my 97 cobra started overheating i thought it was the thermostat so i changed it no its not backwards burped it over and over and it overheated agian. then i changed the cap tried to burp some more still did it . i have to drive it a bit before it does it then it builds enough pressure to start /heat that it starts running out the cap i burped it the correct way the heat blows hot fan is working. anyone ever had the impeller on the water pump spin on shaft? im just hoping its not a head gasket im gonna get a block tester monday . any ideas or thoughts what else to check? thanks
overheating problem
- Thread starter john123456
- Start date
If you blew a headgasket it'd be pouring out white smoke so if that's not happening its fine, when it overheats and you let it cool down for a few hours is the antifreeze level still good?
Even after burping mine I had to drive it let it heat up and sit overnight and add antifreeze til I got it just right
Even after burping mine I had to drive it let it heat up and sit overnight and add antifreeze til I got it just right
Where is your temperature gauge when it overheats?
Is your fan coming on automatically either with high coolant temperature or A/C on?
Have you tried jumpering out the ECT sensor to force the fan on? Did the fan come on?
The electrical connection on my fan melted due to corrosion creating a bad connection. Had to replace the fan assembly and the connector on the wire harness.
Is your fan coming on automatically either with high coolant temperature or A/C on?
Have you tried jumpering out the ECT sensor to force the fan on? Did the fan come on?
The electrical connection on my fan melted due to corrosion creating a bad connection. Had to replace the fan assembly and the connector on the wire harness.
Mine was doing and it was the radiator was to small had a one core and changed to 2 core
fan works the only way coolant is lost is after it heats up out the cap havent seen any white smoke that ive noticed anyway
well i tested for exhaust gas in the coolant today came up negative which is good i guess but im at a loss as to wth is going on new thermostat waterpump cap burped the hell outa the system rad seems to flow fine no gases in coolant fan comes on as it should so what the flying **** is goin on :fm:
at this point you might have to bring it to a shop and let a professional figure it out, just explain everything you did so they dont waste your time and money
my grandfather had a garage for 40 + years i have 2 friends that are techs at a ford dealer nobody can seem to figure it out i was hoping that it was some oddball sn95 cobra thing that someone else may have had happen . idk when i have any problems on this car its like riddles wrapped in enigmas or something nothing is ever normal :xpl:
well that certainly sucks, hmmm when you replaced the radiator cap did it have any type of red residue on it? i had a blazer once that somebody tried putting in an addant to stop a radiator leak and caused a blockage which made it over heat, you could take the radiator out and have it pressure tested
if thats all good then a new water pump i guess, theres nothing else in the cooling system to replace lol
What thermostat are you running (brand and temp)? If it looks like the one on the left in these pics (Stant), that can cause an overheating situation in these engines. Notice the difference in valve size between the Stant 180* on the left and the Ford 180* on the right.
Did the pump go out? I had that problem on a 5.0 I had. II don't know much about your specific year of cobra (I have an '04), but that fixed the problem in my 5.0.
If you've flushed it and checked the cap multiple times, the fan is running, I would think you don't have much else to check besides the pump. I would say blown head gasket too but if you're not getting white smoke and your fluid tested ok, water pump would seems to be the only option to me.
Have you owned the car long? The only other thing I could think of would be a coolant blockage somewhere. As my94 suggested, someone could have put stop leak in (terrible stuff) and that could wreak havoc on the pump and the coolant passages.
If you've flushed it and checked the cap multiple times, the fan is running, I would think you don't have much else to check besides the pump. I would say blown head gasket too but if you're not getting white smoke and your fluid tested ok, water pump would seems to be the only option to me.
Have you owned the car long? The only other thing I could think of would be a coolant blockage somewhere. As my94 suggested, someone could have put stop leak in (terrible stuff) and that could wreak havoc on the pump and the coolant passages.
are you burping it per the maintenance book? Put the front up on ramps so it is at an angle, that will help get air out. You likely have a nasty air bubble that needs to come out it all. Also check the condition of your hoses
my last idea is there is something odd in the tune i got an sct tuner with the bama tunes but im not really sure what i drove the car today with the street and race tune for prob 20-30 miles datalogging looking at the temp it stayed between 196-200 the whole time and never overheated i would normaly run it on the performance tune because it seems best to me . but like i said idk what could really be in there to cause it maybe had nothing to do with it idk if it stops at this point idc why just so it does. thanks for the suggestions
Last edited:
SVTContique
New Member
Cant you just grab the rad tubes and feel if the water is flowing through them to check if the pump is working.
Sounds like you pump though.
Sounds like you pump though.
pumps been changed
have you tried contacting whoever did the tune for you? if its not overheating when your running on the stock tune thatd be a red flag to me
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