Hi guys,

For a few weeks my xr6 has been running quite hot, enough to make it hit thermos after a small drive, generally find that when cruising it sits on the 'm' mark but as soon as it is pulled up and turned off the temp creeps up.

Last night I replaced the pulley wheels (bearing were worn) water pump, thermostat and had my radiator professionally cleaned (said it was 50% blocked) however I am still suffering from this heating issue.

What is next for me to do?

The car now owes me 3k more than I paid for it, so I am at a cross road if I sell it or go big on it.

Windscreen, oil pump, auxilary shaft, dizzy, battery, leads, plugs, there isn't much that hasn't been replaced including having an exeedy hd clutch put in

Just hoping it isn't the head, but if it is what are my options?

Thanks guys

Did you drill a small hole in the t'stat before fitting ????.....this helps with bleeding air out of the system as well as helping stop 'heat shock' at the radiator.

Thanks for the quick reply,

I didn't drill a hole into the thermostat yet as it already had a pre drilled hole in it from bursons.

Does it need to be bigger does it?

No....just a small hole, 2.5mm to 3.0mm is plenty.

It was a TSB from Ford about 15 years ago.

Only other thing I can think off is there may be an air lock in the engine?

is there a bleeder screw or something to be undone?

or is there another method to this?

is it losing water/coolant?

None from what I can see!

all hoses have been checked and made sure are tight - radiator is perfect and recently cleaned out.

oil was dropped out and replaced along with new filter, no milkyness to the oil, oil was the colour it should be - done last week.

Sorry.. but from what i see.. its normal, and fine. The L on the EL temp guage is roughly 82ºc, (by cluster in diagnostic mode) so if you put a 92 degree thermostat in, sitting on the 'M' as you said is about right for 92ºc.

As for being turned off and the temp slowly rising. They all do this (only rise about 5ºc or so, but seems like alot on the guage). Its from the water in the block being heated due to no more flow from water pump (engine stopped). When you restart it, it should drop back to normal temp. Or under depending how long it was sitting, for the water in the radiator to cool.

As for thermos. In EL they come on low speed at 79.5ºc and stay on low if doing less than 20km/h then go into high and i dunno? 98ºc or so? My car has never got that hot to find out.

Im sorry but i fail to see a issue here..

Check that all hose clamps are tight.Good idea to replace header tank cap with new one as a worn header tank cap seal will cause motor to run hotter than usual(around $10).Make sure the air conditioner condensor(small radiator looking thing in front of radiator)is clean/not obstructing airflow through radiator.Also,if your radiator was 50% blocked,this is a good indication that water passages in engine block/head may also be blocked with sludge/corrosion.May be a good idea to have engine block flushed out as well.
To bleed air from cooling system in EF /EL 6 cylinders,the following procedure should be used,as stated in factory workshop manual.Do this with a cold motor only.
1.Fill coolant to min/add mark on header tank.Do not fit cap,or turn cap to first click only.Do not fully lock cap.
2.Turn heater control to hot position(32 degrees if climate control fitted).
3.Start engine and run at 2000rpm for 10 minutes to open thermostat and bleed air from cooling system.
4.Switch off engine and top up coolant to full/max mark on header tank.
5.Replace header tank cap.

Same issue happened to me.
EL Fairmont 6.

Ran hot for a couple of weeks.
Couldn't see a leak.
Used a tad of coolant. Every few days. A liter or so - then got worse...
Thought it was the head... Although had no gooey oil or what not.
Had a lil white smoke from the exhaust upon startup - which turned out to be LPG vapor. phew.

2 weeks later, radiator split.

Go to the wreckers - get a 2nd hand radiator. $80. Costs that much if not more just to flush the old one or repair it at a shop... A 2nd hand radiator would have been flushed already - and simply sat on a shelf for a while. Guaranteed to have no leaks.
Or buy a brand new one - not a cheap chinese thing - for around $150. Then you know it's not the radiator.


But first, buy a whole new thermostat from another shop for $20 or less.
Coulda got a bad batch, or simply the wrong one. See below.

Don't worry about drilling things, putting holes in the stat or what not - Just go to supercheap and pick up a brand new one. The correct one already has this hole.
When you install the thermostat - make sure the hole is facing 'up' .

(Genuine ford parts are better yet again).

Thermostat part numbers:
The TT1-195 is for vehicles factory fitted without a bypass (A series and E series with gas)
The TT228-195 is for vehicles factory fitted with a bypass (E series without gas)
- There were rumors a while back that the tridon thermostats above, do not work as good as a genuine ford part, as the tridon parts were slightly thinner or something. Unsure if true or not.


P.s. After the new 2nd hand radiator was installed, my car now sits on the L of normal.
Thrash it a little, and it goes to the bottom of A.

N
O
R
M
A
L ----------- sits here all day. Nice n cool


No issues. Bled, no airlock, and so on.
Anyone telling you that the car sits on the M,R,or O has obviously got a blocked radiator or coolant flow issue.

I've done 1000km's or more now with the new radiator , mainly freeway and light suburbia - car runs as good as new - has never reached M.

If it turns out to be your head (coz you cooked the engine due to lack of waterflow from a bodge radiator or what not) your best bet is to head down to the local wreckers and put a whole new fresh 2nd hand engine in.

$300 for engine + $500 to get them to install it - roughly.

Or get the head done for the original engine - $1200 or similar ~

Personally, if i found a 2nd hand engine which was the same, with less km's on the clock, i'd be putting that in...

However, you'd be due for a head gasket replacement on that engine also - eventually.
Unless this new 2nd hand engine has already had the 1st gasket replaced... Which gives you 200,000 or so more k's before needing a new one due to age.

In my ED and then more recently the EF I ended up solving all fluctuating temp issues by fitting a new radiator. Had the originals in both vehicles flushed and whole cooling system PROFESSIONALLY checked - without fixing the issue - new radiators - problem GONE...