party ford Posted May 26 Share Posted May 26 Hello everyone. I'm from the USA I am at a stump on this car. I bought the car with the engine overheating and white smoke coming out of the exhaust. I have replaced the head gasket, resurfaced the cylinder head, water pump, and thermostat. Now the car runs well with no misfires, but it still overheats. I did a compression test and all of the cylinders were slightly above 110psi. (I was told by a ford technician 100-110psi is the normal compression range). There are no coolant leaks. I did a combustion gas test and it failed to detect exhaust gas in the coolant reservoir. And I pressurized the cooling system to 16.5psi and it only lowered to 15psi in 10 minutes. White smoke from the exhaust is so still present when the car is warmed up after 10 minutes. But other than the overheating issue. The car runs great! Does anyone know if my engine is ruined or is it still fixable? Thank you!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zen23 Posted May 26 Share Posted May 26 Is radiator fan kicks in when getting hot? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
party ford Posted May 26 Author Share Posted May 26 1 hour ago, Zen23 said: Is radiator fan kicks in when getting hot? Hey. Yes, the radiator fan functions properly Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zen23 Posted May 26 Share Posted May 26 Is water circulation OK? All pipes are getting hot? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
party ford Posted May 26 Author Share Posted May 26 15 minutes ago, Zen23 said: Is water circulation OK? All pipes are getting hot? Yes. They all get hot. And my heater works fine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zen23 Posted May 27 Share Posted May 27 Not sure what else could it be. Faulty thermostat, Faulty temperature sensor. If I remember right it's a small pipe gooes back to expansion tank, can you see coolant coming out of it? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zen23 Posted May 27 Share Posted May 27 Try to post it in Fiesta forum, not just general ford, maybe someone else will have idea. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TomsFocus Posted May 27 Share Posted May 27 Losing 1.5psi of pressure in only 10 minutes suggests either a coolant leak or a poor quality pressure tester. Ideally want to leave it overnight, not just 10 minutes. White smoke from the exhaust could still be old coolant trapped in the exhaust box. If there's no combustion gas in the coolant reservoir, there shouldn't really be any coolant entering the exhaust. Is there any sign of coolant around the head core plug between the spark plugs? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
party ford Posted May 28 Author Share Posted May 28 12 hours ago, TomsFocus said: Losing 1.5psi of pressure in only 10 minutes suggests either a coolant leak or a poor quality pressure tester. Ideally want to leave it overnight, not just 10 minutes. White smoke from the exhaust could still be old coolant trapped in the exhaust box. If there's no combustion gas in the coolant reservoir, there shouldn't really be any coolant entering the exhaust. Is there any sign of coolant around the head core plug between the spark plugs? Thanks for the suggestions. I did not see any signs of coolant around either head core plug. I will post it on the fiesta forum as well Should I replace the 2 head core plugs anyway? The engine has 112,000 miles Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TomsFocus Posted May 28 Share Posted May 28 8 hours ago, party ford said: Should I replace the 2 head core plugs anyway? The engine has 112,000 miles No. Core plugs are best left alone until they actually start leaking in my opinion. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
party ford Posted May 28 Author Share Posted May 28 On 5/26/2024 at 1:11 PM, Zen23 said: Is water circulation OK? All pipes are getting hot? Hey. I double checked and 1 hose is not getting hot. It is the hose that connects from the thermostat to the bottom of the radiator. All of the other coolant hoses are getting hot except that one. Do you recommend replacing the radiator or to just flush it out with a hose and soap? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zen23 Posted May 29 Share Posted May 29 Is coolant coming through little hose on expansion tank? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
party ford Posted May 29 Author Share Posted May 29 8 hours ago, Zen23 said: Is coolant coming through little hose on expansion tank? Yes. The little hose on the expansion tank and the ticker one below it are both getting hot. So I believe coolant is flowing thru both of the hoses on the expansion tank. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TomsFocus Posted May 29 Share Posted May 29 Was the new thermostat good quality? The bottom radiator hose will remain cold until the thermostat opens. Even after that, the bottom hose should be much cooler than the top if the radiator is working correctly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
