sychobaby

My car is too hot!! My car is a 2007 GT. I was autocross racing about 4 months ago, while my car was still running, I noticed my temp gauge was pegged. I got out and noticed that the fan was not on. I got away from everyone when she blew. Ended up having her towed home. I had to replace both lower radiator hoses and the T connector. There was a crack in the T connector. We checked the fan manually with a battery. It turned fine. Everything seemed to be okay until we tried to leave from Orange Beach beginning of July. It was super hot. Bradley refused to have the top down, so the air conditioner was on full blast. We were in line for approx 10 minutes waiting on toll. All of the sudden, it was like someone turned on the heat. I kept an eye on the temp. It maintained for a few minutes. Got through the toll and started driving. Got 2 miles and temp started rising. Pulled off and turned off the car. Waited for it to cool off. Popped the hood but kept it latched. Cranked the car. Fan came on. Drove really slow over to Foley. Found a 10 minute oil and lube place. Left the car running in fear the fan would not come back on. Told them what happened. They pulled something up on their computer about a common problem with my particular model regarding the fan sensors. Went to Auto Zone. They only had 1 sensor. Purchased it but did not put it in the car at the time. Drive home without ever turning the car off. Got home without any problems. Purchased another fan sensor locally. Replaced them both. Had no problems until yesterday. I was driving around downtown. I was feeling a little feisty. Go figure!! I noticed the air felt hot all of the sudden. The temp gradually started rising above 210. I was in the parking deck of Huntsville Hospital. I just parked it and went in to visit a friend. Came out a couple of hours later. It had plenty of time to cool off by now. I cranked it and let it idle until the fan came on. Turned on the air conditioner, everything seemed well. Went ahead and started toward home. Something told me not to get on the Parkway. I got to Clinton Ave, she got hot again. Pulled over again. Waited for her to cool off again. Finally cooled off enough to try it again. Was successful this time! I thought once the fan came on, I should be okay. I have the stock 192 thermostat in it. I purchased a 180 thermostat but decided not to put it in since the problems stopped. What do you think? Would the thermostat have anything to do with the fan cutting back off while the car is still running? I am supposed to race in a National event the end of the month at Nashville Superspeedway. I am not able to look at my gauges whie I am racing. I am afraid I am going to end up blowing a head gasket. I need help!

AlsCobra

Put the 180 tstat in and I would upgrade that radiator. Go from there.

sychobaby

Thanks, Al!

Puter

No.
Now, you are still limping. It seems that you are having to baby the car to keep it from overheating. What I would do is find it heating up, get out and see if the fan is running. If it is not, unplug and see if it getting any voltage. If not, it sounds as if you have a bad sensor. BTW, you may want a Ford replacement instead of Autozone. If you do have voltage, then you have a heat-related issue with the fan itself.

Don't start throwing parts at it. Expensive way to shotgun something. I really feel that you do not have enough mods to make it run hot.

sychobaby

When it overheats, the fan is not running. Yesterday, I made sure the fan was running brfore I left the parking lot. I got 2 miles down the road before it overheated again. When I pulled over and popped the hood, the fan had cut off. When you say a bad sensor, are you talking about a bad fan, thermostat, or another sensor? I do not have an ECT sensor. Please forgive me. I am learning as I go.

BA Mustang

I would look into wiring up a switch in the car to manually turn the fan on.

sychobaby

Bradley and I have looked into installing a toggle switch under the dash so I can manually turn on the fan but that still does not solve the problem. If there is a problem, I want to fix it.

I am definitely going to buy 2 Ford fan relays also. I am doing my best to solve this problem before I have to buy a head gasket.

KEEP

It seems like I read some posts a couple of years ago that stated that the fan connector near the front of the car was causing similar problems (cutting in and out). I also thought that the fan ran all the time when the air cond is on but I may be mistaken about that, heck I am or "was" a 80's foxbody guy.

I am with Ralph, you really need to find out why rather than just mitigate the problem.

Kinyodas

VRCM??? Does that model have a Variable Relay? My 95 Mark VIII did - and it went out. Fan worked when wired directly, relay would not kick on.

sychobaby

Hmmm...you got me there. I will have to do some research....

sychobaby

I thought the same thing. That is why I waited until my fan kicked on until I left the parking garage. I made sure my air conditioner was on also. I made it 2 miles before I overheated.

BA Mustang

It could be thermostat related as well. My old DD had a bad thermostat and I overheated it a couple times within a few miles.

The fan I have on the 67 doesn't turn on until 185 degrees and it doesn't even kick in for awhile. I havent had a single problem with overheating except for when I'm sitting for awhile because I have such a small fan.

And I think what Kinyodas is talking about is the Mark 8s had a variable speed fan and the relay they had controlled all of that. If that goes out then it(the fan) would not activate, unless directly powered. So I'm guessing if your mustang has the variable speed fan then the high speed relay could be gone therefore not turning the fan on. When you are sitting there waiting for it to turn on you are really only hearing the low speed kick in.

D'prived

I am also thinking it could be a sticking thermostat. Since you already have the 180 I'd go ahead and throw that in there.

05stangkc

Here is all the Cooling info Listed in the 2007 Ford Mustang Shop Manual!

Enjoy,

KC

Btw, Stay away from the Aftermarket Sensors They are problematic.

Puter

One of the issues that I don't like in this thread is that you are getting hot while moving. The fan means nothing at 35MPH and above. It is actually the natural airflow through the radiator instead of the fan that cools the radiator. If you are overheating while driving at a steady 40MPH, I agree that you have a blockage to coolant flow. The thermostat is the most popular and common, yet I have also heard of water pumps that have had bad impellers. Also, with the 5.0 some folks would buy the wrong water pump (regular rotation instead of reverse) and it would show the same symptoms.

Could you have a weak head gasket? I would also think about a leakdown test.

Puter

Well, either one. :-)

blackgt87

I would run the stock thermostat, trying to band aid the problem with a lower temp thermostat is no different from a toggle switch to run the fan.

Your cars cooling system worked fine for years, now it doesn't. Something broke, it just needs fixed. Don't get caught up in changing things that don't need changed to get there.

AlsCobra

I'm still recommending upgrading the radiator.

B/W GT

I'm leaning toward thermostat sticking. I had a Jeep do the same thing. It would be fine for long periods, then suddenly heat up. The fan might or might not come on.

When the thermostat would stick closed, circulation of coolant would stop. Since no coolant was flowing past the fan coolant temp sensor, it read a normal temperature. Meanwhile, the coolant behind the thermostat was starting to boil and the coolant temp on the gauge was in the red.

Replacing the thermostat fixed the problem.

I would not recommend installing a lower temp thermostat. Late model engines with computer controlls are programmed to do certain things at certain temperature ranges. If the engine is constantly running too cool the computer may never allow the spark advance, emission controls or fuel controls to work in the optimum temperature range.

Puter

Why?