Does a 1996 Mercury Mystique normally run really hot?

Answer 1

i have a 1998 mystique 2.5. it was over heating and kept getting a little worst each week. then it got to a point where you couldn't drive to the store without it going up to the red mark.it also totally stoped blowing hot air.i took it to the garage and they told me the head gasket was gone. they said best case was 2400 but if the block was cracked the motor was done.i was told it wasent worth fixing.bs i thought ,no heat, no white smoke,and no leaks. i took the water pump off and every blade was gone off the impeller plus it had broke rigth in half.plastic crap.i replaced it and now it never goes above the r in normal even idiling in traffic.i would always check the small things first and don't believe the so called mechenics , half don't know what their talking about.if i let them replace the head gasket then they found it was still overheating and checked the water pump then replaced that would they have still charged me for unnessasary work?what do you think?

Robert. I do own a 1995 2.0 litre mystique it's got the same enging as 1996 mystique and it also runned hotter than is suppose to run and everybody was telling me that those mystiques were made to run hotter that other cars. I also couldn't get use to that high temperature, but after a wile I did got use to it and drove that car for about two years until I noticed a little bid of cooling fluid leaking out somewhere between the head and thermostat housing. Well I was told by some mechanic that it is typical for those cars because the head is aluminum and the housing is plastic and after so many years specially in the winter time metal and plastic expand and that's why you get a leak, and of course I belived in that because it did leaked more in the winter than the summer. Than I noticed it was leaking more and moere so I decided to change the thermostat housing put the new one. I went to my trusted mechanic and than it suppose to be just a housing. I just couldn't belive what I was driving for two years, I was driving with blown head gasket and they way I was explained by the mechanic when the head gasket goes the first sign is your temperature would go higher then normal and than usually it blows totally or sometimes like in my situation when the gasket goes slowly it creates high pressure in the cooling system it can like again in my situation blow your thermostat housing or anyting that is related to cooling system. And now when my head gasket is replaced I get the temperature about half and below no more than that.

My suggestion is to check with your mechanic for the head gasket. The sooner the better, the sooner you go the sooner you find out what it is and you can propobly save yourself money for the other parts that can brake because of that.

My 98 Mystique also runs really hot and the heat gauge doesn't work so I'm completely left to guess at the engine.

There is the possibility of a faulty sensor or indicator, but some do run a little hot. I solved my problem with fresh coolant, some Water-Wetter, and a 160 degree thermostat for a '96 Mustang. Stant 13396. The temp stays at about the 'O' in normal. Only rarely in stop & go traffic during summer does the temp climb above 1/2 way, then the fans kick in anyway so no problem with overheating - ever.

ANSWER

NO Car is supposed to run hot! if your mystique runs hot all the time, change your thermostat. if your gauge doesn't work, change your heater-temp sensor. if your engine is cold and you start your car and pressure builds up in the radiator reservoir, has oil in the coolant, oil residue all over your engine and white smoke, you are in more likely to have your head gaskets blown. if these symptoms show up, you need to make replacements. dont go to a mechanic to get the work done. do it yourself! if you want the car to run good, do it yourself. I have had the opportunity to restore my head gaskets on my 1996 mystique, but my engine was a 2.5L Dual Overhead Cam. A much bigger engine than the 4-cylinder. i got to learn a lot about cars. look in the internet to do it. a mystique was my first car, now its my brother's and has been running for 4 years without any repair needed. If you think you need help, call a friend who has more affiliation with a car's engine and work on it together instead of spending up to 4k in cheap repairs.