Questions and Answers
Ford Taurus Losses It's Cool
Q. Fell asleep with the car and A/C running for approximately 1-½ hours and awoke to a very hot car and steam coming from under hood. It was almost pegged on the temperature gauge so I just turned it off and finished my nap then woke up and started for home.
I made it about 15 miles before I had to pull over and let it cool off and added water. It runs at the extreme normal temperature area. However now if I start it for a couple of minutes it boils over in the recovery tank. I have yet to find any water in the oil but I keep losing fluid. However there is water in the recovery tank.
1990 Ford Taurus
3.8 liter 6 cylinder
Automatic transmission
Over 100,000 miles
Fuel injection
A/CA. I'm going to forego the lecture on falling asleep in a car with the engine running. It's just not a safe thing to do. People die doing that.
The first two things I would check is to make sure the cooling fans are operating properly. The second is to make sure there is enough coolant in the engine. If it is too low, it will not draw from the reserve tank. With a cold engine, remove the radiator cap and make sure the coolant level is right up to the top. There is no need to bleed the air out of this system so you don't have to worry about that.
If it still overheats, then I would replace the thermostat, in fact, you may want to do that before topping off the coolant.
If all this fails, then I'm afraid you probably blew a head gasket. This engine was prone to doing that. With the additional stress of over heating, it becomes more likely.
If this is the case, you should get a Head Gasket and Bolt Kit, P/N F5PZ-6051-AA from Ford when you go to replace it. The revised head gaskets and bolts provide improved sealing capability and higher clamping force between the cylinder head and block. This kit will do one side, so if you replace both (recommended) get two kits.
Additional Information provided courtesy of ALLDATA
