festiva overheating after 15 miles

[mrstan]

Hi Guys!
My Festiva is overheating after only 15 miles. The temp slowly gets higher. and I have to stop before it gets to the Red. I swapped the thermostat to no avail, and I noticed the water surged out in cold state when I opened the radiator cap. I did not test the lower radiator hose when warm to see if it was hot, but I know it has a new thermostat now.
Any ideas out there? There is no bad sounds except maybe a lifter chattering a little.. I do not believe it is a pump, but tell me what you think? The water when it is too hot runs out of the overflow canister and steams a little. After it cools off, it will run fine for about 15 miles. My first thoughts are that there is a plugged up something or other. The system does not have any sludge that I can detect in it. There is no oil in the water or water in the oil...
help Guys!
Stan :?:

[packrat427]

Ok we should problably start here

http://www.fordfestiva.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=3590

But there will be others to chime in , but I am going to go with a head gasket

[Guest]

^^ I agree

[freshtiva]

If you start the car while its cold with the rad cap off and its blowing coolant out the rad you may have a cracked head or block. More likely a cracked or warped head.

[mechanicaldj]

when you do the head gasket,

send the cylinder head to a good machine shop and have it thoroughly checked out or you may need to do it again later

[mechanicaldj]

Sorry guys! I thought I put that stuff in the post.
It is a 92 festiva with 116000 miles. No modifications. with AC. It is manual and I believe it is L.. not sure exactly though.

If it is a head gasket, why is it overheating? Is it the compression going into the water? I do not see any white smoke or anything.

If it is the head gasket, is it toast then? How difficult is the head gasket to swap out? Any tricks that you can advise me on? Maybe a patch to get it to a dealer to trade in...
Thanks in advance... :roll:

[freshtiva]

If there is a crack in the head it could be just a hairline crack that would allow compression to leak into the cooling system but too small to allow an exchange of fluids. Oil into the coolant or coolant into the oil. Sounds like you have a good low mileage festiva don't give up on it. May just need some head work to get an other 100,000 miles out of it. Someone here may have a good head for sale, if not a mach shop could rebuild yours. It will cost a lot less than car payments, and you'd be saving a festiva.

[Pgh5spd]

It could just be a cooling system that is in serious need of flushing. My '93 was like that when I got it with ~80K mi. Flushed it twice with flush, each time doing the wash repeatedly until the water came back out nearly clear, and haven't had any problems since, in ~20K mi.

[SusanVette]

Cracked head?

Okay guys bear with me. My 1990 Festiva L with 106k miles (man I love this car) has oil in the overflow tank. I guess my radiator died and I didn't realize it. Thanks to your help, I was able to find a new radiator, but mechanic said I need to try and find a head online. Now he hasn't pulled anything but he is guessing I guess with the oil in the overflow, that is my problem. A dealership here in ORlando said about $1,000 if it is the head to fix it. When I replaced my fuel pump TWICE in a week, she seemed fine for starting but still has the oil in overflow. I started her today and small amount of white smoke coming out back, but ALOT of smoke under hood kinda scared me, but wonder if I HAD run in for 20 minutes maybe the smoke was from this oil leak? I don't know, I just drive her. Any advice from you would be appreciated SO much. I just can't let her go. It's the best car I have ever had. Now I did let her SIT without starting for 9 months while I was caring for sick relative if that helps diagnose at all. THANKS!
Susan

[25Horseplay]

Sounds like a headgasket, you might not need a new head but will more then likely need to have it surfaced. Have the head pressure tested for any cracks first.

[packrat427]

^^ I agree , It sounds like the gasket just decided to deteriorate while it was sitting , hopefully it will not need a head .
Some mechanics just assume the head is the problem , when it is a problem like you describe .
Leaving a car to sit for a long time can do it no good .
(BTW) long time no hear from

[SusanVette]

thanks

well thank you for your input, I appreciate it. Local Ford dealer called back and said I have a Cast iron head while some nice person on here who has a stock 1990 said it is aluminum. I will call my local mechanic and get his two cents worth. I hope it's just a gasket. Sister said it's critical for me to know of its aluminum or not to ship it to Orlando from her Oklahoma City. Thanks again.



P.S. Sorry I've been away so long, I was gone taking care of my nephew who was in a very bad auto accident that has left him a quadriplegic at the age of 22. It is so sad. Missed you all, will try and post more often.

[25Horseplay]

Man, I am sorry to hear about your nephew, I'll say a quick prayer for him.

[packrat427]

I hope the best for you Susan , I hope you can get it repaired reasonable ,with out getting gouged.
That is too bad about your Nephew , I hope and pray the best for him ,That has to be tough @ 22 years old .
I am sure it has taken alot for you to be there to take care of him , I wish you the best .

[miami man]

i have a 1978 chevy pickup that smoked alot after sitting for about a month because of gas prices but after awhile it cleared itself out. my 1993 gl has a valve cover leak and smokes a little in the morning but clears itself out. all of my smoke is from external oil leaks. ask around the forum about maybe an aspire engine swap.