I have a Ford Taurus 1994 can you just put water in the radiator without coolant is this safe to do ??
I have been driving with water only for awhile , now all of a sudden my car is over heating and I had to pull over to let it cool down Does this mean my thermostat may have gone bad or should I just put coolant in the radiator ??
Tagged with: coolant • radiator • thermostat
Filed under: Ford Taurus 1992-1995
You should always mix equal parts coolant/antifreeze and water. That reduces the possibility of overheating and protects the radiator from freezing as well. You may have a bad thermostat, but I seriously doubt that replacing it will cure the overheating problem. You may have a more serious problem due to overheating (cracked head, block or blown head gasket). Good luck!
you need some coolant. winter and summer. coolant is there for a reason.
you shouldn’t use strait water in it,that will make it overheat a lot worse,water boils faster than anti freeze does,id put at least a 50/50 mix in it,and try and find out whats causing it to over heat,strait water will cause corrosion in the engine,and cause more problems later on with the car,good luck with it.
You need a 50/50 mix of water and anti-freeze. Also be sure the cooling fans are coming on. If the coolant was low, and was only water, it is possible for the coolant to boil, even at a temp that normally would not be normally considered hot. When this happens, you have air in the cooling system, which will prevent the proper operation. Drain and refill with the right mix, be sure the fans are working, and go from there.
I had a 1994 Taurus and Ford 3.8 V6’s had defective Head Gaskets. Mine began overheating and then started using water. I replaced the water pump, radiator, cap and thermostat to no avail. Ford recalled the car many years ago and put a rebuilt engine it it because of head gasket failure. There is a die test that can be placed in the system to look for water in the oil. I would look at the oil condition and see if there is some milky fluid in the oil. Also look for oil in the water overflow reservoir. Most likely it has
Of course you need to put antifreeze in it, it’s in there for a reason. You can’t run on just water, unless you want to do some major engine damage.