Engine overheats and smoking?

i suspect your head gasket may have blown ... is it white smoke ... is there slime in overflow tank .. is there chocolatey slime on oil filler cap ???

Here are two guides to help us find the issue.

https://www.2carpros.com/articles/engine-overheating-or-running-hot

and

https://www.2carpros.com/articles/head-gasket-blown-test

Please run down these guides and report back.

hello natty ...

thanks for the points .. you could just reply by using reply box at bottom of posting ?? i didn't get all your message please could you re-send through this posting ?

Thanks for your promptiness.

I didn't notice any slime in overflow tank, not sure if you meant oil filter cap, but oil cap (where i add oil) does not have chocolatey slime. The smoke looked to me to be a bluish, greenish, little whitish... not just white smoke. I hope it isn't head gasket, I understand it is major expensive work. Would even driving to garage destroy the engine? Thanks in advance.

when you start the car now .. are you getting smoke from exhaust ?? has coolant level dropped ? ... when you said you noticed anti-freeze under hood was it coming from overflow ...

On the night of first occurence, I had noticed some small amount of fluid under the hood on the right side, exactly diagonally across from the overflow tank on the left side. So it definitely wasn't coming from the overflow tank. Yesterday, during the day, I drove about 3 - 4 miles, and the overheating and smoking problem re-occured after a while (after starting - all was fine including the temp gauge). There wasn't any leakage of any kind.

I have just started the car now - temp gauge is on C (cold), and no extra / unusual amount of smoke is coming out of exhaust. I suspect the antifreeze overflow tank doesn't show any decrease or increase. Should I add antifreeze directly to the radiator?

PS: If i recall correctly, once the car overheats and smokes out of the engine hood, there might have been extra smoke coming out of exhaust as well. Just now not sure whether to drive few miles and re-duplicate problem because I am not sure what that would do the engine.

Many thanks for your assistance so far.

check coolant level now, make sure it's at correct level ... start engine and allow to tick over untill it reaches usual operating temp (where the gauge usually sit's) .. then leave it ticking over watching temp gauge and radiator fan the fan should come on not long after it reaches usual temp on gauge ... and also keep a check on the exhaust for smoke

I started the car, and let it run for a while. All seemed normal, and temp gauge stayed on cold side. I noted the fan coming on after few minutes. It has snowed, so I decided to turn on the air-defroster inside. Noted little heat, but not usual strength. I watched to see if temp gauge will rise to Hot with turning the heater on (defroster). Temp rose just a little from cold to 1/3. I then decided to actually drive it ... as soon as I engaged in drive gear, the temp gauge rose steadily to Hot, and within a mile, engine light flashed on, and smoke started coming from under the hood. Opened the hood, and noticed smoke was coming out of, in general, a spot where radiator connects to a hose [right side of radiator under metal panel that covers the radiator and allows seating of hood]. From a distance, smoke looks like is coming out of right side of radiator (when facing the car), but on closer inspection, it is coming out of seemingly where radiator meets the gadget that might be thermostat, a gadget that connects to the hose that goes into the engine block.

so we now know we have a leak .. so the coolant level must be going down ... when you say "gadget" where exactly on the engine is the "gadget" .. what color is it ... is it metal/plastic .. near the belt's .. near the raditior .. has it got hoses coming off it ?? could you supply a picture ?? from your description .. it is under the crossbeam that the hood shut's onto ??

Hi Dave,

There might be a slight drop in coolant level in overflow, but then again I didn't get to drive far. Unlike my older cars, this car's radiator cap isn't meant to be removed, is it?

You are correct for the location being under the cross-beam. It is, facing the car, to the right top end of radiator where there is a circular component (looking like a thermostat) seemingly inserted in a metal L-tube which connects to a hose that goes into the engine block. It is on the top of this circular component on radiator that smoke was coming out like it was a chimney. I would try to take a picture if it still necessary.

again, thanks for your help.

you can remove the readiator cap to check the coolant in radiator ...when cold.... by the sounds of what your describing the "chimney" should have a pipe/hose on it .. it sounds like a release/return pipe .. it is steam coming out not smoke .. if you could supply a picture that would be good .. i have no diagrams of the coolant system ?

Hi Dave,
Couldn't get my camera from my GF on time anyway.

The 'smoke' was coming out of the release valve on top of radiator's left top corner (when facing the car). I have managed to change the thermostat, and now I am noticing some smoke (maybe) coming from under the vicinity where thermostat is housed. It seems like the exhaust now has white smoke (probably not good news). I am running the car with radiator cap off to bubble air up, and will let u know what happens next.

you've been great with your feedback.

If it is head-gasket issue, is it an easy task? what will it involve?

I suspect if your getting a constant bubbling your head gasket is gone i'm afraid ? let me know if the bubbling stops or is constant ?

my car overheats and there is plenty of antifreeze in it and in the coolant. you can hear it boiling in the overflow. i just had a new thermostat put in. What else could it be?

Does it overheat while driving or when sitting in traffic? Do you hear the cooling fan come on?

It mostly gets hot while sitting just a short time. i never paid any attention to the cooling fan. I just bought this car from my granddaughter and she had a wreck this winter in it. they had to replace the radiator and has had this trouble ever since. they thought the radiator was no good so they replaced it again. same problem.

Ifit was wrecked, be sure the fan comes on, or it will overheat

fan was not working. checked fuses it needed the 50 A fuse. put it in but it does the same thing. and i noticed the battery light flashed off and on a couple of times.

I am having problems with my 95 taurus overheating I think the Integrated Relay Control Module is bad. The fan will come on when I run the codes so the motor itself is good I think. I need to test the relay module next, can you get me a wiring diagram for this, thanks.

