02 Hydraulic cooling fan

[Leroy]

Re: 02 Hydraulic cooling fan

If the engine is ruined there might be a chance you could find a used engine from a newer wrecked TBird locally and hire a independant garage to swap engines. Then sell it or if you're happy with it keep it. The newer engines have more H.P too. Leroy

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[DavidA]

Re: 02 Hydraulic cooling fan

I doubt the engine is ruined. It is designed to go into limp mode when overheated to avoid just such an occurance. Mine overheated on our trip to Desert Thunder II and no damage occurred. It was "burped" and all was fine for about a year. Then it overheated again, and the thermostat was replaced. It's is still going strong with 96000 miles.

[steve]

Re: 02 Hydraulic cooling fan

Hey everyone,
Thanks for all the great feedback! The one thing that threw me for a loop was when Dawn Caplan the Service advisor at Camelback said the engine Hydrolocked! That means specifically the cylinder had coolant in it and wouldn't compress locking the engine. That generally damages connecting rods, etc. Why would they have released the car to be driven if that had in fact happened? I called her after all this for clarification and she told me they tested the coolant and they found hydrocarbons in it. I have since learned there was a TSB from Ford on the cooling fan that was issued before this car left the assembly line sent to all dealers to watch for these Hydraulic fans. When the car was first brought to them for overheating they drove it 100 miles and said they couldn't duplicate the problem. 200 miles later it was back for this last round of repairs. I have since had a compression test done and all is well on the compression side of the engine. The oil is clean and not contaminated. The coolant level is staying steady and there isn't anymore coolant dripping so it must have been residual from the repair in the engine bay leaking out. It behaves like there is an air bubble in the cooling system as the engine temp will be fine for hours and then randomly move up past normal towards hot. The last time it did this I popped it into neutral, picked up the RPM's a bit, and I could see the temp gauge immediately ratchet down to normal as if air was passing across the Temp Sensor. I am following this direction at present and I will let you all know what I learn. Bottom line is for coolant to be in the cylinder then compression would be lost into the engine water jacket and I did't see a compression leak from the compression test.

[DavidA]

Re: 02 Hydraulic cooling fan

I had an overheat problem on our trip to Desert Thunder II in Vegas. The local dealer in nowhereland tested the car and finally "burped" it, getting the airpocket out. It happenes when you change or add coolent and don't get all the air out.

It happened again a year or so ago and, like Spense, I changed the thermostat. Been fine since. BURP that baby and you should be ok.

BTW, after my burp, they added ove a quart of coolent, so you can see it is a huge air pocket that builds up.

[billm]

Re: 02 Hydraulic cooling fan

I had a car to suddenly overheat while visiting the Grand Canyon, then with the A/C turned off, car shifted into neutral, and engine revved up, the temp gauge would return to normal within a couple of minutes. I took it to the Dealer in Nowhere-land in Arizona, and the mechanics couldn't even find the thermostat! I said thanks, but no thanks, and kept an eye on the needle until I arrived in Springdale, Ark. to visit, and took the car into the Dealer there. Within 30 minutes, the thermostat was replaced, and the problem was cured.

[Underdog]

Re: 02 Hydraulic cooling fan

reading between the lines, looks like the a/c was never at fault. i would suspect the faulty fan was the original culprit and kept the a/c from working properly.

its sad how the dollars add up so quickly.

[HeelBird]

Re: 02 Hydraulic cooling fan

I recall from the days before the '02's were released for sale that one of the problems was the hydraulic fan.....Ford delayed the project to get it corrected, reasoning that they were about to start selling an iconic nameplate which had generated quite a bit of hype, so they wanted the quality to be there, rather than have to immediately start recalling the cars.

Random recollection, too, of a problem found with the saddlebag design of the fuel tank......seem to recall that there is a motor that moves the gasoline from one side to the other....some of those pumps were giving problems, which also caused a delay in the project.

[MerlotBlue]

Re: 02 Hydraulic cooling fan

I doubt the engine is ruined. It is designed to go into limp mode when overheated to avoid just such an occurrence. Mine overheated on our trip to Desert Thunder II and no damage occurred. It was "burped" and all was fine for about a year. Then it overheated again, and the thermostat was replaced. It's is still going strong with 96000 miles.

