2001 LS Overheating or Not?

racing4cash

i have a 01 lincoln ls 3.9v8. i am fairly mechanically inclined and have worked on the car sevral times, but this problem has me scratching my head. It has happened 3 times now. the engine temprature alyways runs at halfway on the gauge. and it will start like this. i hear a noise that sounds to me like an auxillary fan from underneath the hood(that i never otherwise hear) then within 1-2 minutes the temp gauge starts climbing untill it reaches the H then of course the check engine temp warning comes on, then a minute or so later the reduced engine power warning comes on. this process takes less than 4 minutes start to finish. in the mean time i will pull over and there is no steam, no boiling, no obvious signs that the car is overheating. i let the car sit for 5-10 minutes then get back in start the car and temp gauges is sitting on halfway as always and car runs fine then. it is my opionion that the car is not overheating but that something like the thermostat or something electrical is sticking or misreading. and the car being turned off is reseting this. any ideas or any one experienced this? all info and help is greatly appreciated in advance.

akirby

Could be the thermostat or the hyrdaulic cooling fan (or a bad temp sensor). But this sounds like the infamous trapped air bubble. When the trapped air bubble (which is nothing but compressed steam) hits the area of the temp sensor the temp spikes. When you stop and restart the car it's gone. I think there is a bleed valve on the very top of the engine. I'd try that first, then the thermostat. The fan is expensive and complicated.

ajinnette

I have a 2000 LS and it is doing the same thing. I just had the catalytic convertor replaced, but right before I had it replaced it started doing the same thing yours did, and after I had the catalytic convertor fixed this did not happen for about a week and now it is happening again. Can you tell me what you did to fix yours? It definitely is not running hot, I have raised the hood multiple times now and there is no evidence of it running hot, no steam, no boiling out of the radiator or anything, no noise at all under the hood.....

lincolnls2002

my 2002 lincoln ls started to overheat . I pulled over and the motor was fine. It was not over heating.It actually did it twice.how do i repair this problem

racing4cash

to both of the last posts. i have not fixed this problem on my car as of yet. but the one guy that described the trapped steam bubble got me to thinking and this is what i have experianced. i noticed that when in my car starting it for the first time this "overheating problem" would occur not long after my car got to operating temp. but i also noticed that when it was cool outside and i started up my car and was running my heat this problem would not occur. so the other day when the overheating issue happened, i turned on my heat wide open. well i think this moved the water around in the cooling system and the temp immidiatly fell back to halfway wich is where it normally runs. i could still hear the sound under my hood that sounds like an auxillary fan, but my temp went to normal without having to pull over and shut the car off for five mins. so give this a try next time and let me know what happens.

baux

the same thing just happend to me thermostat high eninge powerd down, i pulled over turned my car off and it went back to normal, but now my engine lite is on will this resolve itself or do i need to take it in

garthman

It's possible the cooling system has an "air bubble". Lincoln has a procedure to purge any trapped air within the system. This is usually needed when a componet is replaced and the system re-filled. If I recall, next the the left hood hinge, the radiator tank is there (where coolant is added) and to the center of the vehicle from that tank, there's a valve that's used to let the air out. Not sure extactly however this should steer you in the right direction if that is the issue.

project78

Sorry I'm new here racing4cash, I am experiencing exatly the same problem on my lincoln ls...my mechanic did find that it was an air pocket though...he checked all hoses and let the "air pocket" out...solve my problem for a few days but problem came back!! did u find out what on your lincoln yet?? will like to hear back from you thanks

ldogg1

:sick: I to have 2011 Lincoln Ls overheating, no mechanic including ford dealership has been able to diagnose the problem I have replaced the radiator and hydrolic fan after the dealer told me it was the fan, the said that my thermostat was fine and not sticking,there where a motor to the fan and water pump both working fine and the water pump also working. It overheats when the weather is really hot and i turn the air conditioning on, and also in stop and go driving in hot weather,last time i checked i can drive long distances on the frwy at a least about an hour without overheating not something that intentionally risk trying but the gauge will go up to H when it does run hot and will continue to go up until the indicator light comes on if i dont pull over and stop, will be making a trip back to the dealer if they cant diagnose the problem i will be writing Ford corporate office, I have been dealing with this since April If anyone have any other solutions PLEASE HELP

nickrl

I am having a overheating issue as well. Heres the trip with mine, In the past 18 months my 02 v8 has had the hydraulic fan replaced, the pump replaced, thermostat changed last week, no airlock or any of that fun stuff. mechanic said theres no leaks (im not sure if he pulled the degas bottle to check for crack but am taking his word for it), the cap seems to be good- nice hissing sound if i try to remove it. have had the radiator flushed and filled by a mechanic. ac is blowing hot air (doubt that has anything to do with it... just adding to the complaint box). It has overheated on me four times in the past two weeks. It only seems to do it on my third consecutive time getting into the car, ex. drove 9 miles to autozone was in there 20 mins. drove 2miles to oriellys was in there 10 minutes, then drove back home with it starting to heat up. when the temp starts to rise i hear a whining sound like theres a supercharger on the car. The mechanic has had the car twice now and cant find anything wrong with the car. When the car is overheating the fan isnt coming on but if i let the car sit for a while everything is fine. Unlike other people I cant just shut the car off and re start it with the guage going back to normal. no check engine light comes on when this happens- so are there codes being stored? Any help would be greatly appreciated. thanks in advance.

