Uh oh!

[Agent M79]

It was 40 degrees this morning. Crisp but no frost.
I got started and cranked the heat up to 90 and set the fan to medium low.

It takes about 1/4 or 1/3 of my trip to get to normal temperature (as TAF says, 18MPH) and feel heat blowing.

Today, however, was different.

The console was blowing cold air while the temperature was at normal cruising temps. Uh oh. Heater core?

Pulled onto the interstate keeping the old hawkeye on the temp gauge. Sure enough, up it went. Before it got to close to the far end, I pulled over. Left the car running. Temp slowly came back to just above normal. Got back on and it went back up. This time I was off the interstate and sitting at a gas station.

Left the car running again but it the temp did not come down like it did before. I shut it down and made some calls. One to frdwrnch who said “Don’t let it overheat”. I saw no telltale smoke nor was the overflow chugging coolant onto the ground. Mission accomplished there, I hope.

My experience and frdwrnch’s telephonic diagnosis was stuck thermostat.

I had a flat bed come out and truck it over to the dealership where it sits now.

I did tell them to NOT flash my PCM. The service tech smiled a little but put the note in. Told him if the thermostat is bad, I would need it back. Guess if it is bad, it’ll be something to talk with Dennis about.

I’ll keep ya posted with what the dealership says.

Thanks frdwrnch!<?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com[img] /><o:p></o:p>


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[Macon Marauder]

Very interesting. Looking forward to updates.

[Haggis]

Bad news and bad luck and it is not even Friday yet. Hope it was nothing too serious and your back to driving her real soon. Keep us posted of your findings.

[gonzo50]

The console was blowing cold air while the temperature was at normal cruising temps. Uh oh. Heat core? <o:p></o:p>

My experience and frdwrnch’s telephonic diagnosis was stuck thermostat. <o:p></o:p>

I did tell them to NOT flash my PCM. The service tech smiled a little but put the note in. Told him if the thermostat is bad, I would need it back. Guess if it is bad,it’ll be something to talk with Dennis about.<o:p></o:p>
I thought that the thermostat has a bypass if it got stuck so you wouldn't overheat, and run cold instead of hot. Isn't it suppose to be a safety feature for just this type of senario ? Anyone ! :confused:

[Agent M79]

They haven't had it in a bay yet but some helpful people here have got me running a little paranoid.

There was no steam or overflow. That pretty much rules out broken hose. Probably rules out a bad water pump as they usually leak some when they fail. Saw no leakage.

Perhaps the most helpful person mention head gasket. The car may hold its fluids in this case but would require examination to see if there was some co-mingling of various fluids within the engine.

I pulling for the thermostat being bad...<SIGH>

[Marauderman]

Sorry to hear about your MM's absence--so whata ya driving in it's place?...Hummnn..maybe I should drive over and help you check out things .....

Keep us posted--cause we all just about have the same updated mod in ours as well...very interesting for sure!!!!!..Good Luck...Tom

[Paul T. Casey]

Hey, when did you change the t-stat? When you did, did you get the coolant completely filled? Sounds like my problem, which ended up being about a quart low on coolant. I had to run it, watch the gague go up, shut it down, wait for it to cool , add fluid, repeat, several times. I'm not sure whether it's the chemical make-up of the new anti-freeze, our systems, or what, but it seems that just a little low on coolant makes a bigger than expected difference in cooling capability.

[Agent M79]

I had that work done 3000 miles ago. Not that I would know what I was seeing, but the tech did fill/refill the coolant.

[Black Terror]

Scott is well aware of the bleeding problem and always makes sure the air is completely gone. Hopefully, this is an isolated incident.

[bubba]

I have posted my problems several times now. I had a very similar situation. In my case the Ford Wrench found aluminum metal chips stuck in the thermostat. These were left from the engine machining processes. After they took out the chips and replaced the thermostat everything has worked fine.

I kept the metal chips and have then saved for any possible future problems. Good luck with your car. I hope everything turns out okay.

[Agent M79]

There was no steam or overflow. That pretty much rules out broken hose.<SIGH>
No it doesn't.

Though I could see no loss of coolant, there indeed was.

Apparently my first stop on the interstate where the temperature came back down was an indicator I had a good amount of coolant left.

Pulling away, I could see no coolant on the ground but undoubtably there had to be some.

The second time I stopped, the temperature did not come back down. This probably meant most of the coolant was gone. My underhood inspection showed some in the reservoir and I could not see any "overflow".

I shut the car off, made my calls. A coworker came by and I sat starring at the front of the car for 45 minutes waiting for the flat bed. No leaks. No steam. Flat bed takes the car, no puddles or fluid of any kind.

Sits at the dealership until 4:30pm when I call and the diagnosis: Bottom radiator hose came off. Tech was surprised it hadn't happened sooner as he felt the clamp was likely messed up from day 1.

Cooling hose failures in the past were usually spectacular affairs with steam and hot coolant going everywhere but this one didn't let on and I didn't think to even check the stupid lower hose.

So, thermostat: good. Guage: good. Pulling over before redlining: good. Help from frdwrnch: good. MM.Net: good. Lesson learned: good. This worked out pretty well. Thanks all!

[TAF]

Glad to hear all is well Dave :up:

[Bigdogjim]

Man 'O man I'm glad it worked out OK!

Bad clamp from day 1???

OK! Back on the road now good for a 100,000+

[frdwrnch]

Came Off? I know you would have noticed this minor malfunction. But the clamp being out of place may have allowed enough seepage that you eventually did get air in the system causing your problem. I'll bet the tech brought it in the shop, let it run in the bay for a while and then the hose removed itself. Anywho, I'm glad that you're back on the road with only moderate inconvenience. Aluminum engines don't take well to excess heat which is why I was so adamant about keeping it cool. The thermostat does not have a failsafe. It's a mixing thermostat that allows warm and cool coolant to mix before entering the engine. This is so you minimize the shock of expansion and contraction to engine components, allowing the gaskets to keep their seal.But this design will allow a small amount of coolant to circulate while shut. Call me anytime you have a question. Look forward to seeing you at our meeting next week.

[jgc61sr2002]

Dave - You definitaly did the right thing by having your Marauder flatbedded to the dealer. The minor problem could have compounded. Glad you are back on the road. :up:

[Marauderman]

Dave- Glad to read your problem was resolved without REAL problems...and your back on the road :banana:

and of course --guess what I'll be checking tomorrow ( even though the MM is at the paint shop again) gotta make sure the tires haven't moved ....took all numbers down before leaving )

Thanks to your heads-up and ---you gotta love this site........... :rock:

[Agent M79]

All in all this ended well.

I've drove it home and back today and no problems.

I checked my parking spot at work and my driveway at home and saw no puddles, stains, or other telltale signs of leakage. Came up empty.

Even tho I told the dealer not to flash the pcm and give me the bad thermostat (if that was the problem), they did not hassle me over covering the repair or the techs time. I am pretty sure they know I've made some modifications at this point.

Ah well. Looking forward to the 6000 mile service. Get my new stronger "pumpkin" put on. Wasn't able to source anyone to mod it for me, but that's ok. Can't really see it anyway.

[junehhan]

Wow, what a scare, but the important thing is that you got the Marauder back before the weekend.

[Murader03]

Gee! Same thing I had happen Tuesday, or was it Wednesday. Anyway, mine was the OEM thermostat with 46K+ miles. Fixed under extended warranty!