Engine light came on, said low engine power, spitted and sputtered for about 5 minutes, then stopped. Codes read: low engine coolant, slipped belt or heat temperature sensor needs replacing. The car is running fine, no more spitting and sputtering. Could it have been an air bubble? Mechanic said we need a new engine??????? Wouldn't the car be running rough if the engine had a cracked head?? The light is still on, does it need to be reset?
Previous to 2000 Ford had a cylinder head gasket problem with some of the v6 engines failing at two cylinders at opposite corners of engine (don't know what engineyou have) They supposedly corrected that, but I'm not sure how well the correction worked. I doubt if the cylinder head is cracked but if some amount of compression is getting into cooling system it's possible that it may give you strange sensor readings. When testing, it's also possible that some air escaped and returned everything to "normal" ('till it builds up again).
At this point, I would get a second opinion on this. As well as a comprehensive computer scan, have someone do a radiator hydrocarbon test...that will reveal any compression in cooling system from gasket or any other source. (Don't mention that it was checked before, just say what originally happened so objective testing will be done.)
A motor with a cracked head will run fine for a while,here is what you need to check,pull the radiator cap,does the coolant have an odor like exhaust or unburnt fuel,is the level low,is there oil in the coolant or white frothy film on the underside of the cap and in the radiator?Pull the oil fill cap and look for a white frothy film on the underside of the cap.Start the car and look at the exhaust,is it really white like steam?While the car is running does the temperature get really hot quickly and then drop.These are all indicators of a cracked head or bad head gasket.Did the mechanic perform a compression test or a leakdown test?If all your fluids look good,I would reccomend taking it to a reputable shop and have a leakdown test performed,a good shop will give you a printout of the results and an explanation as to what they mean and they will be able to reset the light for you.Hope this helps.
Look for bubbles in the coolant recovery tank/surge tank, also check and monitor the coolant level, if it goes low and no leaks are observed then u may have a problem, and yes most times the engine will run poorly if it has a cracked head, but a blown head gasket is much more likely than a crack in the head, cast iron heads crack, aluminum heads seldom do.
I would be temtet to thing the thermotat was slow to
open.
if they was cracked there woudl been white smoke
smeling like prestone
have your light reset in case the prob.come back
I have a 2000 lincoln ls it runs great when we bought it the guy had replaced waterpump thermostat and fan but when i took it to a shop they said the heat gun said it was not getting hot through water pump or any of that but it reads cylinder head overtemperature sensor and it bubbles through puke box.The car had tons of power don't use any antifreeze but the last person who had it did not put dexcool back in it so besides that could the transmission be low on fluid and cause the car to get warm or is it a sensor
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Thank you for all the imput. I found the Code Paper and here is what it says, Cylinder head over temperature protection active-Probable cause is low engine coolant, drive belt off, or failed head temperature sensor. Any more infor would be greatly appreciated.
This is why we are so confused. All fluids are fine, no smell, no bubbles, nothing. We will take it for a second opinion. Does anyone know how much a head gasket runs in lieu of a whole engine replacement. We got an estimate of $3,000-$4,000 to replace engine with a rebuilt one.
I have a lincoln ls 2000. I had to misfires fixed! After changing the plugs and coils I started to get a knocking from the engine. The knocking happens when i am at a red light. Driving you dont hear it. Someine did say it sound like a have a air which was separate to the knocking.
What do I do?
what are the codes? your definition's have to be incorrect.
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