I am puzzled at the moment with my 95 escort lx 1.9L. I've replaced the thermostat, water pump, new head gasket, new spark plugs, new timing belt, new drive belt, new radiator, and the majority of the cooling system hoses. (took me awhile but I replaced all that). Yet the car is still overheating. I even did a reverse cooling system flush before installing the new radiator.

The car will run Below C for the first 3 or 4 minutes then it jumps to the middle in between C and H. Then it'll slowly creep up towards H (also it will sometime slowly go towards then C when idling). One thing I noticed is the hose going from the thermostat housing to the top of the radiator is piping hot, plus tons of pressure built up (very hard to squeeze it). Then after I turn my car off it takes awhile for the pressure to even dissipate where before this mess I could easily squeeze it. I have also checked for hose collapses when it overheats and they're all fine. As of right now I can only think of something clogging somewhere but as where I have no clue. The heater fan and fan on the radiator work fine as well. One thing I have noticed is the coolant overflow tank has increased in coolant but it's not gushing out at all.

 

Are you sure the cooling fan is coming on as it should? I think it also has a two speed fan (not sure of this) and may only be running on the lower speed. The cooling fan relay may need to be replaced????

 

id almost be willing to bet itsa bad head gasket ,the pressure u arehaving is build up from engine ,the crack is enoght that when it get runing it is puching the compression pressure back through the coolin water jackets in the head and block ,,, a good sign is the hoes to your radiator or ther by close ,, swells like a ballonhad it happin to my dodge once ,,

 

went to midas just for a diagnostic test. come to find out apparently when i switch out the new radiator there was an air bubble. so putting more coolant in fixed it. I had replaced the head gasket too. Thanks for the replies!.

Though now every so often i do tend to overheat and I have to put more radiator fluid or water into the system. probably 1L every week, I watch when I'm driving and theres no leaks though I do smell radiator fluid every so often. possibly burning?

 

You shouldn't have to keep filling your cooling system, as it is a closed loop. Since you cannot locate the leak, but can smell it, I would recommend looking closer at you heater core. If it has a tiny leak, the fluid would be absorbed by the padding under the interior carpeting. You'd smell it, but not see it. Hope that helps. This is my first post. Good luck!

 

It is not abnormal to have to top off a cooling system after draining it. You should not have to do it more than once.If you are putting in a liter of coolant a week into it, I doubt your heater core is the cause. You would have a mess inside the car and the wind shield would be fogged up badly. I would first pressure test the cooling system.Water pumps can cause your disapearing coolant by leaking, even intermittently. Look underneath at its weep hole. Look for any wetness or crusted up gunk. Even a new water pump can leak. Also make sure a simple hose connection leak isn't present.

 

I recently had an overheating issue as well and couldn't for the life of me figure out where I was losing coolant. None in oil, none on ground, etc... Then, found out the carpet was wet under the floor mats. uh oh, heater core. Could've been worse for sure. Good luck with the overheating issue you are having.