I agree. That seems really likely.

Based on how this whole thing went down and the chain of events.

WOW!!! Second opinion time for sure!!

When it over-heats the computer will start shutting down cylinders. If how-ever your car seems to drive well BEFORE it over-heats then goes into the toilet (call me crazy for diagnosing a car I've never seen) it's VERY HARD to imagine you have a mechanical issue beyond those colling system parts GOBIRD talks about.

A truly "blown engine" isn't gonna run well........EVER!

Drive it "gently"? ........... Let me be BLUNT!!!........

Screw that advice. Unless you are CERTAIN this engine is toast........I'd allow it to cool down completely then I'd take it for a very "spirited" short sprint. If the car shows it's "expected" performance while still cool to cold you have a computer shutting things down when your cooling system fails to do the job.

If this is the case you need a new mechanic at a new shop and you have an obligation to inform people at Ford and in your community of the blatant raping and poor advice you got at this dealer.

Even if your engine is truly gone this is the most despicable case of either gross incompetence at best or it's just blatant theft.

Who misses such a diagnosis, a blown engine, and does all the work done on your car without telling you first?

Again I come up with either a THIEF or a MORON!! This dealership service department falls into one category or other, IMO, from what you've written.

[David M 7173]

Re: 02 Hydraulic cooling fan

I would go to Ford customer service. They will proably get involved and you may get some of your money back.
David

[rpatton3]

Re: 02 Hydraulic cooling fan

Keep us posted. You've got a great "support group."

[SixPac]

Re: 02 Hydraulic cooling fan

This member just disappeared after posting his problems with his Tbird. I wonder if he was able to fix it or junk it.

[BUCK ROGERS]

Re: 02 Hydraulic cooling fan

Good question = Burp may have been all it needed... Another good question I'd still love to know the answer to is WHY in Hell Ford ever put Hydraulic Cooling Fan on the previous LS's & the 02 Bird to begin with ____? - I mean if they had plumbed it up where the Hyd Pump for Cooling Fan ran the Convertible Top Hydraulics when needed you could almost understand it but that aint the case so WHY not use the established tried & true Electric Fans that had been reliably & economically in place for years in many other Models ?? - It certainly was NOT a better idea.

[Underdog]

Re: 02 Hydraulic cooling fan

Buck, 2003 and up have an electric fan. So I guess they did learn, and they corrected it.

The irritatating thing is misdiagnosis on a/c systems. if your fan doesn't work, the a/c won't work. i've had this happen twice over the years, one of them being my 03 thunderbird. I usually do maintinance myself. Here's my story:

AC blowing hot. Couldn't find the refill port so I said oh well, I'll let the dealer fill it. Dropped it off. Was told "leaking all over the place, everything needed changed". I declined and took it home.

My telltale sign came when I opened the hood while engine running and a/c on. The electric fan was not running. Replaced the fan and everything works fine. Without the fan working, the condensor will expand and spew out out refrigerant. In both cases, no a/c components needed replacing. I guess it cooled down and contracted, sealing it back up.

[BUCK ROGERS]

Re: 02 Hydraulic cooling fan

I agree... That's basically Maintenance Fraud.

[MATBird]

Re: 02 Hydraulic cooling fan

Buck, 2003 and up have an electric fan. So I guess they did learn, and they corrected it.

The irritatating thing is misdiagnosis on a/c systems. if your fan doesn't work, the a/c won't work. i've had this happen twice over the years, one of them being my 03 thunderbird. I usually do maintinance myself. Here's my story:

AC blowing hot. Couldn't find the refill port so I said oh well, I'll let the dealer fill it. Dropped it off. Was told "leaking all over the place, everything needed changed". I declined and took it home.

My telltale sign came when I opened the hood while engine running and a/c on. The electric fan was not running. Replaced the fan and everything works fine. Without the fan working, the condensor will expand and spew out out refrigerant. In both cases, no a/c components needed replacing. I guess it cooled down and contracted, sealing it back up.

If you had that in writing, it should be sent to Ford Customer Service