850 Cooling Problems

J McKenzie · Post by **J McKenzie** » 02 Feb 2005, 10:33

I recently replaced the radiator on my 96 850, non turbo, because of a leak in the plastic end cap. A week later the engine overheated again so I replaced the thermostat. 2 weeks later another overheat so I replaced the fan relay. Yesterday another overheat. The problem is intermittant and only occurs in stop and go traffic. Any ideas?

Da' Moose · Post by **Da' Moose** » 02 Feb 2005, 11:49

With that many overheats I would look at a head gasket or a cracked head kind of problem. If you are having a problem with either it will pressurize the cooling system and cause it to

J Mckenzie · Post by **J Mckenzie** » 02 Feb 2005, 21:06

Thanks for the reply Da' Moose. I don't see any evidence of head or block damage, no oil in the coolant or vice versa, and it runs fine. Prior to replacing the fan relay there was an incident where the fan should have been running but was not, and it started after tapping on the relay. That motivated me to replace the relay. I continue to suspect the fan circuit because it only happens when the car is not moving forward, ie, no air flowing over the radiator. The two suspects are the temp sensor and fan motor. The intermittant nature of the problem makes it tough to nail down. By the way, do you know where the temp sensor is mounted? I haven't been able to track it down.
Thx

Da' Moose · Post by **Da' Moose** » 02 Feb 2005, 21:42

The only one that I know of is right under the gooseneck for the upper rad hose. I have been looking for a port to put a temp gauge in, aftermarket. I will need to look and see if there is one just for the fan. Back in a bit.

Da'Moose

Da' Moose · Post by **Da' Moose** » 02 Feb 2005, 22:15

Well after looking though the Haynes manual and the Mitchell Diagrams I downloaded though Matt