2000 Ford Taurus coolant tank overflowing

LRUSCH

MEMBER
2000 FORD TAURUS
6 CYL
FWD
AUTOMATIC
119,553 MILES

Whenever the temperature gauge reaches an ideal level, the antifreeze in the coolant tank overflows thows the top. The car hasn't overheated, there is no white smoke from the exhaust. The fan blower had not been on for a while until we unplugged the temperature sensor, the coolant went down instantly but the problem came back.(The heater doen't work, either, only blows cool air)One person says water pump, one says a radiator flush and change the thermostat and one says head gasket. Please help!

2 Replies

MERLIN2021

MECHANIC
17,250 POSTS

Start with the cooler fan, you say it's not working? Also the cap on the bottle may be NG, if it doesnt hold the 16lbs of pressure, it will overheat, and you have overheating confused with a blown head gasket, if you get white smoke from the tailpipe, it's a blown head gasket! The heater cores on these are famous for clogging, so make sure the coolant level is right, and check the two hoses that go into the core, they should both be hot. If one is cold, the core is clogged, and needs to be replaced, I havent had much success flushing these out. Cooling fan and temp sensors are VERY important fix these first!