1997 SHO V8 - "Runs Hot"

[Bull Geek]

It looks like Racer X was on to something. No signs of headgasket problems at all

Finally fired the car up for the first time in months. Ran the engine for 30 min. 2500-3000 RPM, letting the cooling fan kick on each time. Car wouldn't overheat. Coolant reservoir was fine. No leaks of coolant anywhere. No head gasket problem found. The prior owner of this car was taken for. Too bad.

Engine issues found:
-Water pump tensioner is weak. Pump was not turning when car first turned on.
-Valve cover gasket leaks make a nice smoke show
-Oil filter adapter o-ring needs replacement
-IAC needs cleaning/replacement.

Next step is to pull the car into the garage, yank the valve cover off and check for welded camshafts.

The car lived in Commerce/Royston GA from 1997-2002. Maybe it got welded by FPS...James Short Ford serviced it during that time according to Carfax.

 

[Bull Geek]

Well earlier in the month, I had the car welded by a friend of a friend who works for the railroad. He used TIG welding.

Car continues to run fine 400 miles later. Albeit, a tad warm compared to the Duratec and Vulcan in my fleet. Temps seem to be between 200-210 going down the road per my scangauge.

So this issue is resolved...there was no headgasket issue. No coolant issue. Car is fine.

 

[stephen newberg]

200-210F is actually pretty warm unless you are in stop and go traffic. I would expect something more in the 180ish range on the highway at highway speeds.

pax, smn

 

[Racer X]

Nick, I wouldn't be surprised if the radiator was a bit clogged internally. Given the fear of a failed HG, something like Barr's Stop Leak or the like might have been used.

If that's the case, the radiator could be gunked up with that, keeping the temps from coming down.

 

[Bull Geek]

From what Mr. Nimz is telling me, the temps seem normal to him.
"200F-205F seems normal. The t stat is ~198F IIRC. The fans would determine the temp. If the radiator is clogged on the outside then it will read higher."

Still would be good preventative maintenance to pull the rad and verify it looks good in there before we start having 80F+ days again in April.

The prior owners had zero mechanical ability, they just knew to take it to a shop. I doubt they did anything. There was still baby yak from their 2 kids on the plastic floor mats when I bought it. The ***** shop that worked on it before appears to have installed a new from Ford Vulcan OHV coolant tank. Morons. No wonder the lines looked a bit hacked up.

 

[SHOtimer]

The Gen III also has the ability to get a very dirty radiator externally, not just leaves, ect.

You could try removing the fans and hosing out the radiator, from the engine side towards the front of the car, to make sure you are getting good air flow through the rad.

Or (depending on budget), replace the radiator. That way you will know you have good internal and external flow. You can get all aluminum ones for the Gen III still..... I installed one in my Gen III vulcan, and like it.

Doug

 

[illSHOyou]

From what Mr. Nimz is telling me, the temps seem normal to him.
"200F-205F seems normal. The t stat is ~198F IIRC. The fans would determine the temp. If the radiator is clogged on the outside then it will read higher."

Still would be good preventative maintenance to pull the rad and verify it looks good in there before we start having 80F+ days again in April.

The prior owners had zero mechanical ability, they just knew to take it to a shop. I doubt they did anything. There was still baby yak from their 2 kids on the plastic floor mats when I bought it. The ***** shop that worked on it before appears to have installed a new from Ford Vulcan OHV coolant tank. Morons. No wonder the lines looked a bit hacked up.

For what its worth my v8 SHO does leak in the headgasket area. Uses about 2 cups of coolant every month. Has hydro carbons in the coolant system. I change the coolant once a year. I also run a 160 degree thermostat out a 2003 Corvette. with a 160 stat and 192 fan turn on temp I maintain my coolant temps in the 185-195 range. The car also runs better at WOT and pulls less timing out than running at the stock 205-225 range.

Some can argue I'm nuts, but it just keeps on ticking. It just requires higher maintenance in its present condition 175k running strong.

