1993 mustang fox body, 2.3L. Over heats

Ive heard that these cars will run very hot with the factory tstat in hot areas of the country. Maybe try a 180 0r a 165. Mine actually got the needle half way up the scale the other day in traffic. It was like 95 and humid. It never goes past one quarter. Does the fan actually come on or did you just test it by applying power to it. If you do a computer test with the engine off it will do a sensor diagnostic first. One of the things it does it activate the fan. This will show that the computer is capable of turning the fan on and the fan wiring is good. If all else fails you could wire in a switch that activates the fan manually for those hot hot days in traffic.

When i had the a/c on i looked under the hood and did see the fan on and working, im going to go get a new thermo and also check my hoses. I did have the idea of installing a switch to turn the fan on while in hot days and heavy traffic, i kinda wanted to try keep it stock and find the problem first. Thank you for your input man! I really appreciate it! :kooky: I will take all i can for this car, i bought it for $300 bucks and have done alot of work myself on it to bring it back to life lol i do like these cars and one day i hope to convert it to a V8, but with gas prices im fine with it as a 2.3 for now.:yup:

Interesting. Is it possible that its not overheating? Maybe the ignition module bolted to the intake is crapping out when it gets too hot and then needs to cool down before it will work again Does it overheat? Does it start to ping and stall out or does it just die? Maybe check for spark the next time it shuts down. This may sound dumb but when you say that the fan goes on with ac and heat, you dont mean the blower motor right? We're talking about the fan in front of the radiator, yes?

Yes the fan infront of the radiator, incase, both do work blower and fan. Another idea i have is maybe my radiator isnt flowing well maybe? not cooling down the engine like it should. when it dies the needle goes half way, it never does on a cool day so that is odd for this car, but the needle is half way and the car bogs down, give it gas and it gives a lil back fire under the hood, like a blup blup poof, kinda thing. then shuts down and you cant start it again unless it has cooled down for hrs, then it starts right up again, i stop at a gas station with a hose and cool the radiator and make sure the over flow is full and then i can get it started again to make it home lol. again it only does this on a very hot day, when its cool or even the winter it runs great. It was hit in the front from my ex before i got it, but it didnt do much damage to the front, i dont see kinks in the lines or anything. I think i need my radiator tested before i get a new one. Thats about the only idea i have left.

OK how hot does it GET. Did you actually test the TEMP at the radiator with an infered tester????? The core of the radiator may be clogged. The easiest way to test this is by eye balling the FLOW with the radiator cap removed. Does the coolant flow FAST through the core when stat opens??? If it does the core is PLUGGED. The colant should fall over the core like a watter fall. If it has a heavy stream and hits the tank Its NG. Or you can have the radiator flow tested at a shop. It can also be a bad head gasket??? This can and does happen on 2.3 ford with frequency. This can be checked by feeling the upper hose . Is it hard like a ROCK wnen it conks OUT. When the car conks out what is missing Spark or FUEL?????? Also try this when the temp goes up turn the heater on full blast. If the car coold down the core is plugged and the next stop you should make is to the auto parts store for a new 2-3 row radiator. Peace Tom

i dont know, i just know on this car if the meter goes half way it shuts down, i havnt tested it with an infered tester, i dont have one, i will take out the radiator and have it tested, when i have the cap removed i really dont see much movement with the flow. Next time it over heats ill check the upper hose when it shuts down, When the car conks out i think its more fuel is what it seems like when it gets all, it fires back up but bogs down and dies, sometimes i get a lil buff under the hood, not really a back fire but a buff sound. When it sits for a bit, and cools down it fires back up fine like nothing happen. i will test the hose and Radiator soon Thank you guys for your help and i will keep you posted.:bigthumbsup

i just replaced my radiator as the original had a leak. when i took the old radiator out i noticed all the fins were full of dirt and debris. i would check and make sure that your radiator is cleaned out as well as the a/c part in front of it. if the air cant get thru to the radiator it wont cool. just a thought since everything else seems to be working. btw the replacement radiator was only 80$ or so at Oreilly's and is fully aluminum. my car stays in check now that ive put it in, even with the a/c on on these 102 degree days in texas. oh and to clean the fins you can use a hose with just regular pressure, just be sure you dont bend any fins and run the water from under the hood out thru the radiator and a/c opposite air flow

1993 mustang foxbody,2.3L over heats

Ok so i finally bought a new Radiator, i have a new Temp sensor, New thermo stat. My car does run better but still does heats up not as fast as it once did, the new parts helped out alot, ive tested the fan and it does work, but ive notice it doesnt come on when the car is hot. Where is the Temp fan switch at? Or how would i go about trying to get my fan to work to cool off my car? I think thats the last thing to do to get my car cooled down.

i do have a chiltons book, and ill check out that site! thank you, and as for the water pump, wouldnt it leak if the impeller wasnt gone or something? plus is there a way to tell without taking the pump off? and while we are talking about it, do you have to take the timing belt off if you do change the water pump on a 93? just curious just incase i ever need to change it.

On the 93' I don't know but I would assume yes .. I changed mine out on my 88' and it only took about 30 minutes to do it myself. It's pretty easy. On my 88' I had to take off the timing cover also to get the water pump off. It's all pretty straight forward to do and from Autozone the pump wasn't expensive.

Here's the part that I'm referring to under the dash .. The 1st pic is the actual relay, the 2nd is what it is attached to, and the 3rd is the area under the dash where it's located near the steering column. Hope this may help out with some idea.

Ok i am still having a over heating problem and shutting down with my 93 mustang 4 cyl. I have changed- Temp sensor, Radiator, hoses, water pump, thermostat and just had to change out my A/C compressor. The temp gauge dosnt heat up nor does the cooling system now, but my engine when it gets hot, bogs down and then tries to die. After letting it sit it starts right back up. i thought i fixed this problem but i guess it wasnt non of the above. Please help. i am trying not to give in and take it to get hooked up to do a diagnostic test and give in to the shops lol.

have you checked the engine codes with a scanner, possible bad ect sensor, thats the sensor in the heater hose by heater core. The fan is controlled by the ect on a 93 and the fan relay is in the ircm box mounted on strut tower pass side JR's Place - Ford IRCM Theory of Operation
It could also be fuel problem but the codes would be a big helper