93 CX, cooling problem?

[R.I.D.E.]

Generally speaking oil pumps never fail.

Does your indicator light go out when you start the engine (oil pressure indicator lamp)?

Take off the oil filler cap and see if there is oil flowing inside the valve cover.

If you have a cheap oil filter that does not have a check valve the oil will drain out of it when your engine is shut off. Most filters have check valves which is a rubber ring that allows the oil to only flow into the engine.

You can also slightly loosen the filter and start the engine but you will probably get a lot of oil leaking past the seal with the filter slightly loose.


If you have bled the cooling system then you should fill the recovery bottle to the lower cold mark and the coolant level in the recovery bottle should rise as the engine heats up.

It takes a little time for all the air to get out when bleeding the cooling system.

Does the top radiator hose get hot?

Do you see coolant flowing through the radiator with the cap off?

Does the temperature guage move at all?

If so how far in the range of the guage?

regards
gary

[tucsonron]

Originally Posted by R.I.D.E.

Generally speaking oil pumps never fail.

This is a great relief. I was thinking that if the oil pump failed I would know about it pretty fast. And if the oil pump failed WHILE there was a cooling problem, I would expect the engine to seize in a minute or two.

Originally Posted by R.I.D.E.

Does your indicator light go out when you start the engine (oil pressure indicator lamp)?

Yes, the behavior is totally normal. I still want to put an oil pressure gauge in somewhere. The "idiot light" is only one (literal) bit of information.

I will do your oil checks tomorrow (Thanks for the advice, again. It is really helping).

Originally Posted by R.I.D.E.

Does the top radiator hose get hot?

Yes, as does the lower, but only after the thermostat opens.

Originally Posted by R.I.D.E.

Do you see coolant flowing through the radiator with the cap off?

The water level rises and falls slightly. When I rev the engine, it surges up somewhat, but really, the water in the radiator more or less sits still. The only movement is when I squeeze a hose.

Originally Posted by R.I.D.E.

Does the temperature guage move at all?

If so how far in the range of the gauge?

The temperature gauge climbs to about the halfway point, but never goes higher (This is why I suspect the CTSU, I am not sure if steam would send the CTSU through the roof, or make it steady.) It rises to a little under "halfway", and then sits there, never getting higher no matter how hot the engine gets.

You've been a big help. Thanks so much!

[theholycow]

Originally Posted by R.I.D.E.

Generally speaking oil pumps never fail.

Generally. But, when the oil pressure gauge on a 1997 Ford started acting really weird, fluttering so fast it was a blur, I assumed it had to be something wrong with the gauge, as there was no way oil pressure could actually do that. I was wrong.

[R.I.D.E.]

HC, possible clogged pickup screen on the Ford. Choking off the supply to the pump can do some crazy things.

tucsonron, when the engine is idling the heat generated is very small and the thermostat is mostly closed, so much less coolant flow at idle is normal. The level rising and falling as you rev the engine up is a good indication that you still have an air pocket in the engine and your bleeding operation is not finished.

This is because as you rev the engine the water pump is trying to push the coolant through the engine against the restriction of the thermostat. If the level is rising and falling then the pressure from the pump is compressing the air pocket.

That is the most likely explanation for you rising and falling coolant level, as well as your overheating, without an indication from the guage. The temp sensor is where the air pocket still remains and the thermostat probably is also. Both require liquid passing through or by them to work properly.

You have to focus on this alone, forget the rest of any analysis until you have confirmed this is working right.

Bleed the cooling system again and make sure you have all the air out.

The only way to make sure is to follow my previous advice on observing the recovery bottle. If the air pocket is eliminated and you have cooling system integrity (no leaks or air pockets) then the coolant level in the recovery bottle will rise to the hot mark when the engine warms up.

Most important is it will drop to the cold mark when the engine cools off after it was warm. If this doesn't happen you still have an air pocket, without ANY doubt.

If the level in the recovery bottle is not going up (hot) and dropping down (cold after hot) then you haven't got the air pocket completely removed.

Get that working properly or any other symptoms may be because you still have the air pocket.

What I havent't heard is how the air pocket got there in the first place, but lets focus on one thing for right now.

GET THE RECOVERY BOTTLE LEVEL RISING AND LOWERING WHEN THE ENGINE IS HOT AND COLD OR YOU WILL NEVER GET IT FIXED.

The caps are for emphasis.

regards
gary

[tucsonron]

I can't get it so that the coolant level rises and falls in the recovery bottle. I have bled and bled it. I get the engine hotter than hell... (on the plus side, the temp gauge does seem to be working now). I bleed it and bleed it, nothing ever really changes. I don't know what it is supposed to look like when it's "right", or when it's "wrong". It always looks more or less the same. It sputters a little bit from time to time, and then a nice clean stream of coolant shoots out.

I think I am just going to check the valves and see if that clears up the chattering.