party ford Posted May 29 Author Share Posted May 29 25 minutes ago, TomsFocus said: Was the new thermostat good quality? The bottom radiator hose will remain cold until the thermostat opens. Even after that, the bottom hose should be much cooler than the top if the radiator is working correctly. No it was an aftermarket part. I understand that the lower radiator hose is supposed to be cooler than the other hoses. But even when the other hoses get hot. The lower one stays the same cold temperature. Do you recommend changing the hose to a better quality one? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TomsFocus Posted May 29 Share Posted May 29 5 minutes ago, party ford said: No it was an aftermarket part. I understand that the lower radiator hose is supposed to be cooler than the other hoses. But even when the other hoses get hot. The lower one stays the same cold temperature. Do you recommend changing the hose to a better quality one? I'd recommend changing the thermostat if the hose to it is not getting warm when the rest of the coolant is hot. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
party ford Posted May 31 Author Share Posted May 31 On 5/29/2024 at 7:06 AM, TomsFocus said: I'd recommend changing the thermostat if the hose to it is not getting warm when the rest of the coolant is hot. Ok. I changed the thermostat with a better quality one and it still overheats. I don't know what else to do 🤦 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
party ford Posted May 31 Author Share Posted May 31 1 hour ago, party ford said: Ok. I changed the thermostat with a better quality one and it still overheats. I don't know what else to do 🤦 But the coolant hose that was completely cold before. Is now hot like the rest of the coolant hoses. And I tested for combustion gas in the coolant reservoir tank and again it failed to detect combustion gas in the coolant expansion tank. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
party ford Posted May 31 Author Share Posted May 31 On 5/27/2024 at 5:25 AM, TomsFocus said: Losing 1.5psi of pressure in only 10 minutes suggests either a coolant leak or a poor quality pressure tester. Ideally want to leave it overnight, not just 10 minutes. White smoke from the exhaust could still be old coolant trapped in the exhaust box. If there's no combustion gas in the coolant reservoir, there shouldn't really be any coolant entering the exhaust. Is there any sign of coolant around the head core plug between the spark plugs? I recently checked inspect the head core plugs with an endoscope camera that I bought. And I can see that one of the 2 head core plugs is wet with water. Would this cause white smoke to come out of my exhaust when the car gets hot? And would replacing them with new ones fix the overheating issue? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zen23 Posted May 31 Share Posted May 31 I think core plugs leaking because of overheating. As @TomsFocus saying thermostat could be faulty. You can take it off and check it in a hot water. It should open at specified temperature (88-100 Celsius).But because it's involves some work to replace it possibly easier to get new good one. Even new one you can put in hot water and see how it works. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TomsFocus Posted May 31 Share Posted May 31 8 hours ago, party ford said: But the coolant hose that was completely cold before. Is now hot like the rest of the coolant hoses. And I tested for combustion gas in the coolant reservoir tank and again it failed to detect combustion gas in the coolant expansion tank. Ok, well that's a good sign now that all of the hoses are hot. We know the thermostat and radiator are working properly now. 8 hours ago, party ford said: I recently checked inspect the head core plugs with an endoscope camera that I bought. And I can see that one of the 2 head core plugs is wet with water. Would this cause white smoke to come out of my exhaust when the car gets hot? And would replacing them with new ones fix the overheating issue? If they're leaking then they do need to be replaced. Leaking core plugs prevent the cooling system from building up the correct amount of pressure to raise the boiling point of the coolant. They can also affect the flow of coolant around the system and that can cause hot spots which is generally what warps heads and blows headgaskets. However, they cannot directly cause coolant to get into the exhaust. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
