2011 Focus - Coolant temp 230F ... did I hurt it?

[SwampSurvivor]

Not saying how.

But yesterday , the coolant temp in the Focus hit 230F while going home through the South Side (avoiding I81 - it had a rollover).

Is that too hot to damage anything?

It wasn't indicating it on the gauge as it's a fake Ford gauge, but it didn't chime at me. I only noticed when I got home and the fan was running. I put it into "Engineering test mode" and saw that it was at 112C!!!

 

[Eddie]

I expect no damage.

 

[Drew99GT]

The fans don't even come on until 230 on many older GM cars. Older 2.2/2.4/3.1/3.4/3.8L equipped sedans with electric fans will run 230 degrees F in stop and go traffic all the time.

 

[Colt45ws]

No. Nothing was hurt.
Fords have had a fail-safe cooling mode for quite sometime now. You would've known if it actually overheated. I think the trip point is a head temperature of somewhere around 250-260F where it will start running like [censored] and light up the dashboard like a christmas tree and then at around 300F it disables the injectors entirely.

 

[Chris142]

230 ain't ovetheating.its the upper end of normal

 

[The motor guy]

the bigger question is why did it get hotter than normal

 

[SwampSurvivor]

Glad it wasn't too hot for the car! I do not know what is acceptable or not for small aluminum engines. The good news is - I'm sure I heated up the oil and burnt out all of the moisture and acids from the short tripping.


Originally Posted By: motor_oil_madman
the bigger question is why did it get hotter than normal


When it gets cold out I have to tape off the grille, otherwise the engine will get up to about 40C and stay there. Numerous trips to the dealer still render the car unable to heat up in the winter. They have verified that the thermostat works.

 

[scurvy]

Originally Posted By: Miller88
When it gets cold out I have to tape off the grille, otherwise the engine will get up to about 40C and stay there. Numerous trips to the dealer still render the car unable to heat up in the winter. They have verified that the thermostat works.


The fact that the engine only gets up to 40ºC surely indicates that the thermostat is not working correctly at all - it's opening far too soon or possibly not even closing at all. Your local stealership has only verified that they're full of it. The cooling system in most cars is extremely simple and what you describe is a classic lazy thermostat.

Had a similar problem in my Golf - coolant would not get above 77ºC. One Stant Superstat later and it gleefully gets up to 95ºC even in the dead of winter if driven long enough.

 

[morepwr]

no worries.

 

[Chris142]

Or coolant is somehow bypassing the thermostat.

 

[highmilegeguy]

I agree.
My truck still gets up to 180 in the winter and it has a huge front grille.
I would replace the thermostat with a good stainless steel one from stant. It does sound like the thermostat is not functioning properly. And why continue to worry about it when you can eliminate the issue with a $ 10 part?

 

[ram_man]

My honda got overheated air in the cooling system after an antifreeze change and where I was doing it had an emergency so I had to leave. The car on my scan tool hit 268 a couple times and each time I shut it off for a few minutes. It didn't hurt anything. It's still flawless.

 

[SwampSurvivor]

Originally Posted By: highmilegeguy
I agree.
My truck still gets up to 180 in the winter and it has a huge front grille.
I would replace the thermostat with a good stainless steel one from stant. It does sound like the thermostat is not functioning properly. And why continue to worry about it when you can eliminate the issue with a $ 10 part?


If the Thermostat was only $10, I would have replaced it. Unfortunately, it's about 20X that as it's integrated to the housing and includes the sensor.

 

[KrisZ]

I thought I remember a thread about your car having a hard time warming up.

In that thread you refused to replace the thermostat because you feel the car is under warranty and it should be covered. I agree that it should be covered, but since the dealer is not co-operating don't you think it would be a better idea to actually change it and not mess with blocking the radiator?
All it takes is one careless moment when you forget to unblock the radiator and that engine may start having all sorts of problems from an overheat. Sometimes it's better to cut your losses and do things the right way and not be stubborn.

Change the thermostat, it should be a $100 part at most and be done with it. It's peanuts in the longterm.

https://bobistheoilguy.com/forums/posts/2888410/

 

[oilboy123]

I would do this with a Motorcraft thermostat. Just because they say it's working right does not mean it is......
Originally Posted By: KrisZ
I thought I remember a thread about your car having a hard time warming up.

In that thread you refused to replace the thermostat because you feel the car is under warranty and it should be covered. I agree that it should be covered, but since the dealer is not co-operating don't you think it would be a better idea to actually change it and not mess with blocking the radiator?
All it takes is one careless moment when you forget to unblock the radiator and that engine may start having all sorts of problems from an overheat. Sometimes it's better to cut your losses and do things the right way and not be stubborn.

Change the thermostat, it should be a $100 part at most and be done with it. It's peanuts in the longterm.

https://bobistheoilguy.com/forums/posts/2888410/

 

[eljefino]

Fords should throw a code if they underheat long enough. That code should convince the dealer.

Either drive around with the heat blasting to suck as much out of the engine as possible, or find a resistor to plug into the harness that tells the computer it's 35'F if you're dishonest. Once you get the code you should get service.

And I've seen those plastic thermostat boxes dismantled and the thermostat replaced.

 

[Colt45ws]

Yeah, there should be a code for not hitting operating temperature after a specified time frame.

 

[hattaresguy]

Originally Posted By: Miller88
Glad it wasn't too hot for the car! I do not know what is acceptable or not for small aluminum engines. The good news is - I'm sure I heated up the oil and burnt out all of the moisture and acids from the short tripping.


Originally Posted By: motor_oil_madman
the bigger question is why did it get hotter than normal


When it gets cold out I have to tape off the grille, otherwise the engine will get up to about 40C and stay there. Numerous trips to the dealer still render the car unable to heat up in the winter. They have verified that the thermostat works.


Yeah you shouldn't have to do that on a modern gas vehicle you have a lazy T stat and a [censored] dealer. Change it out and motor on!

Let it run cool if your trying to get a warranty fix. My Silverado is older than your car and when my T stat started to get lazy it threw a code very quickly, faster than I really even noticed it.