over heating problem

[ultravorx]

Hey guys, i have/had an overheating problem and am looking for advice. I was letting my car sit at idle last week and i noticed coolent under the car, i quickly checked the temp on it and noticed it was near the red H. So i turned off the car. The coolant was overflowing from the resovoir, at the cap. So i checked everything out and notice the hoses were hard. I then started the car back up and tried reving the engine, but temp started to climb again, so i took it for a quick spin around the block and everythinng went back to normal, until tonight. I started up the car and drove to a friends house, while i was waiting for him, i saw the temp start to climb again. SO i quickly started driving again and it went back down to normal, and was good for the rest of the night.

To me it seems as if it may be a stuck thermostat, i have the 180 degree one. The cooling fan is working for the radiator too. I just would like some opinions on what this could be. Its either a faulty thermostat, or my fan is on its way out. The stat has about 40,000 miles on it, the car has a total of 55000.

Any ideas would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks,
Frank

[David Morton]

Sounds more like fan than t-stat. T-stats don't usually "unstick" when you drive it but air flow does start when a weak fan motor just ain't pullin'. Fan motors going bad can often be moving and then stop, start up again, stop again.

I bet you have an "innermitten" fan, as the service writer used to write up thar in Macon.

:lol:

[Murader03]

I would also check for air in the system now that some of the coolant has been lost. I doubt the thermostat is your problem, and it surely can be the fan. My thermostat stuck and caused the engine to overheat, and unknown at the time, caused internal problems within the heads and blick. This trouble surfaced about two months after the overheat. I also thought I had shut it down before it got too hot, but that wasn't the case. You may have further engine problems down the line......

[CrazyCor15]

I had the symptoms you described on my 2000 CV. It turned out it was the fan relay, which of course it was causing the fan to not turn.

[johnjamis]

I also had fan relay intermittently working that caused engine overheat, so make sure that the fan is working at the time of overheat.

[Smokie]

When the car is cold, fill with coolant at the cap on top of crossover tube, it is the highest point in your system, run the engine and keep filling until there is no air at that point.

If this does not correct problem, refer to advise on previous posts. Best of luck.:)

[MarauderMarc]

I had this problem, and whenever it would start, I would turm my A/C off and then turn it back on and the temp would just drop back to normal....I figured it wasnt my engine overheating, but maybe it was. I also notice a slight coolant smell every once in a while, but whenever I look under my hood, there is nothing out of the ordinary and my temp guage is normal....very strange....hope nothing is wrong.

[RoyLPita]

Check the fan. It sounded like it never went on at idle. I hope that that you are still in 3/36/ warranty so it won't cost you a bundle.

[ultravorx]

Thanks for the input, i started out by filling the crossmember until it reached the top, this also filled up my resevoir. I ran the car, it got to temp and the fan did kick on. So far no problems. But i am keeping a multi meter handy in case it does overheat so i can check the voltage going to the fan. So i'll know if its the relay or the fan itself.

2 quick questions.
Does anyone know where the fan relay is located?
and
Does anyone know what the voltage on the red, green and black wires are supposed to be with the fan on/off

I am out of the factory warranty, but i do have the extended. But if it does turn out to be a relay, i would just replace it myself.

Thanks again for all the replies!

Frank

[MENINBLK]

I had the same exact problem with the original THERMOSTAT.

I was told by my Service Manager that with our cooling system design,
that whether the thermostat sticks open or closed, the engine WILL overheat.

So with a fresh thermostat and antifeeze, installed under warranty,
I have never had the problem since then.

Two days after the replacement thermostat was installed,
I installed a bottle of 'Water Wetter' to take up the air in the system.
Now she runs cooler than before, and I am a happier Marauder owner!!