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[LarryC]

I was very happy with my 91 turbo until last November.  The car overheated, when it reached the red, I stopped and had the car towed to my mechanic.  The mechanic said bad pump, he replaced water pump and changed the timing belt  ($300).  The next day, i was caught in freeway traffic, i looked at the gauge and again overheating.  Mechanic changed the thermostat.   Then, started new problem, while driving engine would seem to choke, then surge.  the mechanic then said maybe bad gas??.  I put fresh gas, then took it for a ride, within a few miles, its started to overheat.  My fourth  trip to the same mechanic,  I told him its not the gas, he dis-connected 2 hoses at the 'idle control valve'  there was no fluid flowing from either hose.  mechanic said its a bad 'idle control valve'.  He kept the call for 2 months, he tried to find a used part from junk  yard sources (i think he was going to fix for free  ).  I called him and  told him i would buy the part online.  Rock Parts had a after market new for $400.  I bought a used valve from 'Mid-Cities' for $200.  the mechanic changed the 'idle valve', but, same thing, stalling and surging. (maybe overheat too).  Does anyone have any idea?   My 91 only has 80K. Last year I bought a 94, I switched bumper and wheels to make mine look like a 94.  I had seat re-upholstered in 100%  leather. if i cant get this to run, I will part it.  thanks for reading

[mitch1204]

Not saying it's the problem but I would run a compression check on all cylinders. Hitting the red even briefly is enough to warp the head on these engines.

Then if that checks out I would find out why the coolant isn't flowing if he pulled the right hoses off. Even if the ICS is bad coolant should come out . The valve controls the air flow not the coolant. Then make sure the fan system is operating correctly.

[JJ]

Timing can wreak havok if it isn't done correctly. I had issues with mine for a long time till a seasoned capri mechanic saw how out of time it was. he had also changed the thermostat. I think there's a ground wire there. Between the two things, the surge/power loss issue I had for months went away. strange part is, when I unhooked the o2 sensor or the tps, this put the computer in a 'steady state' mode where it ignored many inputs. issue went away.... it always seemed to happen up near 3000 RPM, no matter what gear.

You'd think the water pump would fix the cooling flow issues. could be a clogged system.... maybe heater core? is there a way to bypass that (tie the two hoses together...) and see if engine still has heating issues? or it's the radiator....

The capri gauges aren't the most accurate, but usually it's oil pressure people have issues with. the temp gauge isn't too bad, and definitely shouldn't red line.

Where are you located?

JJ

[greywolf27030]

I'll second the warped head suggestion.  As for coolant flow problem, a PO of my car used radiator stop leak(lots of it) and stopped the flow coolant though the IAC system.  I had to use a drill to clear out the barb going into the block.  The hose was stopped up totally from the block to the IAC.  I used a hammer to break it into pieces to clear out the hose(yes, I did replace it).  There was a quarter inch deep plug at the inlet to the IAC and that was cleared out with a drill.  The throttle body is still plugged.  Weather hit and I haven't had time to remove it to see if it can be cleared.  After first clearing the line the first time, I removed it to check it and it was plugged again.  When working on it, I drained the coolant and refilled with straight water, remove a hose and used my hand to partially block the radiator fill around an air hose to pressurize the system to check for flow.  Never apply full airline pressure to the cooling system.  This method will demonstrate flow and can remove some stoppages.

Jack Byrd

[mitch1204]

Good advice on the stop leak. If that's the case then I would give the cooling system a good going over finished by a professional flush. Anything little can get plugged if the stuff was used excessively like little hoses, ports, radiator cooling passages and even the heater core. Perhaps that is why the car went up for sale? It's fixable and not worth dumping it. You just need a better mechanic. Guessing at parts gets expensive.

There is most of the Ford manual online at TechCapri that someone can use for helpful information including diagnostic procedures. It's a downloadable pdf on each chapter. There are also many sharp knowledgeable members on here that been there and done that. Between the two you should be able to solve the problem. The 1.6L is a fairly simple engine compared to some others. Parts are a little difficult but many carry this and that. Put them all together and you can get most parts. RockAuto carries a lot and the real difficult parts can be found on Roo-sport.com outside your normal chain stores. Some parts are interchangeable with a few other cars like Festivas and mainly the 86-89? Mazda 323.

[LarryC]

Sorry, for my late reply.  For a few months, just sat in my garage, it was time for Calif registration and i was asked by the state for 'smog certificate'. It passed 'smog'.  So, finally, i cleaned some ground connections and added one other ground.  The choking and surging problem stopped, runs great, but still gets hot, a click below 250.  I'm thinking about replacing radiator?

[LarryC]

also, thanks, i will ask mechanic to check compression

[blueamber]

There is a test most shops can run to test your coolant to see if combustion gases are leaking into the coolant.   The idea is that a compression test may not show a slight compression leak, nut this test will...