ldogg1

Well since my last post I have determined that It does appear that I have a leak seems to be coming from the resovoir(would that be the same as the dagasse bottle)? I have been had that leak but the mechanic kept saying it was the sweat from the air conditioning, my air conditioner does still work exceptionally well,without overheating but only on the frwy. Well I haven't been running the air and still notice a leak so I will address that and see what happens, If still overheats will take back to the dealer which
is in the plan anyway. will post back to let my overheating buddies know the outcome wish my luck

hydrols

i have a 2002 ls that for some reason when ever it feels like it wants to the coolant will start to bubble the car doesnt seam to be running hot the ac is cold the gauge is reading normal but its bubbling so bad i can feel it in the brake pedal any ideas

grmommy1

Ok I have read the other messages, well here is my story, I drive a 2005 Lincoln LS and I took it in for a routine oil change and when I left my car started to over heat, when I checked there was no coolant in the reservoir , I put some in and it ran for a while and than the gage started to rise to H again, I took it back to where I had gotten my oil changed and was told that initially it was my water pump and than after another 45min wait I was told that it is my Coolant Outlet Connector, very expensive to replace, I was told that the Coolant Pipe assembly was cracked, can someone explain how this could happen on a routine oil Change :sick:

jkolala74

Hi Guys,

If you are still having the overheating problems let me know. I managed to solve that problem on one of my clients Lincoln LS 3.9L V8.

johnpic

Any help or short cuts would be appreciated.
My seemingly overheats once I stop an allow a few minutes rest and restart all goes back to normal. I say seemingly because it never smells hot but the gauge goes up and I get the "check engine temp message" then reducing engine power. once restarted gauge goes back to normal- fan no longer runs and all appears normal until the next episode it is a 3.9L V8

akirby

Could be an air bubble. When the steam hits the sensor it thinks its overheating. There is a specific bleed procedure - try googling it.

johnpic

Thanks I give that a try this weekend and advise

ashls

My 2000 LS is overheating and very little to no interior heat. Any ideas what it could be? Stuck thermostat? Please help!

lnclnownr2

it might be your heater control valve

lsmustang

Did anyone ever figure this out? I am having the same issues.(Temperature reading hot, then showing normal after turning off the engine for a couple of minutes. Also, running the heater will prevent this.) Any help would be greatly appreciated.

akirby

My guess is you have an air bubble which becomes superheated pressurized steam and when that hits the coolant temp sensor it spikes the temp. Restarting the car moves the bubble as does turning on the heater.

lsmustang

I bled the coolant system this weekend and so far that seems to have done the trick. Thanks akirby.

evolushunn

I note that everyone is having the same issue as I am having. I wish I had known this $4,000 ago. I have replaced the catalytic converter, the hydraulic fan, the radiator, fuel, air, and cabin air filters, and the thermostat, and none of these repairs have fixed the problem. I will assume the air bubble is the one thing that my apparent mechanics have not thought to check. However, I would like to know, what causes this trapped air bubble. If anyone can answer this for me, I would greatly appreciate any help. Thanks.

2003v8lse

racing4cash said:

to both of the last posts. i have not fixed this problem on my car as of yet. but the one guy that described the trapped steam bubble got me to thinking and this is what i have experianced. i noticed that when in my car starting it for the first time this "overheating problem" would occur not long after my car got to operating temp. but i also noticed that when it was cool outside and i started up my car and was running my heat this problem would not occur. so the other day when the overheating issue happened, i turned on my heat wide open. well i think this moved the water around in the cooling system and the temp immidiatly fell back to halfway wich is where it normally runs. i could still hear the sound under my hood that sounds like an auxillary fan, but my temp went to normal without having to pull over and shut the car off for five mins. so give this a try next time and let me know what happens.

There is no mysterious "bubble". The thermostat was designed on wrong side of engine and does not open to allow flow. The hot hose coming out engine will overheat, boil, blow out hose, crack plastic parts .. while the outlet hose from radiator is still cold and keeping thermostat closed - no flow. Remove thermostat and block the hot bypass hose too and fixed. Unscrew small bleed valve by degas bottle to bleed out air. Now you should have warm hose coming out of radiator, and warm hose going into radiator.

concernedls

I unfortunately just purchased a hornets nest of anxiety... The overheating problem didn't occur while test driving, now...I'm one of you guys! I looked through repairs and basically EVERYTHING has been replaced, save the radiator and the fan (in the cooling system). Is there a firm consensus as to what causes the intermittent overheating in the 2001 Lincoln LS 3.9? My wife is going to KILL ME for purchasing this car if I can't get it fixed. Thanks, everyone.- Respect

2003v8lse

I have 2 LS8 and 1 Continental. Beautiful cars. The overheating needs fixed first. Try this test. Start car and feel the hose coming out of engine / into radiator...as car warms up this hose will get over 200, cannot keep hand on it. Now feel the hose coming out of radiator. Still cool, thermo is not opening in time. Remove thermo and block the bypass hose.!! Now the hose going into rad and coming out will be warm and shows the pump is working too. Turn on the AC switch and the fan should come on showing that works too. Overheat pressure may blow out leaks in the plastic parts and reservoir tank. Replace if you see leaks or loosing coolant when hot. (If you live in cold climate, u will have to add an in-line aftermarket thermo to that hot hose coming out of engine.) Next, coils and plugs. Startup should run great. Next, manifold air leak if starts to idle too low and dies when engine gets hot.

2003v8lse

2001 / 2002..cut out the center of thermo so u can still use the outer ring to re-seal connection. Cutoff a piece of round shovel handle to fit and block inside the bypass hose and screw clamp in place. Now as soon as you start engine you know u have positive flow thru radiator and engine. Easy flow on the pump and flushes radiator better and no more overheat and pressure. Car runs cool, only takes extra 2 minutes for heater to get warm. (2003 thermo is different fix, knockout center element and use thermo big spring to keep bypass hole closed)