No Heat, Loosing Coolant

Let me start off by saying I don't know a whole lot about cars and even
less about how to fix them although I can change my oil and have
replaced a caliper and brakes. Okay Here is my story (it's Long): I
have a 94 ford Taurus v 6 3 litter with about 80,000 miles on her. I
haven't had much trouble besides rusty brake lines which were replaced
and a stuck front passenger side caliper which I replaced myself. For a
while something was making a loud squealing noise which I and others
decided was my belt (serpentine belt) it only seemed to do it at night
or when wet which I believe was connected to running the lights and for
further proof while giving someone a boost the noise was the loudest
and most prolonged that it had ever been. I revved the engine untill
the noise finally stopped which took a while but finally worked. Well I
didnt have a problem with the noise again for several months after
that. in the past two months I haven't been able to keep my reservoir
tank full (coolant) I assumed it was a whole in the tank but now it
seems that it was a loose radiator cap or both but it wasnt a problem
until last week while driving to work I heard the squeal suddenly out
of the blue for a period of about a second (so no time at all)
suspecting something was wrong (I thought the belt broke at first) I
pulled over and noticed that my temp gauge was showing that my car was
hot which was odd because I had never seen the need go past halfway and
it was a cold day. I popped the hood to put coolant in and noticed that
anti-freeze had seemingly burst out (of what I now suspect was the
loose cap) and had been what caused the squealing (because the belt got
wet) My first thought was "alright I just need to put coolant in" I did
and drove to a place that I could let my car cool a bit before I drove
for an hour to work. While driving to work I kept a close eye on the
temp when I started off it seemed to have dropped a bit from my rest
but after about a mile it jumped suddenly back to where it was before I
also began to notice that I was freezing my @$$ off which was really
making me nervous because my car had always had good heat. I made it to
work and back without coolant (or very little) and without heat. I was
told that maybe it was my water pump or thermostat (or even my head
gasket which despite my limited knowledge I find unlikely) I brought my
car to the shop and the guy at first look doesnt think that its my
pump(crossing my fingers) but rather my cap which isn't holding
pressure but I forgot to tell him about the heat #%$#ing the bed (the
fan still blows)could the problem be the thermostat or is it something
else.
Help Appreciated (I have a feeling that I will find the answer to the
problem soon but I like to post these things so that other people that
have the same or similar trouble can get the help they need too. Sorry
for being Long Winded but the more you know the better!!!

"Matthew" > wrote in message
ups.com...
> Let me start off by saying I don't know a whole lot about cars and even
> less about how to fix them although I can change my oil and have
> replaced a caliper and brakes.

OK

> making me nervous because my car had always had good heat. I made it to
> work and back without coolant (or very little) and without heat.

You just fried your engine.

> I was
> told that maybe it was my water pump or thermostat (or even my head
> gasket which despite my limited knowledge I find unlikely)

Why? You just said earlier that you didn't know a lot about cars.

Whether or not this was the radiator cap, the first rule of massive
coolant loss is STOP THE ENGINE. do NOT UNDER ANY
CIRCUMSTANCES run the engine without coolant in it not even for
5 minutes.

Doing this is almost sure to burn the head gasket and you have a good
chance of warping the head.

Here's a good explanation:

http://www.alldata.com/techtips/2003/20031215c.html

Anyway, aren't you the original owner? If you were you would have got the
letter from Ford regarding premature head gasket failures on this car. Ford
extended the warranty to 5 yr or 60,000 miles which ever came first on head
gasket failures on this model year.

Ted

<snip the story>

While the iron block - iron head motors are more tolerant of
overheating than aluminum head motors, you might still have hurt
something. You lost heat because the coolant got low enough to allow
the heater core to get air in it. The 3.8 engine was known for head
gasket problems.. the 3.0 isn't (and the 3.0 (Y) motor is lots of fun).
Sounds like you were running with a loose belt for awhile.

Have it checked out.. good luck. They aren't very exciting cars
(except for the 3.0 (Y) motor equipped ones), but if you can keep a
transmission in it they're good transportation.

