Water Pump v. Thermostat Housing

[tmgolden]

Not sure if this will help anyone... I bought my Focus SVT (perhaps the best kept secret in the automotive world) about two months ago. I am the third owner. The first owner put about 31K on the vehicle in three years and the second owner about 2K in two years. Translation: the car's duty cycle changed significantly in the last two years before I purchase it. So, I am not surprised that the story I am about to relate below transpired.

Since the day I first drove the car and over the course of the next two months all fluid levels remained normal and everything in the dash indicated 'normal' - with one exception. No matter what, from the minute the car was started, the oil temp gauge always was pegged at max. I scanned the forums and the concensus seemed to be 'known problem, don't worry about it'. Nonetheless, last week while buzzing along I heard a loud pop and ping from the engine compartment. I scanned the dash (nothing) and the car seemed to continue to run fine. So, so I drove another three miles or so to my first appointment of the day. When I shut the car down, I noticed white misty smoke coming from the rear edge of the hood and the water temp gauge read three quarters max. I checked the coolant tank and it was bone dry. Looked under the car and saw that coolant was slowly dripping from the rear edge of the front subframe.

I had the vehicle towed to my local Ford dealer and was pleased to find out that three months remained on the original owner's extended premium warranty. I was able to contact this gentlemen, secure a release of interest letter, and get the warranty transfered into my name for $50. Two days later the dealer called and told me I had a cracked thermostat housing and they were ordering a replacement. Two days after that, they called and said they installed the housing, a new thermostat, and replaced the water pump. I inquired about the oil temp gauge problem and the service advisor said it was fixed too and that 'all of these problems were related'. I wanted to tell him that I didn't understand how the oil temp gauge could read high if the coolant temperature remained normal, but thought better of it preferring to speak to a technician when I went to pick the car up from the dealer.

I arrived the next day (day 5) and spoke to a technician and here is what really went down:

(1) Water pump failed while driving
(2) Temp increased to the point that a plug that is supposed to pop out in the thermostat housing when the temp gets too high popped
(3) When it popped it cracked the housing; hence, the need to replace it
(4) Once they replaced the housing, thermostat, and water pump, the check engine light came on
(5) Check engine light caused by loose wire in a connector that got whacked when the plug in the thermostat housing blew
(6) Next, dealer troubleshot the oil temp gauge problem and guess what? They actually found the problem!
(7) Problem was another loose wire in a totally seperate connector (the tech actually found it with a volt-ohm meter by scoping from the schematics - old school baby!)

So, there it is Focus coolant system problem 1,231,765. This story had a happy ending. I hope yours does too. Because, if you own a 2002-2004 2.0L Zetec Focus, it isn't a matter of IF you will have a coolant system problem, its a matter of WHEN.