97 Ford Taurus overheats when stopped, but coolant pours out when turned off

Asked by Tanya Sep 29, 2016 at 09:36 AM about the 1997 Ford Taurus GL

Question type: Maintenance & Repair

I have a 97 Ford Taurus, it overheats
when I stop but pours out coolant when I
turn it off, the fans are working. I have to
ride with my heater on so it don't overheat
but that doesn't stop coolant from
running all over the ground when I turn it
off, I have to fill the reservoir Everytime I
drive it. Please help! I don't have alot of
money so I need to know kinda what I'm
looking at before I take it to anyone of
these shops due to them wanting to over
charge me just to look at it, I ended up
paying almost 1,200.00 to a guy an a
shop at one time due to just guessing an
fixing what they thought it was an
obviously they was still wrong.. thanks

5 Answers

188,355

it could be a few thing your thermostat may not be opening, your cooling may not be turning on when the car is up to temperature. The water pump may not be turning. Your Cap may need to be replace, so there are a few thing that need to be looked at...

34,745

Replace thermostat first, it's easier and least expensive

1 people found this helpful.

I have another question, could it be the reservoir that needs to be changed ? Or like it's probably the water pump?

34,745

Reservoir only holds the coolant so the pump can suck it up when needed. It's probably the thermostat stuck closed or bad water pump but it's easier to replace thermostat, if that doesn't help it, replace pump

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