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1999 Ford Escort Car quits after 15 minutes of driving

Tiny
TONY OZARK
  • MEMBER
  • 1999 FORD ESCORT
  • 4 CYL
  • FWD
  • AUTOMATIC
  • 85,000 MILES
Car starts and motor runs fine for about 15 minutes. Then temp gauge starts rising and the motor begins piinging, the oil light starts fading on and the motor quits. After 3-4 hours it starts up fine. The motor is obviously hot and the new oil I just changed is looking dark. Initially the temp gauge only went up to about 2/3rds of the dial. Now it's going right up to Red Line unless I back off on the gas. The coolant is then down a bunch. One mechanic thinks it's a thermostat or water pump. Another mechanic says it's the oil pump. Any thoughts?
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Tuesday, September 22nd, 2009 AT 6:15 PM

3 Replies

Tiny
JACOBANDNICKOLAS
  • MECHANIC
  • 108,254 POSTS
Based on your description, I agree with the thermostat. If the oil pump was bad, the light would be on all of the time. When the engine gets hot (overheating) the engine will make noise. If you are loosing coolant, that could be just from overheating. You can check the waterpump easily. First, when the bearing goes bad in them, they are noisey. Also, there is a weep hole (aprox 1/4" in diameter) under it that coolant will begin to leak from. Check that to see if there is evidence of it leaking.

Start with the cooling system. A t-stat is cheap and I would flush the system too. To me, it sounds like the problem doesn't get bad until the engine begins to overheat, which will thin the oil and could cause the oil light to come on.

If you have other questions, let me know.

Joe
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Tuesday, September 22nd, 2009 AT 10:00 PM
Tiny
TONY OZARK
  • MEMBER
  • 2 POSTS
Thermostat replaced. Seemed to correct the problem. Thanks!
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Thursday, September 24th, 2009 AT 5:19 AM
Tiny
JACOBANDNICKOLAS
  • MECHANIC
  • 108,254 POSTS
That is good news. I'm glad you got it fixed. Let us know if you have questions in the future.

Joe
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Thursday, September 24th, 2009 AT 7:31 AM

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