So I start my car up last night, after it sat maybe 2-3 hours, driving home, not on it or nething maybe 50mph 2500 rpms, and my car the temp is usually in hte middle of half and 3/4. So im almost home and the needle goes all the wya up to red, i think its 260' sits there for about 10 seconds, and came back down to normal, check gauges light was on too. I was like wtf. Im thinking bad sensor? Could it be anything else, or if it is a bad sensor, what sensor would it be and where is it located? Thanks for the help in advance.
Your thermostat stuck for a minute. May want to change it, because it will probably happen again.
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yeah, either thermostat is stuck, or somehow you got an air bubble in your system (which would be highly unlikely unless you just did something with the system. The gauges light came on, simply because your needle went outside "normal".
I just took it briefly around town again just to see what it would do, it stayed at just 3/4 this time which is a little higher than normal, im hoping this is a thermostat like you guys think. It didnt go any higher than that though. No i have not touched the system. I understand why the check gauges light came on. Where is this thermostat and how hard is it to change, and price? thanks for the help so far
what model, if it's the 2.2, it's in piece of "Y"pipe under the alternator, at least that's where I remember the book said it is at.
yeah its a 2000 2.2 5 speed, dunno if the tranny made a diff but thats what it is, how much to replace?
thermostats are around 10 bucks, get a new gasket too if applicable..
I will buy a new one tommorow, since its not 1:03 and i have to work 2-10, then i will put it in tommorow, and let you guys know whats up. $10, you cant go wrong, even if its not the thermostat and i buy one and put it in for 10 dollars, its a new part thats cheap so i wouldnt mind either way.
OK what a day, where to start, well i had to go to Colechester CT today, so I told my dad what was happening with car, he checked engine coolant which was fine, and we figured it was the sensor, so im goin down the road, the temp goes up to 260 again, stays there, then the needle goes dead, then back up to 260 so on so on, im like f- this thing, anyway, so then my low coolant light pops on, Im like wtf is goin on here. I pull over. THERES NO COOLANT. BONE DRY, smoke is coming out and the whole deal. So im like great im out in the middle of no where, no car, and need to find dex cool. My friend ( who also has a Cav, 02 2.2 ) says lets go find some stores. We went to gas station, they said go to this store, we go there they said try the toyota dealership they said try a chevy dealer ship, chevy dealership is out go to napa, napas closed, go to some other store. It closes at 4. Its 4:05, We run up to the door, NOOOOOOOOO some guy comes over and is like can I help you boys, we told him our story and he said yea no prob, let us in special to buy it, I told him if he didnt have what he had id take him in the back room i was that happy, So we get back to my car, fill it, get it to the guys house im workin on, fill it again cause it was empty and did our work and went home. So I get home, and me and my dad are lookin at it, Its not dripping on the ground, and its not coming out of anywhere visible but everything underneeth the overflow tube is wet and all along the edge of the engine bay is wet, but nothing is visibly dripping and its dry again. Any ideas, im desperite lol. This is the worst weekend ever, I blow the brakes lines on the truck tuesday, and today my car is pissing coolant. ANY IDEAS ARE MUCH APPRECIATED, we are going to look at it in the AM.
if the engine bay is wet maybe it's because the engine steamed and now theres condensation
I am by no mean a mechanic but the way you explain it, i think your coolant is mixing in your oil (check oil to see if theres water in it) so you may have a cracked head
again this is what i think, it could be something totally different!
no i appreciate you just looking at the thread and taking the time to read it, but there is no oil mixing with coolant, that was an idea that i thought of but i checked it and theres nothing.
OK, got new temp sensor, seal, and more dexcool, im wondering do you think the temp sensor could be broken and reading too hot and the car is blowing off all the coolant? is this possible? If not im thinking i blew the headgasket
well car is back. Put in the new sensor, gasket and more dexcool, and it runs cooler than before. Drove it probly 45 mins and it stayed just a tad below halfway. But then i got home and the gasket must have shifted cause its leaking at the gasket now, but the main problem is fixed. So thats all it was. Im happy.
The gauge sensor usually has nothing to do with fan sensor (on most cars) so replacing it was probably a waste of time and money. Gauge sensor/fan problems usually gradually overheat the car, they don't suddenly snap up and then down.
The thermostat is its own sensor. It is a temperature sensitive spring that opens and closes according to how hot the coolant is. When the metal wears out it just simply doesn't open and stays shut.
Unless I am reading this article above wrong, you don't appear to have replaced your thermostat, and you will still have problems!
The sensor problem is easy to diagnose - if your fan doesn't come on your sensor is dead, so if when your car was overheating the fan was on - its definitely the thermostat.
My bad i worded it wrong i guess, it was the thermostat that i replaced not the gauge sensor. It was just the way i worded it. I replaced the thermostat and everything is fine now.
