2002 Lincoln LS overheating

The cooling fan on the LS-V8 is hydraulic yes. But it also has a pressure switch on the pump that drives the fan. It is controlled by the temperature sensor. All these things must be taken into account. But the whining sound my lead me to believe that the pump is either low on fluid or is wearing out. The fluid the fan pump uses is the same as the power steering pump container so check it first. The same thing happened to my wife's Lincoln. I replaced the fan as well because everybody told me to do that but it didn't work. I found out that the fan is just a hydraulic motor in reverse it only spins as fast as the pump makes it spin and that is controlled by the temp. sensors. When the engine get's hotter the pressure goes up and the fan spins faster. This adds more power to the engine when it's running cooler because the fan doesn't have to spin at max speed. So good luck. I hope this has solved your problem.

From what you have said it almost sounds like a bad drive belt, drivebelt tensioner or water pump problem, here are some check's that might help,

1. Check the coolant in the reservoir tank, it should be at the proper full level.
2. Sometimes when you change a thermostat there's a possibility you could get air in your coolant lines from having the coolant system opened up, this could keep your coolant from circulating through your system properly, if so you would need to bleed the air out of the coolant system.
3. The water pump should be inspected for leaking coolant out of the weep hole's, when a water pump go'es bad it may leak coolant, which would mean the seals on the pump are bad, also listen for squealing noise's coming from the pump when the car is started, if it squeals the bearings are bad, there is also a possibility the water pump fins are wore down from corrosion, there is no way to inspect this without removing the pump.
4. check the drive belt for wear and tension, a bad tensioner or a bad drive belt could have an effect on the operation of the water pump.
5. check the pressure cap on the coolant reservoir tank for good pressure, when you remove the cap you should hear a hissing sound this means you have good pressure in your cooling system, check for corrosion build up on the cap, clean the cap if necessary.
6. check the coolant in the reservoir tank, it should be clean, if it's not clean you might need to have the cooling system flushed, duirng the flush you will be able to tell if there's a good flow through your cooling system.
7. check the large upper and lower radiator hose's for cracks, swelling, and proper coolant flow.
8. Check the operation of the cooling Fan, and circuit, cooling fans use relays and fuses, some vehicles use more than one cooling fan, if your vehicle has two cooling fans there should be two relays and two fuses one for each fan, first visually inspect the fuses if one or both are bad replace them, you can test the relay or relays for continuity by removing them and doing a proper continuity test according to your relay's circuit diagram.
9. Check the coolant temperature sensor, most coolant temperature sensor's are located directly in the thermostat housing, this send's information to your pcm which use's that information to determine when to turn your cooling fan on and off, if it's defective replace it.
10. Inspect the radiator grill for any debris build up or damage

Your dealer is incompetent. The radiator cooling fan from 2000-2002 is not electric, it is powered by a hydraulic motor which is connected to a hydraulic pump on the engine which in turn is driven by the engine accessory drive belt. Most likely the pump or pump actuator has failed.

I had the same problem but fixed it 6 months ago finally by replacing the power steering pump! The power steering pump must be strong enough to push the power steering fluid through the hydraulic pump that power the fan that cools down the car while the car is sitting still. Be sure to check the power steering fluid often because it burns out about every six months because it is being used by 2 systems! (the power steering system and the hydraulic fan system! This should definitely fix your problem. The whinning you are hearing from the engine is the power steering pump is dry and out of power steering fluid! This could damage the power steering pump! So first just add power steering fluid and if it continues to run hot then your power steering pump is already damaged and need replacing! It amazed me that something this simple and all these mechanics couldnt figure it out! They suck!