04 cobra limp mode overheat issue

[Mstngsidewinder]

Left work tonight, and about 3 miles down the road my 04 Cobra 34k miles went into limp mode up hill at about 25mph. Got to the top of the hill and noticed the water temp was starting to climb. Pulled into a bank parking lot and lifted the hood to see what was the cause. Coolant was dripping from the Overflow tank cap on the radiator. I could still see coolant at the bottom of the overflow tank but there was enough spilled out to be concerned. I shut it off for about 10 minutes, and then limped it back my work (dealership) in 2nd gear at 15-20 mph. about 3 miles.

Any ideas on where to look first? My initial thought was a stuck thermo stat, water pump or that the overflow tank is cracked.

side note: my store had changed the coolant about 3 weeks ago. This was the 2nd 30+ mile trip I had taken since the change. I had at least 100 miles on it since the change. Could there have still been air bubbles that could be clogging/blocking flow?

 

[intermatic]

wish i could offer you insight bud. I suggest posting this in the terminator section tho..might get more eyes on it.

 

[wutang61]

If you have a handheld with data logging ability it would be a big help. I struggled with overheating issues initially after my car was put back together. start with the car cold and fill from the crossover pipe, top off the expansion tank and watch the ECT. Plenty of write ups on the correct way to flush fill and burp the coolant system. If the thermostat has failed the upper radiator hose won't get hot due to no coolant flow. I seriously doubt something serious happened with your car being so low in miles.

I'm gonna point the finger at air in the system or a bad thermostat first.

 

[RedRocketMike]

At 40,000 miles the OEM electric fan in my cobra died. Check that.

 

[P49Y-CY]

sounds too coincidental that you just had the cooling system serviced a few weeks ago. I would talk to the tech that did the work and ask exactly what he did. I don't imagine a dealership would have opened the cap on the crossover tube, but if it was, they would have needed to refill it correctly. usually a dealership uses a vacuum fluid exchanger to get all the air out and does not have to remove the crossover tube cap.

you say this is the second 30+ mile trip since the service, but this was only 3 miles? usually takes at least 10 minutes for the t-stat to open.

and as others have said, after verifying that the system was refilled properly, I would look at fan, reservoir cap, water pump, etc. best of luck with it