Well my car began to overheat again.. Looks like the thermostat failed again . I've replace like 5 thermostats in like three years! I keep buying them from autozone(160degree) because they only carry them or can get them the next day . What else can I use or buy locally ?? I even drilled a small hole in the thermostat like some say but they keep failing !
Because the upper radiator hose looks all inflated up but with no water in the hose and that's what's been happening in the past. So I been changing the thermostat and it all good after that so that what I'm thinking this time that the thermostat is done !
Is this the original 25 year old radiator? If so, replace it. It probably isn't flowing worth a crap and leaking under pressure. If your fluid level is dropping, then it is leaking. Cooling is a closed system.
There are 2 items I have never seen in working on turbo Buicks for 25 years, one is a bad stock thermostat, and ANY parts store that had 160 degree thermostat for an 1986 or 1987 turbo engine? To have a stock or proper thermostat go bad in a 1987 GN 5 times in 3 years is improbable and certainly indicates another problem somewhere else under the hood like cooling fan, radiator, water pump or....?
Well the radiator could be bad ... Probably not flowing what it should be . It is an original I think that I got off another GN about 8 years ago .i had the radiator tested as soon as I got it and all seem ok but years have gone by since ..so should i replace the thermostat since I'm draining the fluid and where should I get it . I'm in Cali so somewhere close by would be helpfull . And water pump is less than a year old . So that should be good.also i forgot to mension that after coming home from a drive , my coolant resevior will somehow drip fluid . Like the pressure spits it out??
If u want to verify that the t-stat is working properly, boil some water in a microwave oven and immediately drop in the t-stat . It should start to open in a few seconds and be fully opened in about 30 seconds.
You're in Cali. If you think it's the thermostat just remove it. It's fine to drive around without it. If the car runs cool then you're probably right, bad tstat. But like Nick said, probably more to it than that. You have 25 years of crud built up in your cooling system.
Any time my coolant overflow bottle showed leakage at the cap, it meant, "change my headgasket please". Like others said, run w/o your thermostat. Make sure your fan or fans come on as well.
Speedn v6 has it right: If the top hose is empty, the engine is overheating, no fluids on the ground, forget the stat... Go to a leakdown test.
I'd check your oil for chocolate milk first thing,if clear,get a differant radiator,i bought a speacil fail-safe thermostat (it locks open on overheats)when i had this issue,was not the stat, was a cracked cylinder sleve pressurizing the coolant passages. I'd loose all coolant in 20 minutes drive time. an hoses buldged.