Sean

 

[stephen newberg]

My 180 or so at highway speeds and around 200 in stop and go traffic about town comes from just the stock thermostat.

It is a good idea to keep the rad clean, and that can help shed heat. If you are running up to the boiling point of water when driving on the highway in relatively level terrain (that is not climbing mountains), it is running too hot and something needs to be corrected.

pax, smn

 

[kevinspann]

For what its worth my v8 SHO does leak in the headgasket area. Uses about 2 cups of coolant every month. Has hydro carbons in the coolant system. I change the coolant once a year. I also run a 160 degree thermostat out a 2003 Corvette. with a 160 stat and 192 fan turn on temp I maintain my coolant temps in the 185-195 range. The car also runs better at WOT and pulls less timing out than running at the stock 205-225 range.

Some can argue I'm nuts, but it just keeps on ticking. It just requires higher maintenance in its present condition 175k running strong.

Sean

Sean, is your car a repaired cam failure car with reused head gaskets and shortened duratec head bolts? Or is that someone else?

I just wonder if the seeping of coolant is an issue now that there are more miles on reused head gasket engines.

Are those duratec bolts TTY? I wonder if you would benefit from retorquing them, or at least checking the torque.

 

[illSHOyou]

Sean, is your car a repaired cam failure car with reused head gaskets and shortened duratec head bolts? Or is that someone else?

I just wonder if the seeping of coolant is an issue now that there are more miles on reused head gasket engines.

Are those duratec bolts TTY? I wonder if you would benefit from retorquing them, or at least checking the torque.

My car is a cam failure. Not while I have owned it, but the previous owner. I only fixed the front head, probably should have pulled both. So I really don't know how well my repair is holding up. The rear head could be the one leaking.

 

[Bull Geek]

Per the advice of the guys on the v8 mailing list, before I started replacing parts, it was suggested, I get some compressed air, remove the fans, and blow into the openings behind them. See if I can blast any dirt or other crud out.

V8's use an OEM 190F thermostat.

Doing 40 MPH with ambient temp of 45F, it was running at 200F. Low speed cooling fan kicks on at 216F. Doing 65-70 MPH it was 197-198.

Odd thing: Using my scangauge, One thing I did notice...If I accelerate to merge on to a road, pass someone, etc....the coolant temp DROPS (??), down to the low 180s. Then it creeps right back up to 195-200.

Tried the same test in my 2000 DOHC Taurus, and the coolant temp does not do that when I accelerate.

 

[SHOZ123]

Water pump bad?

 

[stephen newberg]

That is worth a look. Something is definitely not right in your cooling. I forget, have you have the cooling system flushed and new coolant put in?

pax, smn

 

[Bull Geek]

I have not flushed the cooling system and put in new coolant.

 

[stephen newberg]

That will not help with partial blockages, which could be a part or your problem. You really should get it flushed under pressure.

pax, smn

 

[Bull Geek]

Normally I do work myself, but I can't do a complete cooling system flush on my own since I have no way of disposing of the old fluid. I will take the vehicle to a shop and pay them flush the cooling system under pressure and refill with the proper coolant.

 

[stephen newberg]

Hopefully that will help. Do keep us informed.

pax, smn

 

[Bull Geek]

Before committing to taking it to a shop for coolant flush, I decided to go ahead and replace the oil cooler o-ring since it was spotting the driveway. Also decided to do a trans cooler, so took off the under air dam plastic tray and the front bumper cover.

Down came some coolant. Uh oh.

Bottom of radiator is soaking wet in coolant, the foam is sopping up coolant. That's not good. Found a split in the rad at the bottom.

For purpose of this thread, here's the radiator that I took out. Blue shop rag marks the leak point. Am installing a new one from Advance Auto. Found a $40 coupon code , that made the job a little less painful. Also shop down the road said they are cool with me dispensing the old coolant in their container out back for recycling

 

[My_Silver_SHO]

When you swap the o-ring make sure the coolant passages are clear.

 

[Bull Geek]

Yup already swapped. Coolant passages were clear to me. Not one bit of clogging to be found.