[ramzsys]

Last weekend drive, my 407 tempo driver went on hyperdrive on the 4-lane, and took the ikon to 120 kmph speeds( 1.8D, 1.9L on odo). I suspected something wrong and it was the temperature guage stuck at 3/4th.

Even before i could ask him to slow down, there was oil smell in the cabin and soon the engine switched itself off.

Fearing the worst, i opened the bonnet- oil rich smoke. Coolant was also leaking. In-fact there was no coolant left in the main can. Left the engine to cool.

After some time, poured water in the coolant can, and the leak was from one of the radiator tubes. Adjacent mechanic was asked to fix it by shortening the tube. (He gave an explanation that there is some diesel leak, and this leak weakened the rubber). Paid him Rs.100. And yes, engine idled fine.

Then there was invisible loss of coolant(now water). Topped up several times on the way and reached home.

After stopping the engine, there was coolant leaking in a fine drip. Looked under the chassis. Coolant was leaking from the water pump.

Took the car to a competent garage.

1)water pump need to be inspected.
2)Radiator fan was slow-replaced the cut-out.

It is one mess of things to even inspect the water pump, as it is timing belt driven.

Car will be back from garage tomorrow. I will update the details later.

[ramzsys]

Water pump was replaced. The heat damaged the rubber inside the pump(as told by mechanics). Now the whole timing kit was removed to replace the water pump. Total expenses 3k to get the car back on road. Temperature is now a bit less than half the mark. (In my other ikon, it is always at quarter mark).

[arcotsrinivas]

I had the same problem with my ford escort (sold in 2007) and when i took it to fortune ford in Hyderabad the service advisor said that the radiator and the water pump along with coolant chamber must be replaced bill quoted was around 30,000 Rs.Took it to a local Garage and the water pump was replaced and the problem was solved.
People at Ford are next to none when charging bills.

[burnout_boy]

2005 Ford Ikon 1.3 Flair, 59K km on it

Over the last few days, the car has picked up an intermittent overheating problem.

1) Driving from Mumbai, switched off the AC before the Khandala ghats, no heating. Stopped at rest area for 30 min, started and within 1km of driving, car began to overheat (AC was off), temp needle began to move to the hotter side. A loud whirring fan noise could be heard from inside the cabin. Stopped for 5 min, restarted, no problem at all. Drove 30km home, temp needle stayed at its usual position. After one hour of parking at home, drove to office and temp needle began to move to the hot zone, almost to the end. In the evening, drove back to home, temp needle was normal.
2) Drove for the next two/three days (about 15-20km a day), no overheating.
3) One day drove for 8km, stopped for 5 min for an errand, restarted and it began to overheat (temp needle began to move to the hot zone).
4) Took to Ford dealer in town, no overheating on the way (about 15km)
5) On the way back, overheating (temp needle on the hot zone, not at end), loud whirring fan noise
6) An earlier incidence of this was in May (driving from Mumbai), but no repeat of overheating since then till now

Ford dealer says thermostat is gone, its not functioning and not supplying coolant to the engine, hence the fan comes on (makes logical sense and in line with other posts in this forum about Ford Ikon overheating).

a) Is the thermostat a mechanical part?
b) Shouldn't it display the same behavior (of overheating) at all times? Can the thermostat fail intermittently?
c) Their estimate is Rs 10K (broken down below)
d) My then (in 2005) 5 year old Esteem had the similar problem, after lot of mechanics looked at it, one of them said the pipe beneath the coolant tank was getting detached and coolant was not flowing to the engine! (which made sense bcoz driving over potholes would make the temp needle come back, maybe the pipe was making contact with the coolant tank again!) Occam's Razor . He did something for like 10 minutes (said made the coolant pipe joint more solid or something), took no money, and the problem never repeated!

Car is with me now, dealer says get it fixed on an urgent basis (i agree that this - overheating - is a problem).

Could it really be the thermostat that is malfunctioning? Or is there a simple explanation for it?

Apologize for the long post (and for starting a new thread)...

Breakup:

O RING 1 QTY Rs 92
CONNECTION 1 QTY Rs 645
SENSOR ASSY 1 QTY Rs 816
THERMO ASSY-WRT 1 QTY Rs 2837
SCREW 3 QTY Rs 120
COOLANT ARTECO 1 QTY Rs 1638
GASKET-T/STAT 1 QTY Rs 681
CONNECTION WATER OUT 1 QTY Rs 2595

Labor: 683
Parts: 9424
Total 10107

[udaydesai]

Hi there,
The service centre is taking you for a ride, your thermostat will start or stop the radiator fan. Please remember that your thermostat is a switch which senses the temperature of the engine and activates the radiator fan, to change the thermostats switch will only take max to max 1000/- rs. Please take it next service centre or do it with the help of local garage.

