help gen 2 1995 atx running hot

[cmz829]

on my sho the air compressor is bad so the previous owner skipped it on the belt and put a smaller belt on i think it is a mustang belt (my harmonic balancer was just replaced a month ago when the previous belt snapped and i had it replaced with the same belt that was on the car when i got it) ever since i got my car it has been running around the o r range on the temperature sometimes it runs at m a for a few minutes. from what i understand it is supposed to run at m a. today i got in my car and since it is about 70 here it was running at some point at n o. i refilled my collant about a few weeks ago as it was empty (after about 1k) does anyone know why my car would be running so warm? im scared that i am going to do damage to it in the warmer weather.

 

[SHOtimer]

Is it full of coolant? Does it run cooler on the freeway? If so your ECT might not be functioning correctly anymore - so the fans won't be coming on as they should. Your thermostat may be too old, or your radiator might be too old and clogged. Or something as simple as a new radiator cap.

Doug

 

[URLACHER54]

my 94 atx does the same thing i have replaced the water pump, radiator, t- stat, temp sender gauge, the other one that sends to the fans, the radiator cap, numerous hoses, the computer that works the fans (J unit) and mine start out for the first 10-15 mins of driving in the M and A area and when on the open road it stays there to, then when in traffic it creeps up to the O and the R and it scares me because eveyonce and a while it has blown hoses on me old ones none of the ones i have replaced. i have always had my cars run in the A and the L and this one is baffling to me

 

[cmz829]

If im correct the ect is the climate control? if so a few weeks before i bought the car it took a crap and was replaced with a soft button unit (which as far as i know they didnt put in 94 and 95 models)

and yes the problem is almost non-existant on the highway and is the worst in traffic

Also for some reason or another the previous owner didnt have the radiator cover on and i never put it on because of a lack of hardware for it but i have it in my posession could this affect it at all?

 

[SHOtimer]

No, the ect is the Electronic Coolant Temperature sensor. If your car runs cooler when on the road then in traffic, or still then I would look into replacing it. It tells your computer when to turn on the fans...when it goes wrong the fans go on a bit late.

I would get the Motorcraft piece from www.rockauto.com

However, the normal SHO will idle in warm weather and fluctuate between the R/O area to the A/L area. Those are both within the 'normal' area, so I wouldn't sweat it too much intill it stays in the N/O area on a normal basis, as that would be too hot.

For what it is worth, my SHO runs perfectly fine/normal - and on a hot day sitting in traffic without the AC on it will run inbetween the O and the M. With the AC on of course it will park around the A. Ambient temp will also have a lot of affect on the running temp.

Doug

 

[cmz829]

I searched google and all that looking for instructions on how it install this sensor and have come up with nothing. where is this piece located at? and is it hard to install?

 

[SHOtimer]

Google will not be of any help in that type of info. It is rather simple to replace. You unplug it, unscrew it, screw in the new one, and then plug it in.

It is a 3 wire sensor a couple of inches right of the thermostat, in a coolant passage as it goes into the rear head.

Doug