin but I did not verify the "up" position...and MAN I don't want to take all the BS apart just to check that.

I will also erify the engine coolant bleeder valve is actually bleeding...it may be clogged or stuck.
I started with a cold engine after the repairs so I have not yet opened the bleeder with pressure behind it to force it open.

When I began refilling the system I did hear gurgling as coolant filled the system, but it stopped taking coolant with about 1/2 gallon left from what I removed...I figured this would go in after circulation began.

The other times I have serviced this system it was fairly straight forward.
Drain, open bleeder, refill, watch bleeder until no more air, done.
Check after a drive and cooldown for proper fill level.

I think the factory T-stat and water pump still looked great because I have been taking care of the system, even after 180,000 miles and 13 years of service.

Thanks again.

[Heo]

ousch sounds like compression leak in to the cooling system

[SReist]

See if you can borrow a vacuum cooling system filler. Sounds like it is still air locked. Steve

[cleandan]

I think I made some useful progress.
I removed the bleeder valve and worked with an open hose.
I also applied some pressure to the fill tank in an attempt to force the coolant into the system.....Don't worry, I limited the applied pressure to 1723 psi to be safe.

With the engine running I was able to eventually force coolant through the system, bleed the air, and finally end up with a non-boiling, non-overflow, constant coolant without bubbles situation.

I confirmed the T-stat was opening and closing because the vent would show boiling, then steam, then go back to coolant. This went on for many cycles, with each cycle having less boiling and more coolant.
It took about 20 minutes total to get all the air out....and MAN did it make a mess, but I was able to let the engine idle and everything esle worked as it should.

Through this exercise I was able to witness the cooling fan working properly through its various speeds...that stuff is still working well.
I was able to see the temp gauge move from cool to hot and all levels inbetween as the coolant flowed, air locked, boiled, then flowed again...that stuff is still working.
I was able to see coolant flow from the fill tank into the system...that stuff is working.
I was able to verify the heater core is not air locked either...that is working.

I also boiled the old T-stat in a pot of water and it worked as it should, making me a bit skeptical of my diagnosis of a stuck T-stat...Oh well, can't win them all.

Now I am wondering what did make this situation occur.
I will be looking for coolant in the combustion chambers as well as a coolant leak somewhere in the system.

As it was the system has not lost any coolant, was not showing any signs of leaks either by dampness, puddles, corrosion somewhere, or smells.

This makes me wonder where the air lock came from.

Like I said before, I have done coolant flush and fills on the car before and had great results that lasted years between service intervals without issue.
The drain, fill, and bleed method working like it is supposed to...even if it is a messy transaction.

For now I am keeping a close eye on the system because, while it appears things are back to normal, I don't trust it just yet.

Again, thanks for the input.
Many of us a very good with these mechanical things, and we often figure it out in due time on our own, but it is always nice to get other ideas and experience in the mix to confirm we are going in the right direction.

Have a great day.

[Stangman]

I agree with SRiest about the vacuum tool for the cooling. I haven’t put antifreeze in a car in 15 years without using that tool. Some cars it’s a must. That being said I think Heo might be right it could be burning so slow that you don’t notice it or it could be pushing pressure into the system and not burning it at all.  Headgaskets are weird sometimes. Let it go through a fan cycle with cap on and let cool down and fill to proper level and maybe switch cars with the wife and see for yourself what’s happening exactly. Sometimes you have to be driving for the gasket to leak, that extra pressure of driving puts it over the edge. You didn’t say anything about the radiator, if that’s clogged a little and inst flowing right at 180,000 miles that could be something that could take out that head gasket. It’s probably not easy on that car but see if at temp there is some cold spots on the radiator.

[cleandan]

After some further diagnosis and testing I believe I have a leak/crack in the cylinder head putting pressure into the cooling system.

This must be a slight leak because it takes about a weeks worth of driving to return to the air locked overheating issues.

I have been able to produce bubbles in a non-running cooling system while pressurizing the compression chambers....Dammit!

I think this may be the end of this car because the cost and effort to repair will likely exceed the value of the car.

[djburton]

Give this stuff a try.Definitely worth a shot. Put it in a radiator hose,not the overflow tank. Used it in the grandson's car.Still running 40K miles and 3 years later.Never plugged anything up like the doubters like to think. Heater works normally,no overheat in the summer.
https://www.amazon.com/Bars-HG-1-Blown-Gasket-Repair/dp/B003RGIWO0/ref=asc_df_B003RGIWO0?tag=bingshoppinga-20&linkCode=df0&hvadid=80814159960155&hvnetw=o&hvqmt=e&hvbmt=be&hvdev=c&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=&hvtargid=pla-4584413745010042&th=1

[BigBlueIron]

I agree with what has been said, when did you flush the coolant, last? I had a few at work, not Ford, but GM dexcool. The stuff much too my amazement, had turned to jello inside the engine.

Dexcool is pure garbage unless its flushed regularly and often. Ive seen many issues from it. Especially in the diesel world, I don't care how "good" or "required" they say it is. I recommend anything using dexcool to change to something/anything else. Thing that surprises me is how many keep using it, its been a problem since it was introduced.

Edited to add, your original complaint sounds indicative of a headgasket to me. Which you have already figured out now.

[Lenz]

I'm with Heo and Stangman on the slight compression leak.  We bought an '11 Escape new and were introduced into the world of potential 2.3 problems when I began to inquire as to why the engine became mechanically noisy at idle by the time we had 15,000 miles on it.

Per some friends I've known for decades at my local Ford garage these engine blocks have a habit of developing minute cracks between cylinders 2 and 3. If the crack migrates up to an insignificant spot at the head gasket and head interface then it'll keep going strong (albeit noisy).  If the crack migrates elsewhere you get compression loss into the cooling system which of course results in overheating and coolant loss.  No idea how the noise lines up with this issue, but the potential cracking between 2 & 3 is common and real.

[SReist]

Have had good luck with a product called K-Seal. Used it on a Toyota V6 and it's still holding. Doesn't have all the chunks in it either. Worth a shot. Steve