Bloated Radiator Hose, Cool Bottom hose, Over heating problem!?

Question

I have a 97 V-6 3.8L mustang, and i have been having overheating problems. i changed the thermostat and it still didnt fix the problem. after changing the thermostat, my car still gets hot VERY QUICK. my upper radiator hose gets bloated and extremely hot, while my bottom hose stays fairly cool. my hoses running to my heater core also get bloated. i have flushed the engine myself, and my radiator. where should i start? i dont know if i have a blown head gasket, but i do not have oil in my coolant (i know it doesnt always happen that way). My car will only be running maybe 5 minutes, and its running very hot and my top hose is bloated like crazy. what do???

Answer 1

Put your hand on the fins of radiator. It should be hot all the way across top to bottom. If it hot on one side a lot cooler on the other replace the radiator. These radiators are usually good for 10 years anyway Unless you flush the cooling system out every 30000 miles. Most people don't. They only fix it when its broke. The radiator is probably stopped up. Replace radiator, flush cooling system, add 50-70% mixture of long life green coolant.

Answer 2

If the lower hose is cool then there is no water flowing through the radiator for some reason. Try removing the thermostat completely and see if the water starts flowing. I've had bad ones out of the box more than once. If the heater hoses are getting hot then the water pump is probably OK. If removing the thermostat doesn't help then the radiator is probably plugged up. Radiator is not likely repairable if it is that stopped up so you'd have to replace it. All in all though, I'd suspect the replacement thermostat is bad.

Answer 3

Try bleeding the air out,more than likely when you changed out the thermostat it got air in the system. If you look close on the intake near the thermostat housing there will be a bleeder valve that takes a 10M wrench to fit it. Start the engine ,make sure the radiator is full,once it gets warm or hot just turn the bleeder valve slowly and watch it and be careful not to get burned,leave it open until water starts to flow a steady stream and not shooting out with air mixture in it. Also keep an eye out on the coolant level in the rad. once it is flowing steady thjen tighten the bleederand top off the coolant and the temp. should go down. If this doesnt do it for ya then you will need to replace the water pump. I hope this helps ya out let me know please,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

Answer 4

when the engine is hot, shut it down and feel the fins on the radiator next to the fan, but watch the fan ! if you feel any cold spots then the radiator is clogged in some spots ! try back flushing the radiator ! better yet flush the whole cooling system ! by the bottom hose cold it sounds like the radiator is still clogged in some spots or the water pump is bad !

Answer 5

sounds like a restriction in your cooling system. After you car runs till warm turn off the engine and feel the radiator core to see if there are any cool spots on the core. If the core is cooler in spots the coolant is not flowing through that area. make sure you have the radiator car tested. One lb of pressure increases your boiling point by 3 degees so a 15 lb car raises your boiling point by 45 degrees.Good luck

Answer 6

Sounds like a restriction on the lower hose or close to it. The coolant would super cool but the upper hose would be very hot when it leaves The block.

Answer 7

You changed the thermostat (that was a waste) and any flushing you do just adds to the waste.

You sound mechanically inclined so remove your radiator yourself and save some bucks. Take the radiatior to a RADIATOR SHOP and have them clean it. Your radiator is plugged severely and must be taken apart and cleaned. You can do nothing, flushing is a total waste of time by any means.

Answer 8

Simple and this works 100% of the time. You have the car towed, DO NOT DRIVE THIS CAR ONE INCH, to a repair shop and allow a mechanic to trouble shoo the issue. It is possible that severe damage has been done already and that the oil is compromised and not longer a proper lubricant. DO NOT TURN THIS ENGINE ON FOR ONE SECOND. If you are lucky the motor is fine. If not, you are looking at replacement engine. Very expensive and probably worth more than the car. Thermostats DO NOT CAUSE AN OVER HEAT condition. The never have and never shall.

Answer 9

Could be the water pump might not be moving the coolant...bad impeller ?, rusted away? blockage ? and I also remember Ford had a lot of head gasket problems with this engine...they even did a recall for a while on certain vehicles.

Answer 10

Take it to a master mechanic before you blow out the head gaskets!