Uday

[oxyzen]

Thermostat is a mechanical device which opens at around 85°c and allows coolant to flow to radiator. It can fail and can sometimes get stuck intermittently. However I do not understand the requirement of "CONNECTION WATER OUT 1 QTY Rs 2595".

Ok so here is what you have to do.
1. Check the coolant level.
2. Estimate if the coolant/water ratio is correct.

Then try a different dealer.If the answer is same, you can give it a go by removing the thermostat and running the car for a few days. It will take a long time to heat up since you don't have a thermostat and probably bring your FE down by 10%. I suggest getting it done from a local workshop.

If you still face the issue, the problem is not with the thermostat. If you dont, replace the thermostat.

[honeybee]

Take it to a trusted garage, the mechanic will open the bonnet/hood with the engine running and revv the engine hard to make the temperature rise. Check if the coolant is flowing into the lines (you can check it through the bubbles/movement in the coolant tank).

Rs. 10k for a thermostat is too much.

[Catalyst_delhi]

Originally Posted by burnout_boy

2005 Ford Ikon 1.3 Flair, 59K km on it

Over the last few days, the car has picked up an intermittent overheating problem.
)...

Breakup:

O RING 1 QTY Rs 92
CONNECTION 1 QTY Rs 645
SENSOR ASSY 1 QTY Rs 816
THERMO ASSY-WRT 1 QTY Rs 2837
SCREW 3 QTY Rs 120
COOLANT ARTECO 1 QTY Rs 1638
GASKET-T/STAT 1 QTY Rs 681
CONNECTION WATER OUT 1 QTY Rs 2595

Labor: 683
Parts: 9424
Total 10107

The problem is the radiator fan resistor - 1250 rupees. Check if your fan works in slow speed and then switches to fast speed. Ford ikon is dual speed fans and check if the cap of the coolant bottle is tight.

Do not drive much in this condition , Gasket low will happen. I have fixed 5 ikons with the same issue.including mine.

Other thread with this issue:
http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/long-t...000-kms-8.html

[burnout_boy]

Originally Posted by oxyzen

Thermostat is a mechanical device which opens at around 85°c and allows coolant to flow to radiator. It can fail and can sometimes get stuck intermittently. However I do not understand the requirement of "CONNECTION WATER OUT 1 QTY Rs 2595".

Ok so here is what you have to do.
1. Check the coolant level.
2. Estimate if the coolant/water ratio is correct.

Then try a different dealer.If the answer is same, you can give it a go by removing the thermostat and running the car for a few days. It will take a long time to heat up since you don't have a thermostat and probably bring your FE down by 10%. I suggest getting it done from a local workshop.

If you still face the issue, the problem is not with the thermostat. If you dont, replace the thermostat.

1) Checked the coolant level. On a cold engine, it was kind of hard to make out the level if it was between MIN & MAX (thanks to the translucent plastic and today being a dull, drab day in Pune). So opened the cap of the coolant reservoir, and couldn't see anything inside much (normal?). Had to run a small errand (<3 km), so thought of taking the car. Later, inspecting the coolant reservoir from the outside seemed to show it in a pinkish hue to a good height within the reservoir (I ascribe it to the by now hot coolant level). The temp needle stayed in its normal range, btw.
2) How do I estimate the coolant/water ratio?
3) Should I just add more coolant to it when the engine is cold?
4) How do I take out the thermostat?

There is a general purpose garage next to our office who treats all cars. Its about 12 km away, am planning to take it there tomorrow morning and see what he says...

[oxyzen]

Originally Posted by burnout_boy

1) Checked the coolant level. On a cold engine, it was kind of hard to make out the level if it was between MIN & MAX (thanks to the translucent plastic and today being a dull, drab day in Pune). So opened the cap of the coolant reservoir, and couldn't see anything inside much (normal?). Had to run a small errand (<3 km), so thought of taking the car. Later, inspecting the coolant reservoir from the outside seemed to show it in a pinkish hue to a good height within the reservoir (I ascribe it to the by now hot coolant level). The temp needle stayed in its normal range, btw.

