Hello all, I would really appreciate help with my 2001 Ford Focus.

It started a few weeks ago when I noticed my coolant was running a little low. It was still hot outside so I figured I'd put some water in it for now and Replace it with antifreeze when it gets colder, since money is really tight for me.

After a while I noticed the car was overheating after about 20-30 minutes of driving. I had a mechanic look at it and he said since my radiator had mostly water, it was boiling at high temperatures and thus not flowing properly. He dumped the water out and I filled it with 50/50.

The next day after he left the car was behaving the exact same way. He said it was because there was still air in the system, and that I needed to "burp" it. I've tried his instructions and every other resource I could find on how to burp it, to no avail. Running the car with the cap off and the defroster on produced no "burps".

However, since I can drive it 20-30 minutes without it overheating, I've still been using it to get to work, and three times driving it with the defroster on caused the coolant level to drop, making me assume it "burped" while I was driving.

However the problem persists. After 20-30 minutes of driving (at normal temp), the temperature starts climbing and doesn't stop till I turn the car off. Under the hood coolant backs up into the reservoir and my upper radiator hose is super pressurized. My heater also runs cold often while its overheating, Indicating (to myself, a non expert) blockage.

According to my mechanic and every resource I can find, there is still air in my system. I cannot, however, get it out for the life of me. Is there some method to burping the 2001 Ford Focus correctly? Or is possibly another issue?

Thank you in advance for any assistance you can offer. Good luck and God bless.

 

well i know this maybe a little late but after reading your post i believe you should think about changing your water pump the reason i say this is because you said the you can't get any more air out of the system, the heater doesn't work and the radiator hose is pressurized. if your heater isn't getting hot at all and your over heating but your radiator is full then it should be the water pump. if the cold water in the radiator isn't being pumped into the engine when the water in the engine is hot then the water in the engine reaches the boiling point then it will pop your radiator cap which is probably rated at 16psi and start dumping water into your flow. if you have any questions feel free to massage me

 

With the defroster on , the cooling fan(s) should be running. That is probably helping keep the coolant cooler. The question is ; is there really air in the system or is something else causing the coolant to get unusually hot?