overheating/thermostat problem???

[rolledthatho]

hey guys, i had a wierd thing happen tonight, lately my gauge has been reading hotter and hotter but never overheating, tonight it went all the way to the red... and i pulled over cut the car off and nothing, no bubbling no smoke or steam, rad cap was warm, so i was like fuck it its a bad gauge, finnaly im about 3 mins down the roadand it goes PAST the red like way out and im like wtf so i pull up on my delivery (pizza guy) and it smells funny, still no smoke and the radiator was then gargling a little bit, but nothing bad, so i left it there tonight

 

anyway what i found funny was the overflow tank was FULL like COMPLETELY FULL its never like that usually its right at the mark for "hot" and down even lower when its cold, but it looked like even some of the water from the radiator had backed into the overflow it was right at the neck of the tank about to overflow...

 

i think the therm is sticking shit, what are your guys opinions? and how hard it is to change one, what does it consist of?

[jdcutty]

what motor?

 

Try to bleed air out of the system. Depending on what motor you have, there should be a bleed-off valve on the thermostat housing. Start the car and the open that up a little. If you get steam, then there is air in the system. If you get all antifreeze, then its another problem.

 

Also could be your water pump.

 

BTY, the thermostat is easy. Off with the housing, out with the old, clean up surrounding metal, a little silicone on the gasket, in with new, on with housing. Check for leaks. Simple as that.

[rolledthatho]

hey sorry man its a 3.1, usually when a water pump has gone bad for me it will leak out of the seal or a weep hole, and end up losing coolant instead of backing the system into the overflow tank

[93GTP]

Could be a simple matter of replacing your rad cap. I had a similar thing happen to me, except the running hot part. My reservoir was filling almost right to to filler cap and I was getting some light bubbling. If your cooling system doesn't pressurize properly, that will happen. For the cost of a new rad cap and ease of replacement, I'd definitely try that first. Then I'd try a new thermostat, as they are also inexpensive and not too hard to replace.

 

Let us know how it goes.