Focus 53 plate....quite hot?

barbiedoll

Morning all

We are looking at purchasing a Ford Focus, 53 plate with 61500 miles on the clock. It was driven around 10 miles yesterday to our local showroom where it stood for approx half an hour. We then took it for a short test drive (2 miles or so), when we returned, we checked under the bonnet and the water reservoir was very hot, as was the pipe leading from it. The temperature gauge was up to the middle during the test drive, does this sound like a potential problem?

The water tank was full, the engine seems clean, the oil was clean before the test drive, as was the engine fill cap (no mayo). The car looks good otherwise, tyres, brakes seem fine, no signs of rust, exhaust looks good from underneath. It seems to drive well and it has full service history up until last year, we are having it serviced if we buy it. We will also have the cam belt and water pump changed if we do buy it, at 10 years old, it must be due for a change.

We are going back to see it again today, to start the engine and leave it for 5 mins or so to check the temperature. What should we be looking for and if it is running hot, should we walk away?

Thanks.

Westmead_Fan

did the fan kick in???

its probably nothing when the engine reaches a certain temperature the fan will kick in if working properly to cool it down

forgotmyname

Dont trust the temperature gauge My sister had a fiesta for a day or two and
when she pulled up outside you could smell the heat from it.

Gauge says normal, But even after an hour or so it was still too hot to touch anything.

Popped the code reader on it and it was between 85 and 90 degrees. Normal but it had been standing for an hour.
Started it up and within no time at all the reading went past 115°C. Gauge still reading normal.

She took it back for a refund.

Ectophile

It seems that the temperature gauges in most cars these days have been replaced by "idiot gauges". When the car is cold, it reads cold. When the car has overheated, it reads hot. For any temperature in between, the gauge sits exactly at the middle of the dial.

forgotmyname

But 115°C shouldnt be classed as normal under any means.

I know a couple of lads with the old MK2 Mondeo's also. They have had them overheat with the gauge reading normal.

The ones with just a light worries me more.

moneyspendexpert

check the cars heater is working and blowing hot air when the engine has warmed up. A failing thermostat can cause heating issues, which is not uncommon and not expensive to fix.

OddballJamie

If you suspect the thermostat, check the rad pipes are getting hot.
If they stay cold then it could be the thermostat, an airlock or possibly water pump.

Check the fans inside the car blow hot and cold too.

GAZ237

2003 plate is old for a dealer.

How much is the car?

You will need to leave it running for more than 5 mins to check temperature.
Also some cars stay cool on tick over and only get hot under load ( driving). Make sure the fans are kicking in.

When you say the water tank was full. I presume you mean it was up to the line (about half full)?

If its full to the brim and the pipes feel hard to squeeze, sounds like the thermostat is stuck or head gasket issues.


A 10 year old focus even with very low miles. Is still a 10 year old focus with age related problems.

If its in mint condition £1500 max.

Foxy-Stoat_3

The engine will be hot after a run. The coolant will heat up to 90 degrees under pressure and will remain hot for a while after, not to mention the 30 odd degrees of sun shine we had!

As long as the blower blows hot air if asked, the temperature gauge reads no more than half way on a run, fan kicks in if stood running (lack of cooling air through the radiator), the top rad pipe should be hot and bottom pipe should be cooler and feel around the rad for cold spots, you should be ok.