Engine Overheating

[ahhhwhereditgo]

Well I have a 2001 Focus SE. There are a couple of questions. First I wanted to know if this car was common to have a bit of feedback, well vibration in the steering wheel, mostly while idling. Its definately not one of the quitest cars, want to know if its mine though, or just something about Focus' in general

Second is the more concerning one for now. I drove it quite a few days and everything was fine but tonight my engine showed that it was overheating. The needle pretty much maxed out. I made it back home, about 5-10 miles from where I first noticed it without any issue. My roommate whos pretty good with cars popped the hood. The engine did not feel overly hot at all. There was no smoke while driving, no smells when we popped the hood immediately after parking.

I started the car back up after about 10 minutes and it read its normal just under about a half level. Just idling it for no more then a minute or too it slowly started climbing and within 5 minutes was back in the red.

What could this be? Is it odd to have those readings and not smell or feel anything close to out of the normal as far as heat is concerned from the engine? The hoses from what I believe is the housing, the plastic tub looking thing to the left of the engine while looking at it from the front with the hood popped, were not overly hot. Neither was the housing itself.

[ahhhwhereditgo]

Ok I looked into it a bit more.

This is whats happening. The car can in fact idle no problem. I had it idling for about 20 minutes and it was good. Now when i take it for a short drive, not going about 25mph, the temperature gauge shoots all the way into the red. It doesnt flucuate, doesnt jump around, just stays there.

Now I dont see any leaks on the floor, however after popping the hood I there is wet stuff on the Coolant Reservoir. The wetness if in the front of the reservoir, it rests where the seal around the reservoir in the center is. Its the place where it seems the reservoir was fused together. I dont see any holes or cracks though. Its just a light layer of moisture on top.

Now will that in itself cause overheating like this? Or is it a bigger problem. Now Ive read up on this and have seen people have similiar issues but were fixed with water pumps/new reservoirs and caps/new thermostats/ new hoses/ and even spark plugs. Also seen people with fan resisters and other stuff. Pretty much I just want a little guidance, it seems like this could be one of like anything. The problem is Im hoping I could get as much info as possible so if I take it in to get repaired I can either point him in the right direction instead of saying "hey, my cars overhearing. Fix it". But also to make sure that they dont wnat to do crap that I dont need. I cant afford to replace all that stuff if it could be one of those lol. I can fix what needs to be fixed, but thats about it.

[phantom_smack]

Does the coolimg fan come on?The vibration is probably the front motor mount.

[elninio]

hello. i got the same problem. my mechanic told me how to solve it. all you have to do is to change thermostat (buy original 11$) and fan resistor (original around 40$) located behind the fan. i really works. my car overheated while cruising without on A/C. now problem is gone.