Crapi Overheating

So, I drove Grandma's Mercury Capri yesterday. After a few minutes in 98 degree weather, the temp guage was just below H. She said she never looks at that guage. So, I shut the AC off, and it kept overheating. Then I put the heat on, and it was still overheating. (Then she asked if it had a radiator)

I let it cool down, and checked everything. Plenty of antifreeze, Temp guage is accurate.

Any ideas?

I should add that I checked the fan, and it is fine, too.

Stuck thermostat, non-functioning radiator fan, clogged radiator...in that order.

Yeah, I figured it would come to actually working on it.

Interesting tidbit: My grandfather, who used to own a ford dealership, said he should have bought a Miata, today.

Cracked radiator tank might do that, and it's a common issue with plastic radiator tanks as they age.

odd that turning on the heat did not help.. I can only think of an airpocket.

You did not say what you felt on the radiator or hoses. If one is hot (usually the intake hose to the radiator) and one is cold (from radiator to engine) it is probably the thermostat

I didn't think to check the hoses. I'll check next time I see it.

Was it actually overheating...or did you just read the gauge? I know you state that the temp gauge is accurate..... What other symptoms do you have other than the gauge on H?

So, which kind of Capri are we talking about? European early model..Fox body..Aussie 1.6 2 seater?

Hmmm.. the fan is fine...which means that it comes on when the AC is on and when it gets warm with the AC off.

My first guess would be flow problem through the radiator.

Clogged radiator....stuck thermostat....bad water pump. Is the lower hose collapsing?

If my granny was driving a car with these symptoms and was over 10 years old, I would do a killer flush, thermostat, water pump and hoses anyway.

There are some other items that can lead to a lean condition which will stress a cooling system. O2 sensor, fuel filter, cloggged injectors.

I just got done with a car that came with a blown engine due to overheating. Pulled about 2 cups of sand looking goo from the radiator, thermostat had broken due to corrosion, a peek at the water pump showed the impellors were corroded to near nothing, heater core leaked and the cap was missing the rubber sealing ring. Did I mention that the cooling fan was "artistically rewired" to run backwards!! While I am sure he thought it was a "grassroots" repair, I don't thing he used the roots.

We in Texas take our cooling system seriously.

Bruce

If you want to pressure test the system, AutoZone loans out the tool.

All I know is when my car was overheating the mechanic felt that the lower hose was cool and the top hose hot, meaning the radiator was clogged. He flushed it twice and now I don't need to look for a custom radiator for a couple years.

Good luck!