1992 Ford Tempo Powersteering and Temperature

RGRAH

MEMBER
1992 FORD TEMPO

Engine problem
1992 Ford Tempo 4 cyl Front Wheel Drive Automatic 130 km miles

I started the car and let it run for a bit to warm it up. I left work and drove home. I got 3 minutes away from home and the battery light came on. I lost powersteering but could still accelerate. After I saw the light on I tried to drive home. The temperature gauge raised to almost overheating. I pulled over and turned the car off. I popped the hood and saw a fluid on the passenger side of the car all over the powersteering resovoir and the alternator. I believe it is coolant. I checked the rad and there was no fluid. The resovoir had fluid up to the full mark still. I tried to see if the serpentine belt was broken or caught on something but it seems to be fine. However the whole belt spins freely including the harmonic balancer. No pulleys are seized.

The car was making a knocking noise prior to this problem. The knocking started about 14 months ago.

1 Reply

ANTHEMBASSMAN

MEMBER
16 POSTS

-Not sure if it's the same as what happened to mine a few years back. But I had the bearing in the water pump go out and the pulley was just there flopping around in the pump. Coolant was spraying out from where the pulley shaft goes into the pump. These things are a real pain to replace, but if you have the know-how and the time, you can definitely do it yourself. See if you can make the water pump pulley move from side to side when grabbing it. If you can, that's the problem.

L8R,
Matt D.