since iv owned it at 141000 miles iv put close to 500 on it my self first 450 fans never came on i adjusted the idle speed to keep it running (before it would clank and act like it wasn't getting fuel ) after that fans came on i figured maybe it wasn't running right at idle so they never engaged today on my way to work i take off from stop light and i see my temp gauge start to climb into and past red i push clutch shut it down and coast to a stop i check engine (fans were on) when it overheated reserve is full to top and HOT hoses are hot but not burning hot engine block isn't as hot as it was running before fans came on it would boil drops of water before now its just hot so im not sure what the problem is now that temp gauge is reading hot


2000 focus 2.0 sohc 141550 miles first time iv seen temp gauge that high
no lose of power no backfire and clean oil
could it be head's? or just thremastat ?

quick responses welcomed even if a odd ball stab need back on the road thanks all and godbless

 

Thermostat would be a good place to start. It shouldn't be too expensive to replace the thermostat and see what happens. Let's hope no damage was done due to possible overheating.

 

thats where i was gonna start had a friend pick up a failsafe thremastat installing in the AM i dont think any damage was done the car was shut off as soon as i saw it climb into the red ( what should i be looking for in terms of damage to the heads )

 

new symptoms with radio on car over heats faster along with dimming lights at idle could alternator be failing would that cause over heating?

 

one 1250 watt amp one 400 watt amp ran from batt to trunk to much strain? looks to be brand new alt

 

From what you describe , it appears you just might have an electrical problem and not a purely mechanical problem. If this is the case , you might start at checking the electrical connections and if found to be OK, see if you get similar results without the amp system in operation. If you have access to a voltmeter just place the leads on the battery , then raise the engine speed and see if the charging system can maintain the 14 volts reading with the system in operation. What you're doing is loading the charging system with all the items on that you normally use like lights, heater blower motor and amp system. That should give you an idea if the alternator is working correctly and putting out sufficient output to support the power requirements of those items. If the reading goes below 12.5 volts , there are at least two possibilities. One is the alternator is defective or the system is pulling more than the alternator can supply . If you checked all the electrical connections as stated previously you will have eliminated that possibility. Last , but not least , the battery could be failing.

 

new thermastat fixed problem well sort of cant test with amp lights and heater seeing as how my amp started to burn from the inside looks to be working great thanks for the help