Jim

Your problem is that you are losing coolant. When your coolant level gets
low enough, you lose heat in your car because it is coolant flowing through
your heater core that gives you heat in the car. A bad/loose cap can cause
you to loose coolant, but that is a simple fix. Get a new cap. Make sure
you tighten the cap properly. The cap usually has two stops. Make sure you
go past the middle stop and continue till it is fully tightened. If your
overflow bottle had a leak, you should be able to see the coolant dripping
out of the bottle. It would be pretty obvious. I would try getting a new
cap first since it is the simplest, and cheapest, fix.
--------------
Alex

Matthew wrote:
> Let me start off by saying I don't know a whole lot about cars and even
> less about how to fix them although I can change my oil and have
> replaced a caliper and brakes. Okay Here is my story (it's Long): I
> have a 94 ford Taurus v 6 3 litter with about 80,000 miles on her. I
> haven't had much trouble besides rusty brake lines which were replaced
> and a stuck front passenger side caliper which I replaced myself. For a
> while something was making a loud squealing noise which I and others
> decided was my belt (serpentine belt) it only seemed to do it at night
> or when wet which I believe was connected to running the lights and for
> further proof while giving someone a boost the noise was the loudest
> and most prolonged that it had ever been. I revved the engine untill
> the noise finally stopped which took a while but finally worked. Well I
> didnt have a problem with the noise again for several months after
> that. in the past two months I haven't been able to keep my reservoir
> tank full (coolant) I assumed it was a whole in the tank but now it
> seems that it was a loose radiator cap or both but it wasnt a problem
> until last week while driving to work I heard the squeal suddenly out
> of the blue for a period of about a second (so no time at all)
> suspecting something was wrong (I thought the belt broke at first) I
> pulled over and noticed that my temp gauge was showing that my car was
> hot which was odd because I had never seen the need go past halfway and
> it was a cold day. I popped the hood to put coolant in and noticed that
> anti-freeze had seemingly burst out (of what I now suspect was the
> loose cap) and had been what caused the squealing (because the belt got
> wet) My first thought was "alright I just need to put coolant in" I did
> and drove to a place that I could let my car cool a bit before I drove
> for an hour to work. While driving to work I kept a close eye on the
> temp when I started off it seemed to have dropped a bit from my rest
> but after about a mile it jumped suddenly back to where it was before I
> also began to notice that I was freezing my @$$ off which was really
> making me nervous because my car had always had good heat. I made it to
> work and back without coolant (or very little) and without heat. I was
> told that maybe it was my water pump or thermostat (or even my head
> gasket which despite my limited knowledge I find unlikely) I brought my
> car to the shop and the guy at first look doesnt think that its my
> pump(crossing my fingers) but rather my cap which isn't holding
> pressure but I forgot to tell him about the heat #%$#ing the bed (the
> fan still blows)could the problem be the thermostat or is it something
> else.
> Help Appreciated (I have a feeling that I will find the answer to the
> problem soon but I like to post these things so that other people that
> have the same or similar trouble can get the help they need too. Sorry
> for being Long Winded but the more you know the better!!!
>

If your extremely lucky, you just need a water pump and maybe an idler.
If you got the engine too hot, you need a lot more. The water
pump\bearrings wear eccentric and the impeller rubs on the casting.
Then eventually, the pump leaks or shells. Its about a 1 to 2 hour job
for a equipped DIY. Change all the radiator hoses while your at it.

If you got water coming out your exhaust pipe while your coolant is
going down, your head gaskets, heads and head bolts will need to come
off for inspection.

Check the radiator for wet seams also.

Bob

Thanks for the replys. It turns out that it was just the cap which has
been loose as well as defective it was a 16 lb pressure rated cap and
wouldnt even hold 15 lb so i lost collant and heat respectivly. Proplem
solved with a new 8 dollar cap and more coolant plus the labor came to
about 60 bucks could have saved money but wanted to be sure!!! Car runs
great!!!

On 7 Jan 2005 19:46:28 -0800, "Matthew" >
wrote:

>Thanks for the replys. It turns out that it was just the cap which has
>been loose as well as defective it was a 16 lb pressure rated cap and
>wouldnt even hold 15 lb so i lost collant and heat respectivly. Proplem
>solved with a new 8 dollar cap and more coolant plus the labor came to
>about 60 bucks could have saved money but wanted to be sure!!! Car runs
>great!!!

I had a fuel system problem throw a DTC once, and I was looking around
in my engine compartment for the evaporative condenser solenoid valve.
Then I got to deciding, hey, a new gas cap is cheap enough, and that
is listed as ONE of the possible causes of this MIL.

So for a couple few dollars I bought a new gas cap. Problem solved.

Sometimes, things are simple. Never overlook the simple stuff.

Lg