[jmixster]

Hi,

I tried searching for this but didn't really come up with much.

I've got a 2001 LHS with 180,000 miles. i changed the water pump/timing belt after i got the car at about 160,000 miles as it was not done at 100k.

A while back i had a coolant leak at the thermostat housing due to the gasket deteriorating so it was no big deal and i just replaced it myself. Previous to that the car would warm up just fine.
Then i noticed the car was not warming up (its winter and about 20 degrees or colder at the time). The temp gauge would show no increase in temp. brrrrrr
i suspected the thermostat may have failed in a stuck open state - which it was when i replaced it about a week ago.

Now i get maybe one line up in the temp gauge - scan gauge shows a reading of about 160 degrees and thats after an hour of driving on the highway. Also the temp gauge would jump up to nearly normal temp randomly, and the heat inside the car would come and go as well......
so i thought maybe i didnt bleed all of the air out of the system, i bled it again and there really wasn't much air.

At this point im not sure what to do. Maybe i happened to get a faulty thermostat?

Let me know if you have any ideas!

Thanks,
Josh

 

[ImperialCrown]

Is the system building pressure when warm? The upper radiator hose should be firm and not squishy when warm. Sometimes the radiator cap doesn't seal well to the coolant bottle. It needs pressure to build temperature.

 

[jmixster]

It is building pressure. The upper hose was replaced about 6 months ago - still looks good and is firm. Cap is sealing well at this time.

 

[jmixster]

This morning it was about 3 degrees, i let it sit and idle and it warmed up to operating temp then i drove around (30mph) and the temp dropped a little bit. it's kinda strange. later this week i will probably end up pulling the thermostat and testing it on the stove in some water just to rule it out.

 

[jmixster]

The other day i pulled out the thermostat and sure enough it was defective! got another one from a different store and now it gets up to temp just fine.
On a side note - i did my sub frame bushings today, all four came out without too much trouble.

Thanks for the help.

 

[A.j. Schreiber]

Makes sense, my last thermostat did the same thing. I figured the spring got weak and the pressure was able to force it open