Brand new theromostat not opening?

[Drifting in 808]

So heres the problem. ive changed my thermostat twice now and neither of them was working? idk if i had super bad luck and got 2 faulty ones or what...but anyway, i gutted out my old thermostat because i wanted to see if that was the problem. i ran my car with just the gutted one for about a week before i figured it was time to try for a new thermo agian... so i bought a new one from napa for 20 bucks and it still did the same thing as the first 2 i got. does anyone have a explanation for me or can help me out with whats going on. i dont want to run without the thermo because it craps my mileage on cold start.

[ben_cb7]

so why do you say your thermostat is bad? is it getting really hot or something? do you have it in backwards? sounds dumb but people do it a lot without realizing it

[Drifting in 808]

yes, both thermostats were faulty i guess? or maybe i had it backwards...it only fit in one way so i dont know how i could have it backwards.i say it was bad because it was overheating, but wasnt without the thermo.

[sin2k5]

yes, both thermostats were faulty i guess? or maybe i had it backwards...it only fit in one way so i dont know how i could have it backwards.i say it was bad because it was overheating, but wasnt without the thermo.

If you really want to test your thermostat:

Put your thermostat in a pot of water and boil it. Watch it to see if it opens/closes like it's supposed to.

But if your problem is overheating, then it sounds like you might have other cooling issues. For some reason, I doubt you got 3 defective thermostats. $20 for a thermostat is also excessive, try: http://www.rockauto.com/catalog/x,ca...,parttype,2200

Do both of your lower/upper radiator hoses get warm/hot?
Neither should be cool at any time after the engine has been running.
Does your passenger side fan come on after 20min+? (thermo-sensor)
Leaking coolant? Water in your oil (or oil bubble in your radiator)?

Worse case scenario -- just blast your heat (dissipates heat away into the cabin) on high if your car starts to overheat while driving until you can stop and look into it. Excessive overheating will lead to a warped cylinder head.

[Drifting in 808]

im positive that its a thermostat problem...when i run with a metal ring+gasket my car does not overheat at all and runs fine, just takes a while to warm up. when ever i put in a thermostat in, it overheats. i had to have put it in the right way because it only fits oneway... i cant figure out my problem... why is it overheating... 3 brand new thermos that are faulty doesnt make sense. its a 64mm 180 degree thermostat.

[91b20ed]

is the fan coming on? probly have a bad fan switch.

[Drifting in 808]

ok, maybe i wasnt clear enough because people are asking things i already said. SOMETHING TO DO WITH THE THERMO STAT IS BAD!!! its not the fan, its not a switch, its some thing to do with thermostat.

[91b20ed]

ok, maybe i wasnt clear enough because people are asking things i already said. SOMETHING TO DO WITH THE THERMO STAT IS BAD!!! its not the fan, its not a switch, its some thing to do with thermostat.

no need for caps, your not providing enough imformation for us to help you. all i know about your problem is it gets hot when the tstat is in and runs cool when its not. doesnt give me much basis for diagnosis. you need to put the thermostat back in and wait for it to run the heat cycle and watch to see if the fan comes on. this will let us take the next step in diagnosis, this is how the process of ilimination works.

[Drifting in 808]

i run with toggle switches when my fans are on it still heats up.

[sin2k5]

A good thermostat will not cause overheating. I'm just going to take a stand and say -- there is no way that all of your thermostats are defective(.) Taking it out will almost always cause the car to run cool, regardless. So that is misleading. You can have a head gasket leak and it can still read normal temp with a tstat out.

[Drifting in 808]

ok, thankyou for clearing that up for me. but what other possibilitys could it be then... it has a brand new radiator in it not even a month old, brand new TSU. i almost want to run it without the thremostat, but it gimps my mileage.Sorry for being kind of a dick, ive been having this problem for quite a while now and no one was able to help me =(

[cp[mike]]

maybe with the lack of a fan coming on at the right time, the car is overheating... and by removing the thermostat and letting it circulate freely, you are allowing it to cool down enough to hide the fact that the fan isnt kicking on... but still not fixing the problem. have you considered this scenario?

i understand you are frustrated with the problem, but you came here to request the suggestions and diagnostic help of a group of people who know these cars well, and considering your progress with finding a solution (and the very low probability of getting 3 bad tstats) it is obvious that you need to be a little open minded to entertaining other possibilities, without being defensive about it. thats how it goes with working on fixing anything, especially older cars...

[Drifting in 808]

maybe with the lack of a fan coming on at the right time, the car is overheating... and by removing the thermostat and letting it circulate freely, you are allowing it to cool down enough to hide the fact that the fan isnt kicking on... but still not fixing the problem. have you considered this scenario?

i understand you are frustrated with the problem, but you came here to request the suggestions and diagnostic help of a group of people who know these cars well, and considering your progress with finding a solution (and the very low probability of getting 3 bad tstats) it is obvious that you need to be a little open minded to entertaining other possibilities, without being defensive about it. thats how it goes with working on fixing anything, especially older cars...

it still gets hot and overheats on the freeway tho, i think regardless of fan coming on at right time, at 60mph that should be enough air going through. its a new radiator.

[SilverShadow]

Yes ...frustration will cloud your ability to get it fixed. I had somewhat similar problems and was going to suggest radiator...but you got it. I ran a round trip from LA to Vegas with above H and opened windows an heater on so I know frustration! Mine was water pump plus radiator. No way three tsats are bad. The test mentioned to boil will put your mind at ease if you still doubt the ones you bought. Note the temp it opens and make sure it's not the wrong one in the box. Use one from a working car and see if it heats up again. Check level of anti-freeze. Every repair goes from small to large. People giving you suggestions are not in your driveway and can't guess what you've looked at..so they can only suggest from their past experiences and your descriptions. Doctor to patient over the internet. I'd go with the transplant test approach from another car I mentioned.

[accordztech]

if you suspect bad thermostat, let car get up to operating temp by driving it around. Feel the top hose, then feel the bottom. If there is a temp difference its a bad thermostat.

and you can have 1,2,or 3 bad thermostats if you got it at the auto store. ALWAYS get an oem one.

if it overheats on the freeway, bleed the system. back wash the radiator for debris. It can be a head gasket if air keeps getting into the system.