Looking at the coolant level from outside can sometimes be misleading. It happened with me. There is a permanent mark in the middle between the min & max level. So better open the cap and get in checked in cold conditions only.

Originally Posted by burnout_boy

2) How do I estimate the coolant/water ratio?

Difficult unless you know what pure coolant looks like. Coolant has lower heat capacity than water. But then it raises the boiling point. SO a correct ratio is desirable. (Well there is no harm even if you run with 100% coolant)

Originally Posted by burnout_boy

3) Should I just add more coolant to it when the engine is cold?

Yes that is what you should do. Top up till 80-90% level.

Originally Posted by burnout_boy

4) How do I take out the thermostat?

That is a pretty simple task. Take it to any workshop. Make it the last resort.

[honeybee]

Originally Posted by burnout_boy

2) How do I estimate the coolant/water ratio?
3) Should I just add more coolant to it when the engine is cold?
4) How do I take out the thermostat?

Don't eliminate the thermostat from the system. If it's faulty please get it replaced, but don't ever run your system without a thermostat.

If you have doubts about the coolant-water mix in your system you can add some water to the mix without too much harm. Your car's manual should describe the proper mix, and the coolant you purchase should also mention on the container if it requires mixing with water or comes premixed.

Please also check (when the engine has been switched off for at least 15-20 minutes, or in the morning before a cold start) if the radiator cap is in good shape. If the cap is damaged, replace the same.

[ramzsys]

Thermostat is a simple mechanic device, so erratic behavior of the same has to be ruled out.

Also, i am being told that a thermostat is essential for the coolant to reach the remote pockets of the head, otherwise islands of superheated areas will be there.

The usual saying: address the cause, and not the symptom.

Also, coolant ratio has nothing to do with the heating problem.

[burnout_boy]

Originally Posted by ramzsys

Thermostat is a simple mechanic device, so erratic behavior of the same has to be ruled out.

Also, i am being told that a thermostat is essential for the coolant to reach the remote pockets of the head, otherwise islands of superheated areas will be there.

The usual saying: address the cause, and not the symptom.

Also, coolant ratio has nothing to do with the heating problem.

I drove it to the local mechanic (12km) this morning and the temp needle stayed OK. Initially, the mechanic suspected the (radiator?) relay. Then he called around 4pm and said that the clutch plates are wearing out and that is causing the engine to (super) overheat and thus the fan comes on at its highest speed. He took me (and two colleagues) for a local spin and within about 5-8 minutes of local driving, the temp needle moved almost to the very hot end (it was a nice cool, windy, slightly drizzly day here today). I did not get any foul odor in the car (one of my colleagues felt he smelled something).

The car is at the mechanic for a clutch plate replacement (costing abt 4300 for the plates and 2000 for labor).

With that high temp, it was not advisable to drive the car to other garages for a second opinion, so I paid him some advance (for the plates) and I'll get the car tomorrow (i had to rush back to office for back to back meetings too). I will update once I get the car back.

[Catalyst_delhi]

Originally Posted by burnout_boy

I drove it to the local mechanic (12km) this morning and the temp needle stayed OK. Initially, the mechanic suspected the (radiator?) relay. Then he called around 4pm and said that the clutch plates are wearing out and that is causing the engine to (super) overheat and thus the fan comes on at its highest speed. He took me (and two colleagues) for a local spin and within about 5-8 minutes of local driving, the temp needle moved almost to the very hot end (it was a nice cool, windy, slightly drizzly day here today). I did not get any foul odor in the car (one of my colleagues felt he smelled something).

The car is at the mechanic for a clutch plate replacement (costing abt 4300 for the plates and 2000 for labor).

With that high temp, it was not advisable to drive the car to other garages for a second opinion, so I paid him some advance (for the plates) and I'll get the car tomorrow (i had to rush back to office for back to back meetings too). I will update once I get the car back.

I cant believe this , Did you check for overheat on idle? If the slow speed fan came on. The clutch cannot overheat the engine. the cooling system is built for slight overages. You can drive at 120 kms all day long without an overheat or do a track session for 30 mins without overheating. I am sure your mechanic is taking you for a nice ride.

[honeybee]

A clutch plate leading to engine overheating? This again is a first. Did you ask him how it could happen?

Did you notice any clutch slippage around the times the engine overheated? Any problems climbing ascents or ramps? If the clutch plate had worn out, you should have experienced some of these issues. If you didn't, your clutch is absolutely fine.