Why after starting a 1992 Ford Tempo would the temperature gauge rise to the the red zone and then the car dies after around 15 minutes?

Answer 1

You have a leak in the radiator, and you are overheating your engine- could blow a gasket so follow this advice NOW. First, get two 1-gallon jugs and fill them with water. Add about 2 cups of water to the radiator. Then, turn the car on. Fill with another two cups of water. This should give you enough protection to get to a nearby gas station. Go to a gas station where they sell radiator fluid. Purchase. At your car, raise the hood and take off the radiator cap again. Turn the car on. Then, pour about half the fluid into the radiator. Then fill the rest with 1/2 gallon water. If overfills, let it go down and pour some more until it stops. Replace cap. This should keep you for at least 50 miles. Now, go to Autozone or a similar store and get "Stop Leak." Pour in and it fixes the leak temporarily. You will need a repair soon to permanently fix the leak. Let that thing cool down totaly before you touch that rad cap or you will BURN your hands and face very bad with steam! You may have a leak in the Radiator or somewhere else in the cooling system. You could also have a stuck thermostat. Do not follow the advice of the person that posted first. It may work but then you spend a lot of time that you may not need to. He/She was correct by saying to not drive the car in this condition. After the car has cooled down, take the radiator cap off and see if the radiator is full. If it is then you most likey have a seized thermostat. If it is empty then you have a leak somewhere. Fill the radiator up with water. Don't worry about antifreeze as it costs more than you need to spend and it will get on the ground everywhere. Put the cap back on and start the car up. You should be able to see where the leak is. It could be as simple as a split radiator hose.