03 temperature problem

uspres2020 · 09-26-2009, 03:31 PM

Recently my 2003 Escort started having some weird indications on the temperature gage. Sometimes it will run for a few minutes at extremely low temperatures, then it might go all the way to the top in a matter of seconds, then maybe run near the middle for a while. It doesn't seem to make any difference what you are doing, driving, sitting, A/C on of off. Nothing really seems to cause these temperature swings. I replaced the thermostat to try to solve the problem, no luck.

One other piece of information, about 2 weeks ago it was running rough(ends up it had a vacuum hose rotting), my girlfriend was driving it though and she opened the hood and it was low on coolant. Autozone gave her Dexcool for our Ford, she put some in. The other night it was low again, so I put more of the coolant in, then I looked at the bottle and saw that it was Dexcool. The next morning after I put the Dexcool in is when it started this temperature problem, could it be because of the Coolant mixing? The coolant still looks normal though. I don't understand how a car can run as cold as this one does, the gage will be almost pegged to the bottom for extended periods of driving. It is the right thermostat too.

AzTumbleweed · 09-26-2009, 09:27 PM

The gage or the temp sending unit must be bad.

Davescort97 · 09-26-2009, 09:41 PM

I'd venture to say that the thermostat you put in is working correctly. Most likely the temperature sending unit for the gauge is faulty. Your car has 2 temperature sensors. One for the gauge and one for the computer. The one with 2 wires instead of 3 is the sensor for the gauge. I'd change it out and flush the cooling system and put in regular propylene glycol antifreeze (green stuff). GM just settled a class action lawsuit for Dexcool. Apparently it causes leaks in cooling systems. I wouldn't use it.

uspres2020 · 09-26-2009, 10:48 PM

I had the coolant flushed today and it appears to be working much better, but I didn't get to take it out for a good test drive because I had to go straight to work after bringing it home. Thanks for the advice.

mightymoose_22 · 09-27-2009, 02:29 AM

I am assuming you filled thr coolant through the reservoir when it was low... having done that does not mean that the system is full. After it circulates, air pockets will work their way out and cause the reservoir to be low again. It might take a few refills depending on how empty the system really was. The low reading may have been because the coolant wasn't circulating in the area of the sensor... and the sudden high reading may be from when the coolant finally did reach the sensor.
Having the system flushed should have worked out any air pockets, and being refilled with proper coolant should have you where you need to be. If it should continue to show any strange symptoms then start with the sensor.

uspres2020 · 09-27-2009, 08:10 AM

yes mightymouse22, I always refill through the reservoir. I guess I should probably refill from the Radiator from now. But when it would get hot it was definitely hot because you could smell the metal heating up. I am about to go test drive it now so hopefully it will all be well now.

mightymoose_22 · 09-27-2009, 12:50 PM

No... you should always fill through the reservoir. Just know that when you fill the reservoir to the line the system is not necessarily full. Fill it up and let the engine warm up and circulate the coolant. If the level goes back down, fill it up again.
It is possible you have a slow coolant leak somewhere and just got down to a very low level. If you have had it flushed and refilled, just keep an eye on it and see if it creeps down again... watch for wet spots under the car too.

uspres2020 · 09-27-2009, 04:38 PM

Yeah, I have a leak in the radiator. I am gonna give the stop leak a shot tonight.

Intuit · 09-28-2009, 01:47 AM

'94 LX 1.9L: Personally wouldn't touch DexCool with a 3,000 mile pole. Also wouldn't go back to that store either.

For the first 2 or 3 years, I didn't even know my vehicle had a 3-speed fan. It mostly stayed off and when it did run, was on low; and then only ran for a short time. Later I found out it had a higher speed, and was surprised to find it had third speed.

The question is, did your fan run on high when the needle progressed high ? Was it really hot under the hood ? If so, you're readouts are probably precise.

I don't have any experience with your car so I can't say what might've been going on.

The reason you're probably observing cooler running now, could be because the prophylactic thermostat bypass valve (if it has one,) in the water outlet, has (permanently) opened.

I observed similar wild temperature swings when the headgasket and/or head was leaking. Other than occasional rough (but not really rough) running and slowly disappearing coolant there weren't really any obvious symptoms in the beginning. Much (much) later the coolant did start to discolor. (and a film appear on the inside of the windshield) Fortunately compression tests are pretty easy to do.

12Ounce · 09-28-2009, 08:52 AM

I would remove the thermostat for a test period.

Without the thermostat: The temp will then come up very slowly and will never exactly reach the normal range ... but it should be slow moving and consistent ... and the liquid level should be stedfast. If it does not perform this way, you indeed have some coolant system issues. If it does, I would consider draining and replacing the coolant and replacing the thermostat again.

Intuit · 09-30-2009, 04:08 AM

Leaky head gasket failure can also cause coolant to disappear and create air pockets. Observed wild temperature swings and rougher running like that when had that problem. Other than my thermostat (which literally fell into pieces,) and head gasket, nothing else has been replaced. Yet all such symptoms disappeared. That was roughly 50k miles ago. Hopefully a compression test will confirm the issue.

mightymoose_22 · 10-01-2009, 11:11 AM

Stop leak will probably only be a temporary fix. You said the system was just recently flushed, so that is good... but stop leak can block up the system in more places than just where the leak is.
If problems return after using the stop leak then you should consider replacing the radiator. It is probably only about $100 or so and is simple to do yourself.

uspres2020 · 10-08-2009, 03:31 PM

I ended up being able to see the leak very clearly and was able to put some jb weld on there. Didn't work the first time, but it has held for like 4 days now from the second time. I think the radiator problem is fixed and I don't appear to be losing any more coolant.

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