Why would my 95 ford contour se v6 be overheating after changing the thermostat?

I think its probably the water pump, but if you have any other options let me know.|||water pumps are famous for breaking on these things.. you can idle the car and it won%26#039;t usually overheat, only when you ride it , it will it seems from my experience from these nightmares.





also water pump ain%26#039;t on the front of the engine, it%26#039;s hidden in the back of the motor with it%26#039;s own belt and is under the plastic cover near your oil filler cap.... also get a aftermarket water pump... Ford tries to sell you the pump and housing which is a bear to change (as you can%26#039;t just swap the water pumps..no gasket from Ford.) after market has just the pump and gasket and is a pretty easy job after you fight the coolant plug from hell (remove the right radiator support bracket and I usually get it with a slip joint pliers at the drain plug.)|||Ya got it in there right-side up? Yes? Well, maybe it%26#039;s a bad part. DO NOT drive a car which is overheating. Get it fixed first.|||You might have an air pocket. Find the highest point in the coolant system, like a hose on the top of the engine, or a bleeder screw near a thermostat and open it up until you have coolant comeing out.|||If it was overheating before, it is the water pump. One way of tell is if the heater works when the engine gets near hot. The impeller of the water pump is plastic, and sometimes it breaks.|||Could be upside-down. Could have other problems. Regarding


the thermostat---New doesn%26#039;t mean good, it just means new.|||It COULD be the radiator needs cleaning out, or you have bugs stuck in the front of the radiator keeping the air from flowing through it, or your fan clutch has gone out and the fan is not working properly. Remotely the prob could be the new thermostadt you installed was put in upside down or is sticking. To test a new thermostadt you heat a pan of water on the stove with the new thermostadt in it, and watch..does it open up before the water starts to boil?? To test your cooling system for blockages..start with a COOL engine, disconnect the lower radiator hose and remove the thermostadt, stick a garden hose in the upper hole where the thermostadt was and run a moderate stream of water through the system, is it comming out the radiator hose like it should or not? If not try using a %26quot;system flush%26quot; (obtained from the automotive dept in a large store or an Autoparts store), the same goes for flushing the radiator, if that dosn%26#039;t fix the problem you may have to have your radiator %26quot;rodded out%26quot; by a radiator shop. Does your radiator have %26quot;damage%26quot;? You may have to get a rebuilt radiator. If you are in heavy traffic and not moving much everything may be fine and it is just that there is insufficient air flow to cool the motor when you also have the AC on, try shutting off the AC and rolling down the windows..does that cure the problem..if so the problem is %26quot;traffic related%26quot; and there is nothing anyone can do to about it, other than getting a %26quot;desert style%26quot; thicker %26quot;oversized%26quot; radiator from some place out west and having it installed. Remember to keep anti-freeze/collant in the system it helps. Nye|||Fords are notorious for getting air locks in the cooling system after the system has been broken into, ie. changing a hose, water pump, ect. You really have to be sure that you %26quot;burp%26quot; the cooling system after you work on them. To do this, pull your vehicle up onto some car ramps,shut it off, set the temp control to HOT, if cool, take the radiator cap off. Make sure your radiator is filled with your brand of antifreeze/coolant, and keep some extra handy. Start your vehicle and let it warm up naturally watching to see that, as it warms up, the coolant level does not get below the level of the upper radiator hose. Keep adding coolant as needed until the thermostat opens. Once this happens, and the engine is warming up sufficiently, it will spit coolant back out the top of the radiator. Put the cap back on tightly, and see if it pressurizes and goes back into the %26quot;normal%26quot; range. If it does not, you could have a bad radiator cap, or one of your hoses could be collapsing. Unfortunately, you may have accidentally put the thermostat in up side down withoout knowing it. Also, if after warming up the engine, you can see water moving around inside your radiator, typically the water pump is okay.