My car just started overheating but not smoking and the check eng

Does it have an electric fan? They can stop working. don-ohio

run the fault codes
it appears to be in limp mode

To find coolant leaks use a radiator pressure tester as leaks sometimes appear to be from a point but in fact are from somewhere else. As to the smoke check the condition of the drive belt and the tension of the belt.

water leak from a hose or radiator. Hopefully not the headgasket

Notorious for intake leaks, the composite plastic intakes crack and leak coolant-as to the lack of power, you mght have overheated it and done some damage to the engine. There was a recall (information below) for the 4.6 for the intake-the overheating and lack of power means you should at least have compression checked and go from there-you may have bad head gaskets or worse. Do a compression test before you do anything else.

Ford Motor Company will extend the recall (01M02) on 4.6L V8 equipped vehicles with plastic intake manifolds. Some of the composite intake manifolds used on 4.6L SOHC engines may develop fatigue cracks at the coolant crossover duct. This condition could result in engine coolant leakage which, if not serviced, may cause engine overheating. Complete loss of coolant may result in engine damage or engine failure.
The updated recall now includes:
• Certain 1996 through 2001 Model Year Crown Victoria Police Interceptor
• Certain 1998 through 2001 Model Year Crown Victoria with Taxi
• Certain 1998 through 2001 Lincoln Town Car Limousine and Livery Prep Package
• Certain 1996-2001 Crown Victoria Taxis, Police cars and Lincoln Town Car Limousine and Livery cars.
• Certain 1996 through 1997 Crown Victoria Police Interceptor Vehicles with 4.6L SOHC engines built at the St. Thomas Assembly Plant from the beginning of production for the 1996 Model Year through January 28, 1997.
• Certain 1998 through 2001 Crown Victoria Police Interceptor Vehicles with 4.6L SOHC engines built at the St. Thomas Assembly Plant from November 22, 1997 through December 15, 2000.
• Certain 1998 through 2001 Crown Victoria Taxi Vehicles with 4.6L SOHC engines built at the St. Thomas Assembly Plant from November 22, 1997 through December 15, 2000.
• Certain 1998 through 2001 Lincoln Town Car Limousine Prep Package and Livery Vehicles with 4.6L SOHC engines built at the Wixom Assembly Plant from November 22, 1997 through December 15, 2000.

Engine size? Leaking what? what color smoke and from where?

my 2000 ls did the same the same thing and i turned out that i had a coil pack go out

Hello, kuani_tillma and thank you for asking your question on Fixya!

Here is a simple process that will walk you through a few steps that will pinpoint the overheating problem on your 2001 Lincoln LS, without even using any tools. It has helped millions of people, and I am certain that it will help you, because I wrote it for people in your exact situation.
How to diagnose your overheating 2001 Lincoln LS

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Thanks for the vote, and good luck!

That sound to me like coolant bleedind related problem, take a look here.. the procedure. http://townhall-talk.edmunds.com/direct/view/.f1168da/34

Check the COP(coil on plugs) boots. The 2000 and 2001 LS are known for oil soaked cop boots. The valve cover gaskets used on these years become brittle and crack which lets motor oil seep into the spark plug wells. The wells fill up with oil which soaks the boots that connect the spark plug with the coil causing the spark to jump before it gets to the plug.If not fixed it can cause the coil to short out.
I had the same starting problem on my 2001 LS. Then I noticed smoke comming from behind the right side valve cover. Then a few weeks later the engine started to miss. It's a good idea to check this and fix it early.