If the scanner turning on the fan !
I would assume that the relay is OK, as the scanner ground the relay and fan comes on
do you have codes ?
what model Taurus you have LX what do you have for engine size?
let me know and I will try and get you the wiring schematic

Aug 25, 2020 at 10:47 AM (Merged)

If it blew the fuse, it is either a bad fan motor or some wiring is damaged and grounded out.That is a BIG fuse to pop, I would have it looked at so as not to damage any other electrical components, or hurt the engine from further overheating. Try unplugging the fan motor to see if it stll blows the fuse, if so it is a wiring problem

The taurus is a GL with 3.0 vulcan pushrod motor. There is one fan on the radiator, it has three wires coming out of it. Just by looking at it, it seems to have one ground wire and two other wires running to the module. The fan does come on when I check the codes, the codes are 111 332 336 one is pass and other two are EGR related, I dont think these codes are related to the problem. The problem I am having is overheating at idle in park, it does fine at cruise. Fan will not come on while idling, if its not the fan motor or the relay module than what do you think it could be. If you can get me a wiring diagram for this car that would be great. It may be missing an imput to the relay module. Please get back with me as soon as possible, thanks. Jared

the fuse has not blown again. Now it seems to be doing a little better. As long as i'm driving it stays cool but if i sit for about 10 min. it starts to get hot then when i drive it cools down.

If fan is unplugged then itis either the fan itself or the wiring between the fuse adnfan.Will have to dig into the wiring to see, or use a meter to see if the circuits are shorted to ground

ok I will have someone check the wiring. I want to thank you for all your help. greatly appreciated!

REPLACED WATER PUMP, THERMOSTAT, DRIVE BELT, RADIATOR. STILL I GET NO HEAT COMING FROM HEATER AND STILL OVER HEATING

No heat-could be clogged heater core/hose or heater control valve.

Overheating: try bleeding the cooling system or you can remove the thermostat and see what hppens.

My pleasure.Just be careful not to overheat the vehicle, that could cause more damage. Thanks for using 2Carpros.com

You said the fan module may be good, so next I need to check the imputs to the fan module to confirm that it is good. I need to know the voltage of the two signal wires coming from the PCM going to the fan module. The fan did come on for a few seconds when I checked the codes, so that would mean the 50 amp fuse, and the fan motor ground is good. Problem could be up the line further with the PCM output caused by a bad ECT sensor, but I don't get any codes for it. Can you help me? thanks Jared

Had it checked for sure and it was my fan. It was not working at all. Thank you so much for your help, couldn't have done it without you.

When you run self check the PCM will run through all circuits and will turn the fan on and off
so I will assume that the circuit is Ok and also if had any trouble in the circuit the PCM will set a code for it
no codes related
PCM will monitor coolant sensor for the temp and as soon that the coolant reaches the point that the fan needed the PCM should ground the relay and fan should come on
I would start my test with the coolant sensor

My pleasure.

Dis mourning on my way to work (8mi away) my taurus got really hot almost red lined, what could cause this problem, nothing was leaking untill i stop and parked the car then a little antifreeze came out of the res. tank, no new noises are comeing from the car, I was gonna start with the thermostate and flush the rad. could really use some help.

Jason

[quote:2da655124c="jpetroff"]Engine Cooling problem
1995 Ford Taurus 6 cyl Front Wheel Drive Automatic 132000 miles

Dis mourning on my way to work (8mi away) my taurus got really hot almost red lined, what could cause this problem, nothing was leaking untill i stop and parked the car then a little antifreeze came out of the res. tank, no new noises are comeing from the car, I was gonna start with the thermostate and flush the rad. could really use some help.

Jason[/quote:2da655124c]

You are on the right track. A stuck thermostat or a plugged radiator are the most common causes of overheating. Following that you can check the following:

Radiator hoses - check for hoses that are too soft, and could be collapsing internally while driving.

Water pump - look for any signs of looseness or leaking.

Cooling fan - make sure that it comes on when the temperature reaches the correct temp. Keep in mind that a cooling fan will not cause overheating while driving normally. The cooling fan is only necessary at low speeds or idling in traffic.

I replaced the thermostate, it was in pieces! i am haveing trouble locating the drain plug for the radiator, is it the lower coolant line? and my hoses feel soft but what do you mean by collapsing? will i be able to see that? the car seems to get hotter the faster i go?? thank you for the info it really helps!

Jason

[quote:f8be6908a8="jpetroff"]I replaced the thermostate, it was in pieces! i am haveing trouble locating the drain plug for the radiator, is it the lower coolant line? and my hoses feel soft but what do you mean by collapsing? will i be able to see that? the car seems to get hotter the faster i go?? thank you for the info it really helps!

Jason[/quote:f8be6908a8]

The drain is on the bottom of the radiator tank. It looks like a thumbscrew or wingnut.

Hoses are a laminated rubber, with a layer of fabric between two layers of rubber. When they begin to deteriorate, the inside layer of rubber can seperate from the fabric, and close off or restrict he coolant flow. This is not something you can see.

From this point, I would suggest a set of radiator hoses and a radiator flush.

Thank you guys I will replace the rad hoses today, i flushed her out yesterday, and she is still overheating, I hope this works, Thank you again

J

I bought a used 95' mercury sable which is exactly same as ford taurus. It runs good. Everything if fine. Has 125 k miles on it. One question the engine starts at cold temp(the engine temp. gauge is at cold and then goes up to the highest point of normal- to the point it says 'N' and mostly remains at the same. Is that normal or some problem. Do i have to change the engine oil or anything? any suggestions