i think my thermostat went bad again ?

[carlos505]

OK so two weeks ago I bought a duralast thermostat and seemed to work good but yesterday and today when waiting in a line the temperature goes above half but when I drive it slowly goes down, my radiator is new and I checked for leaks so its not that I replaced my hoses and bled my lines also replaced radiator cap? Should I try q thermostat from Napa ? They look more "tough" than duralast

 

[teejayDSM]

does it actually overheat if it sits too long?

the thermostat is working if the temp goes down while moving because that's what lets water flow to the radiator.

Go out to the car and start it up. Watch the temp gauge. I forget which starts up first, the fan or the thermo. It's been a while since I actually had my car running. Anyway I think it's fan first(my PT cruiser is that way) which you will hear, then after that the temp will probably go up some more, then you'll see it dip down, which is the thermo opening. If it keeps rising up then you have a problem, shut it down.

 

[DSM1G90]

Take the t-stat out and put it in a pan of water, put the pan on a stove and bring the water to a boil. See if the unit opens up. Then, take the t-stat out of the boiling water, run cold water over it to see if the unit closes. If it doesnt close, then you got a goner.

You do this trick in reverse if you got overheating problems - see if the unit opens under boiling water.

NAPA has great stuff - better than AZ !

 

[carlos505]

Take the t-stat out and put it in a pan of water, put the pan on a stove and bring the water to a boil. See if the unit opens up. Then, take the t-stat out of the boiling water, run cold water over it to see if the unit closes. If it doesnt close, then you got a goner.

You do this trick in reverse if you got overheating problems - see if the unit opens under boiling water.

NAPA has great stuff - better than AZ !

Yea I'll have to try that thermostat trick , I'll let you guys know what happens

 

[Deadspool]

Im going with air in the system.

 

[slickers111]

Its hot in New Mexico. Are your fans kicking in?
Did you bleed air out of the system when you put coolant back in?
Is one of your radiator hoses cold, and the other is hot?

 

[carlos505]

Its hot in New Mexico. Are your fans kicking in?
Did you bleed air out of the system when you put coolant back in?
Is one of your radiator hoses cold, and the other is hot?

Both Fans are working , when the temp gets hotter my high fan kicks in and drops the temp back to normal , I blessed all my lines and both hoses get hot

 

[gsxdragger]

Make sure that the system is completely bled and air free.

 

[TeacherCreature]

Guessing air in the system, which should be what you check first, (BLEED IT)
If not it sounds as if the thermostat is tuck open or has failed in the open position.

This will cause coolant to constantly flow making it get too hot and not cool in the radiator at a redlight but will allow you to cooldown on the highway since the wind keeps the radiator cool enough.

Just my guess.

 

[Soccerguy136]

All of the above are good suggestions.

You also might try a 10 degree or so lower thermostat. For instance, stock is 190-192, so you might try a 180 since you live in such a hotter climate. Definitely don't wanna go any lower than 170 though.

Also, in order to keep air out of the system, I would recommend removing the thermostat bleeder valve so that there is just a hole there. This can be easily done with sheet metal cutters or some pliers. As has been said before, the valve is a great piece to break and fly into the engine.

Also, with just a hole, air will always be able to bleed from the system so none can ever get trapped. I know for sure that a duralast thermostat for these cars has this bleeder hole and valve because I just did this a few months ago . I went with a 180 btw.

One last tip, make sure to install the thermostat so that the spring end is pointing down and the bleeder hole is at 12' o clock. Also, squeeze the lower rad hose when re-filling with coolant to remove any trapped air.

Hope this helps!