Rusker Posted September 22, 2008 Share Posted September 22, 2008 I haven't had this for more than a week and I've been driving it to work (15-20miles) to work out any issues before I take it for the weekend on a trip. The previous owner had it for about 2 years and never drove it. The gauge used to read at the very minimum of the acceptable level. Now it just reads all the way to the left. I do notice the radiator heats up rather quickly at idle but the gauge will not register this. I'm not sure what the acceptable temp range is but it feels a bit to hot for idling. After driving to work the radiator and both hoses are almost too hot to touch. Could this be due to a bad sensor, or maybe a clogged radiator? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
turtle Posted September 22, 2008 Share Posted September 22, 2008 Stuck thermostat maybe? Clogged radiator possibly. Take it and have it back flushed and new coolant, thermostat, and cap put on. This is cheaper than replacing the engine if it is over heating Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rusker Posted September 22, 2008 Author Share Posted September 22, 2008 Getting the rad. flushed is something I should have a shop do? What does this usually cost? I'll ask around tomorrow and see what I can come up with. Is there an online source everyone on here goes to for ordering OEM parts like a thermostat? I have a local dealership here but they tend to be in the high side for just about everything. I'd like to stick with OEM if possible. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tweberglass Posted September 22, 2008 Share Posted September 22, 2008 I just want to clarify. Your not getting a reading at all anymore right? When you said the reading is all the way to the left ? Does the needle move a tiny bit from cold to hot? Did you notice the radiators temperature getting hotter and hotter since buying it or have you just noticed it is hotter then you would like it to be since you started paying attention to it? keep an eye on the water pump for noise or moisture on the shaft. Waterpumps can go after a vehicle sits and then starts moving again. Probably not your problem but worth paying attention too. It very well could be within normal operating temperature and your temperature sending unit has gone bad. It is a very inexpensive part to replace and is as simple as unscrewing and screwing in a bolt. I recommend buying the sending unit for less then $10 and changing it out yourself. Then you will atleast know that the device checking the temperature is doing what it is supposed to. Then you might get reading and it will tell you if your to hot or not. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WME Posted September 22, 2008 Share Posted September 22, 2008 Change the thermostat and temp sender. Both are easy to do and cheap. Refill with just water. If it fixes the problem then change to antifreeze. If no fix head to a radiator shop for a check out Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
turtle Posted September 22, 2008 Share Posted September 22, 2008 Just a little word of advice on antifreeze. It is toxic to any living thing (terminal to children, pets, wildlife, fish, birds..... it will kill everything alive). If you are going to change it yourself try not to spill any and dispose of it properly (don't just pour it on the ground). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WME Posted September 22, 2008 Share Posted September 22, 2008 Just a little word of advice on antifreeze.It is toxic to any living thing (terminal to children, pets, wildlife, fish, birds..... it will kill everything alive). If you are going to change it yourself try not to spill any and dispose of it properly (don't just pour it on the ground). WHAT HE SAID ONLY LOUDER Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rusker Posted September 22, 2008 Author Share Posted September 22, 2008 I just want to clarify. Your not getting a reading at all anymore right? When you said the reading is all the way to the left ? Does the needle move a tiny bit from cold to hot? Did you notice the radiators temperature getting hotter and hotter since buying it or have you just noticed it is hotter then you would like it to be since you started paying attention to it? keep an eye on the water pump for noise or moisture on the shaft. Waterpumps can go after a vehicle sits and then starts moving again. Probably not your problem but worth paying attention too. It very well could be within normal operating temperature and your temperature sending unit has gone bad. It is a very inexpensive part to replace and is as simple as unscrewing and screwing in a bolt. I recommend buying the sending unit for less then $10 and changing it out yourself. Then you will at least know that the device checking the temperature is doing what it is supposed to. Then you might get reading and it will tell you if your to hot or not. Yes, the gauge no longer moves at all. It's about as far left as it will go. Initially it would be in the acceptable range on the gauge but always more to the left regardless how long I was driving. I figured it was working and didn't second guess it. As far as how hot the radiator is.. I've just been cautious about how hot it is getting since the gauge no longer works. It may very well be in my head that it's running too hot since I don't know what it's really doing. Once I get this gauge figured out I should know right away. If I get a new gauge that displays the temperature in degrees, what is the acceptable range I should want to stay in? As for the temp sensor... is OEM the best way to go or just get whatever the autoparts store has on hand? Thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rusker Posted September 22, 2008 Author Share Posted September 22, 2008 Change the thermostat and temp sender. Both are easy to do and cheap. Refill with just water. If it fixes the problem then change to antifreeze. If no fix head to a radiator shop for a check out Good idea. I'll start with the cheap stuff and work my way to getting the radiator flushed. How much does something like that usually run? I did notice the lower radiator hose has an in-line heating element to warm up the block. How much of an obstruction is something like this? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rusker Posted September 22, 2008 Author Share Posted September 22, 2008 Just a little word of advice on antifreeze.It is toxic to any living thing (terminal to children, pets, wildlife, fish, birds..... it will kill everything alive). If you are going to change it yourself try not to spill any and dispose of it properly (don't just pour it on the ground). Yeah I'm pretty good about this kind of stuff. I don't have any children but I do have dogs and am aware of the dangers associated with it. I'm worried about chemicals in general with the dogs so I don't even use fertilizer in our around the yard/garden. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maineah Posted September 23, 2008 Share Posted September 23, 2008 Ground your connection the the temp gauge at the sender turn the key on and it should go all the way hot. If it does replace your sender unit. Feeling the radiator is not really a good test you can get skin burns at 140 so any thing above 100 or so feels really hot. I would say make the gauge work then see what the temp really is doing. Like tweberglass said senders are cheap. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tweberglass Posted September 23, 2008 Share Posted September 23, 2008 Thats a nice way to test the sender Maineah. I need to remember that. Oh, in my opinion you would want to check the sender before replcing the thermostat. I am not sure if that was mentioned or not but I don't want to crack open the seal on the thermostat unless you have to. But if you do, it's easy, and then you know the thermostat is new. But new doesn't always mean good. I just finished trouble shooting jeep cooling system with a brand new faulty water pump. The impeller broken and it didnot even make a sound because it was some sorta of a plastic impeller. Bummed me out. Even my mechanic, I had to bring it too out of frustration, told me the new pump was fine. Looked fine, sounded fine but wasn't pumping a drop. well anyways, try the sender first to save youreself some time:) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tweberglass Posted September 23, 2008 Share Posted September 23, 2008 hehe, that was some nice contradicting info gave you. brings up a good question. Whats better ...new and unknown or old and functioning properly? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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