Hi guys,

I have a late 2002 52 plate 1.8 L X with the duratec H E engine.

Today it got really hot, the temp guage was off the scale!

Checked uder the bonnet, rad was cool (due to fan kicking in), expansion bottle was !Removed! hot, as were the engine and some of the hoses.

This leads me to believe the thermostat has become stuck closed, or, it has an air lock.

Where is the thermostat located on this engine, and is it an easy access to change it?

If it is an air lock, is there a bleed valve, and if so, where is it?

Thanks guys,

Regards

Pete

its a bit of a pain to get at, remove o/s headlight and access through there, the 4 8mm headed bolts not to bad to remove, the hose clips are the pain, ok if you have angled long nosed pliers or small vice grips.

Thanks for the advice......on testing the car on shortish run, not sure if problem is more serious than the thermostat....the expansion bottle is pressurising a lot, but on squeezing all the hoses I could reach BEFOR|E driving, the water in the bottle was moving.....head gasket perhaps? No oil in water or vice versa, no scummy sludge in oil filler cap so not sure....

any tips/advice?

Regards

Pete

Not common for headgaskets to go on your engine type, but thermostats , they go often , either staying closed or breaking up in the housing., I would get a thermostat / housing assy , or at least remove it and inspect.

Hi, Could also be a knackered water pump.

Well, got round to changing the stat on the Mondeo...What an !Removed! of a job!!! Headlight out, power steering pipe bracket taken off, but with hnds as big as mine still no room!!!! After a couple of hours and some seriously chopped and scraped hands, got the old one out. It was in 4 pieces and as rusty as an old farmyard bucket!!! The wax core was non existent, the three metals supports for the bottom copper disc had rotted to nothing, and the spring was in two halves!!

Flushed all the pipes and the rad out with clean water, then used two cans of rad flush, filled with coolant/antifreeze, run for n hour, topped up fluids and developed a !Removed! air lock! Why do they not have a bleed valve on the Duratec same as on the Zetec engine my old Focus?

Anyway, all sorted now, car is running sweet as, all I have left to do now is find out why the CD player in the in dash 6 disc changer wont work!

The joys of motoring lol

Thanks for all the helpful tips and advice guys

CD player is a common fault and not cheap to fix , glad you got the cooling sorted