hi peeps,
i have just bought a 1.6 automatic focus on a 54 plate , it has a zetec se engine and the old model. its only done 33k miles and runs sweet.

i did notice however that the radiator cooling fan seems to be on most of the time although the temp gauge sits bang on the middle (there is no aircon to complicate things)
it doesnt seem to have a fan switch in the radiator so im guessing the rad fan is ecu controlled.
today after about 25 miles at normal speeds, the temp gauge shot straight up into the red , i saw it move and it was pretty quick !
i pulled in and stopped the engine imediatley and expected a cloud of steam, but no, the coolant level was still spot on, but the top hose was very hot although the bottom hose was stone cold.
i cracked open the pressure cap a wee bit and could hear the coolant bubbling into the expansion bottle, left it for 5 mins to cool down , gave the hoses a squeeze and fired it up.

temp was back to normal and stayed that way for the 10 miles home.

but the bottom hose is still cold, top one hot.

am i right in thinking the thermostat is in the housing on the side of the head, under the coil pack ? if so then it sounds like its opening ok cos the top hose is getting hot, sounds to me like the impellor has fallen off the water pump and its not drawing the coolant through the rad (hence the cold bottom hose) ? im thinking it may be a circulation problem and the coolant in the head is getting hot enough to put the fan on but isnt being cooled by the radiator,does this make sense /? anyone come accross any thing similar with this engine ? thanks in advance, garry

ps , every time i come to a halt the engine cooling fan is on, but if i switch of the ignition, then back on , the fan stays off.