party ford Posted May 31 Author Share Posted May 31 6 hours ago, TomsFocus said: Ok, well that's a good sign now that all of the hoses are hot. We know the thermostat and radiator are working properly now. If they're leaking then they do need to be replaced. Leaking core plugs prevent the cooling system from building up the correct amount of pressure to raise the boiling point of the coolant. They can also affect the flow of coolant around the system and that can cause hot spots which is generally what warps heads and blows headgaskets. However, they cannot directly cause coolant to get into the exhaust. Thank you. I went to the dealership and they said that they don't sell the head core plugs on my car. I showed them the exact plug with the video of my endoscope camera but they still couldn't find one. I asked one of the techs at my local ford dealership. If my compression for all 4 cylinders is within spec. And my head gasket testing liquid didn't change color. The fans is turning on. Why would it be overheating with white smoke coming out of the exhaust? (Only when I drive the car around) He said it could be a problem with the fan not engaging into it's 2nd level. (There are 2 levels that the fan engages in). Even if he's right about the fan? Why would there be white smoke coming out of the exhaust? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TomsFocus Posted May 31 Share Posted May 31 2 hours ago, party ford said: Thank you. I went to the dealership and they said that they don't sell the head core plugs on my car. I showed them the exact plug with the video of my endoscope camera but they still couldn't find one. I asked one of the techs at my local ford dealership. If my compression for all 4 cylinders is within spec. And my head gasket testing liquid didn't change color. The fans is turning on. Why would it be overheating with white smoke coming out of the exhaust? (Only when I drive the car around) He said it could be a problem with the fan not engaging into it's 2nd level. (There are 2 levels that the fan engages in). Even if he's right about the fan? Why would there be white smoke coming out of the exhaust? Ok, if Ford don't sell the core plugs separately you'll have to source those from an engine shop instead. There's nothing special about them, but they need to be exactly the right size for a tight interference fit. Yes, there are 2 fan speeds. Half speed cuts in around 97c. Full speed cuts in around 107c. In the UK it would be very rare to need full speed fan while driving. Usually only when in slow traffic on a hot summers day. If you live in a warmer climate it may be needed though. The white smoke could be poorly burnt fuel if the engine is overheating badly. It's not necessarily coolant being burnt. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
party ford Posted June 1 Author Share Posted June 1 6 hours ago, TomsFocus said: Ok, if Ford don't sell the core plugs separately you'll have to source those from an engine shop instead. There's nothing special about them, but they need to be exactly the right size for a tight interference fit. Yes, there are 2 fan speeds. Half speed cuts in around 97c. Full speed cuts in around 107c. In the UK it would be very rare to need full speed fan while driving. Usually only when in slow traffic on a hot summers day. If you live in a warmer climate it may be needed though. The white smoke could be poorly burnt fuel if the engine is overheating badly. It's not necessarily coolant being burnt. Ok thanks. I live in Los Angeles so it doesn't get too hot out here. I am able to command the fan at half speed (low speed fan) thru my diagnostic scanner but it does not give me the option to command the fan at full speed (high speed fan). Is there any way to command the fan to full speed without a diagnostic scanner? (Neither my autel or topdon scanners give me the high speed fan control option) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
party ford Posted June 1 Author Share Posted June 1 10 hours ago, TomsFocus said: Ok, if Ford don't sell the core plugs separately you'll have to source those from an engine shop instead. There's nothing special about them, but they need to be exactly the right size for a tight interference fit. Yes, there are 2 fan speeds. Half speed cuts in around 97c. Full speed cuts in around 107c. In the UK it would be very rare to need full speed fan while driving. Usually only when in slow traffic on a hot summers day. If you live in a warmer climate it may be needed though. The white smoke could be poorly burnt fuel if the engine is overheating badly. It's not necessarily coolant being burnt. I am going to do pressurize the cooling system and stick a boroscope (I'm going to buy a dual camera boroscope so I can see all around) in all of the cylinders 1 by 1. If I see water getting in, then it will confirm that there is a leak in the head somewhere. I hope there's not 🤞🏻 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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