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Mercury Cougar Engine Questions

153 messages,  Last post on May 19, 2012 at 6:40 AM

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What is this discussion about? Mercury Cougar, Engine, Coupe

Messages Page 7 of 16

#56 of 153 Overheating 2000 Cougar by lmoreno3

Aug 20, 2009 (8:54 am)

I have 2000 Merc. Cougar, that the temp gauge shows it is overheating. When I check the resevoir bottle, the water is not boiling. I have replaced the radiator, water pump, coolant sensor, temp sensor, all of the belts, have flushed the engine, replaced the thermostat, even put in an aftermarket 160 degree. Still shows that it is overheating. I have also had the entire system pressure tested and it holds the pressure, so no leaks of any kind. Currently am running the car without a thermostat, but here is where it gets interesting.
When I removed the thermostat, I noticed that the hose that it is attached to is not to the upper radiator hose, like it is supposed to be, but to the lower radiator hose. The upper radiator hose bypasses the thermostat housing and connects to the back of the thermostat housing. My understanding is that the thermostat is supposed to be facing the radiator, and attached to the upper hose. Is this an error made by Mercury. Has anyone else had this type of problem and been able to solve it or had someone solve it? Please, let me know. Thanx in advance for help and advice.

#57 of 153 Re: Overheating 2000 Cougar [lmoreno3] by avp0713

Aug 20, 2009 (9:08 am)

Replying to: lmoreno3 (Aug 20, 2009 8:54 am)
It obvious that your dashboard temperature gauge is bad, perhaps experiencing an electrical short. Mine was doing the same thing (reading hot), finally I just "bopped" it with my fist on top of the dash, then the needle went to the center of the gauge and stayed for a while then while I wasn't looking, it went back to cold, then again, way up to the red. I plan to buy a aftermarket MECHANICAL (not electric or electronic) and install it. I'm not going to worry about the one in the dash. . .it's cheap and defective.

#58 of 153 Re: Overheating 2000 Cougar [avp0713] by lmoreno3

Aug 21, 2009 (3:40 pm)

Replying to: avp0713 (Aug 20, 2009 9:08 am)
Thanx for the info and advice. I went a purchased an Eqqus guage today, and am going to install it tomorrow. One more question though. Coming out of the water temperature sensor plug are two wires. One is green witha red stripe and the other is grey with a red stripe. The question is which one is the ground the green with the red stripe or the grey with the red stripe? I want to get this right the first time, since it is a tight fit to work in.

#59 of 153 Temperature gauge rewire by lmoreno3

Aug 23, 2009 (9:59 am)

I am going to rewire the water temperature sensor to the original gauge, is this a diffifult fix. I do not currently plan to cut off the wires, just splice the new ones on. I think my problems is a short in the wiring, and am going to give this a shot. Let me know if any of you think this is a good idea or a bad one.

#60 of 153 Re: 2000 Cougar Alternator surging problem [protech1] by natalieisiahb

Oct 15, 2009 (7:57 pm)

Replying to: protech1 (Aug 10, 2009 4:32 pm)
Hope you can help, I own the same vehicle and I am currently having the same problems. I have also replaced two alternators and the battery. Someone advised me to change the electrical voltage regulator and that would take care of the problem. Just wondering if you had found out anything about your situation or to see if maybe my advise may help you. Please contact me with a solution to the problem if you found one. e-mail address natbear0104yahoo.com. Thanks, Crystal

#61 of 153 Re: 2000 Cougar Alternator surging problem [natalieisiahb] by avp0713

Oct 16, 2009 (3:37 am)

Replying to: natalieisiahb (Oct 15, 2009 7:57 pm)
My problem was, the temperature gauge was fluctuating between cold and hot (needle going all the way up to the red area). After checking all the obvious signs of overheating; bubbling or overflowing water bottle, bulging hoses, etc. I realized it was just a bad temperature gauge. It still fluctuates all the way up to the red (hot) area... I have not been paying it any mind. It is not overheating. We have been driving it like that with no problem. And no, I have not yet put in a different temperature gauge. At some point we will put in an after-market MECHANICAL temperature gauge, as opposed to an electrical or electronic one.
 
2 years ago, I DID replace the Alternator when it went bad.... by chance I found an unused alternator on eBAY for $30 and I paid a "sidewalk mechanic" $100 to install it right in my driveway - in mid winter no less. For comparison, this would cost approx. $500 at the dealer.

#62 of 153 Thermostat by lmoreno3

Nov 20, 2009 (5:23 pm)

Greetings everyone, lmoreno3 here. Just a couple of questions. My sons '00 Cougar with a V6, was showing that it was overheating, after a lot of work done to it, I removed the thermostat, after having it changed three or four times. Cold season is coming up, and I asked him if he wanted me to install a new thermostat, he said what for, the car heater and defroster are working fine. He turned the car on and let it get to operating temp., turned on the heater and the defroster, and warm air was coming out, when he turned up the heat, it came out hot and the car did not overheat. Question, does anyone know how many thermostats this car has? I was under the opinion that it only had one? If it has more than one, where is the other one located?
 
Thanx in advance for the help.

#63 of 153 Re: Thermostat [lmoreno3] by avp0713

Nov 20, 2009 (8:44 pm)

Replying to: lmoreno3 (Nov 20, 2009 5:23 pm)
Your sons cougar probably has a bad temperature gauge; the thermostat is probably fine. I belive there is only 1 thermostat.
 
When the Cougar is running hot, give it a good bash on the top of the dashboard right over the Temp. Gauge, it's tricky cause the Dash is curved, but you'll notice that if you bash it good a couple times, the needle might jump right to the correct spot.

#64 of 153 thinking about buying a 2000 cougar by manutd1

Dec 11, 2009 (7:33 am)

So i have been eyeing up a 2000 cougar. its the v6 and has a lil over 100k on it. i have been doing a lil reserch on them and they all seem to have some of the same issues. none seem to be too crazy but some do. i realize that i am buying a higher milage car but i think i will be purchasing a ext. warrenty for it. i would like some feed back from cougar owners on how they like the car esp. post 100k owners. thank you verry much

#65 of 153 Re: 2000 Merc Cougar & Check Engine Light/Issues [ap2] by dahltr

Dec 15, 2009 (1:41 pm)

Replying to: ap2 (Aug 06, 2009 6:41 am)
I have a 2002 Cougar that seems to be having the same problem. Chugging, engine light flashing or staying on. It was very minimal starting out but has since gotten much worse. Brought it to a mechanic who first thought there was a misfire in cylinder 3 but after fixing that, the problem continued. Now it is believed to be the camshaft. Getting this fixed tonight hopefully! If you have found another solution/problem, please let me know!

Messages Page 7 of 16

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