Overheating after valve cover gasket replacement

[Agentlongwood]

My local dealer just replaced the valve cover gaskets, intake manifold gaskets, and all the related seals, under warranty.  I drove it home last night, went out for food, got on the throttle a few times, and it was beautiful.  This morning, on my way to work after about 15 minutes in traffic, the car overheated.  I got the temperature warning light, and then a Check Engine Light by the time I had a safe place to pull over.  I happened to have a pocket code reader in the center console, and it was P1299 cylinder head temperature.  I walked the rest of the way to work, about a 1/2 mile. 

The dealer is being very good about it, they had Lincoln Roadside tow the car to the dealership and are looking at it now. I gave the advisor all the info and mentioned that it never overheated till this last service, which lists coolant refill on the ticket.  The service advisor said "I'm truly sorry about this, we'll get it right in to look at it.  I'll also make the technician walk home today."

Is a P1299 nothing to really worry about if it was only running with that code for about 15 seconds?

 

[Macgyver]

With the list of things done. Did they have to break any coolant seals so is there a chance of an air pocket causing this?

 

[SHOdded]

Disconnect the 2 coolant heater hoses from the intake manifold.
Disconnect the 2 turbocharger coolant hoses from the intake manifold.
Disconnect the lower radiator hose from the thermostat housing.
Disconnect the upper radiator hose at the intake manifold and position the hose aside.

 

[Agentlongwood]

Yeah, they for sure have to open up the cooling system to remove the intake manifold and what not.  In all likelihood it is an issue of the coolant not being purged of air pockets, and I mentioned it to the service advisor.  I'm not really worried about them being able to find what the problem is, I'm more worried about whether the motor getting hot enough to trigger a P1299 would cause any permanent damage.

 

[pmezo33]

Overheating in traffic always makes me think radiator fan.  Check electrical connections and to make sure it's actually turning on a stop. 

As long as you didn't get the engine extremely hot, I'm sure it's fine.  You more than likely didn't do any damage.

 

[ZSHO]

How Fail-Safe Cooling Works

If the engine begins to overheat:
• The engine coolant temperature gauge will move to the red (hot) area.
• The service engine soon indicator will illuminate.
• The coolant temperature warning light will illuminate.
If the engine reaches a preset over-temperature condition, the engine
will automatically switch to alternating cylinder operation. Each disabled
cylinder acts as an air pump and cools the engine.
When this occurs the vehicle will still operate. However:

• The engine power will be limited.
• The air conditioning system will be disabled.
Continued operation will increase the engine temperature and the engine
will completely shut down, causing steering and braking effort to increase.
Once the engine temperature cools, the engine can be re-started. Take
your vehicle to an authorized dealer as soon as possible to minimize
engine damage.

When Fail-Safe Mode is Activated
You have limited engine power when in the fail-safe mode, so drive the
vehicle with caution. The vehicle will not be able to maintain high-speed
operation and the engine will run rough. Remember that the engine is
capable of completely shutting down automatically to prevent engine
damage, therefore:

1. Pull off the road as soon as safely possible and turn off the engine.
2. Arrange for the vehicle to be taken to an authorized dealer.
3. If this is not possible, wait a short period for the engine to cool.
4. Check the coolant level and replenish if low.  Z

https://www.engine-codes.com/p1299_ford.html

 

[Agentlongwood]

Ok so, I definitely noticed when it went into that failsafe cooling.  It only ran like that for 10-15 seconds though.  The dealership got it fixed and the car drives fine now.  The ticket says it was a "misaligned o-ring where the coolant crossover meets the upper intake."  It leaked out 1.5 gallons of coolant, which lead to the overheating.  So running that failsafe cooling mode for 15 seconds shouldn't do any permanent damage?

 

[SHOdded]

Nah, not to worry.  You absolutely did the right thing when the event happened.

 

[ZSHO]

Ok so, I definitely noticed when it went into that failsafe cooling.  It only ran like that for 10-15 seconds though.  The dealership got it fixed and the car drives fine now.  The ticket says it was a "misaligned o-ring where the coolant crossover meets the upper intake."  It leaked out 1.5 gallons of coolant, which lead to the overheating.  So running that failsafe cooling mode for 15 seconds shouldn't do any permanent damage?

I think you should be fine based on the Failsafe feature.
IMO would double check and monitor the coolant level reservoir to make sure its filled to capacity preferably a hair above the Top fill line when cold.  Z

 

[Agentlongwood]

Phew, that's good to know.  Driving it around now feels better than it did before.  I know it's probably placebo, but it sure feels like it runs better with the new gaskets/seals.

 

[Macgyver]

Feeling good is always a good thing no matter the reason why.

Glad she is working well and there were no ramifications.