Cooling problem on my RT? I'm not sure ...

[cadzilla74]

OK, this is weird ... Flashpaq says there are no DTC's ... car is running hot (not overheating, just higher than normal) and there is a hot antifreeze smell when I shut it off after it has been running a while ... coolant bottle shows right between Min Fill and Max Fill line and the level has not moved at all but there is definitely coolant dripping slowly from someplace (overflow?) .... I am not hearing my fans come on when it gets hot ... I don't know if I've got a fan problem, a thermostat problem, a clog in the radiator ... I'm at a loss ....

Any info would be welcome ... I'm also PM'ing about this to see if I can get it looked at before I fry something.

[Mecha]

could be a bad thermostat . easy change i would goto a 180 anyways...

could be the flashpack did something to the fans... it can happen and has.

could be bad switch or bad fans.

take the flashpac tune out and see if it continues to happen..

[cadzilla74]

could be a bad thermostat . easy change i would goto a 180 anyways...

could be the flashpack did something to the fans... it can happen and has.

could be bad switch or bad fans.

take the flashpac tune out and see if it continues to happen..

Thanks for the quick reply ....

Flashpaq tune has not been changed and has been "in place" for over a year since the last update to my TCM was done with the StarScan ... this is only a 2 day old problem ... it's not a Flashpaq issue, I simply hooked it up to "read" if I had thrown any DTC's.

Could definitely be the thermostat but I thought these things were supposed to fail "open"? A change to a 180 stat will get done if this is the cause, perfect timing for a new mod ... lol.

I'm suspecting fan switch failure but I'm surprised that didn't throw a code ... I could be wrong about the fans, they might be running at low speed and will come on high speed if I let it get hotter ... I can always hear them when they are on high speed but I'm not sure what temp triggers that to happen.

I'm a little suspicious as to why I don't see the coolant level in the fill-bottle move up and down as the car is started/turned off ... I would expect to see some kind of circulation there ... would this indicate a stuck shut thermostat?

Thanks again Mecha ... I PM'ed Rev Scorpion to see if he can squeeze me in or I might go see WrenchJeff over at his shop.

[Mecha]

no problem hope its an easy fix.

still need to come see you with the star scan

[cadzilla74]

^^^ Yep, I haven't forgotten ya ... me and Brad are on totally opposite shifts at work for another couple of weeks and it's hard to meet up when one guy is on days and the other is on nights ...lol. Plus with my band playing every weekend I'm not able to just cruise over to his place like I used to on a Friday or Saturday night. I will get it in the beginning of October when our shifts are back in phase.

[blacksax1]

X2 on the 180 degree. Any spots on the ground from a leak?

[Rev Scorpion]

Easy test for fan operation:
Turn on the A/C. Fans should turn on within a few seconds.

You need to replace the thermostat and gasket. Its leaking.
Replace it with a 180 t-stat and ALWAYS use a new gasket (its an o-ring I believe).

Thermostats NEVER fail open. Even "failsafe" thermostats never seem to.
(OK, never is too strong of a word, but I think in 17+ years I have seen maybe 3 that did.)
Thermostats typically fail by either not opening when they should and causing the car to run hot, or they fail partially open which causes the car to run hot.

No, you will not see any indication of circulation in the radiator tank.

Give me a call (817-905-6144) or shoot me a PM if you need me to take care of it (I have time Thursday PM).

[Mecha]

carquest is the only after market place to get the gasket. otherwise your paying 35 bucks at teh dealer since they only sell it with the T-stat

i have one extra oring from a LXF GB.

i can get you the Part number for carquest if you like.

[Rev Scorpion]

holy crap, you are right!

the only available t-stat and gasket is a stock 205 (but it includes the gasket :) ).
That wont work!

[Mecha]

i will post the part number tomorrow i got it at home

[cadzilla74]

I may have hit the panic button too soon...lol. On the way home this morning at 6am the ambient temp was 72 degrees and I pulled up my EVIC and watched the engine temp. It heated right up to 195 and then stayed solid on that temp all the way home. It would creep up a couple of degrees to maybe 198-200 under acceleration or climbing a hill and then immediately drop back to 195 when I got back to cruising at 65mph. On the way into work tonight at 5pm in rush hour traffic and 90 degrees ambient I was still getting a nice, steady 195-197 temp with the AC blowing cold. Until I got to the usual traffic cluster where it was stop and go for 10 miles. The engine temp still never got above 212 and whenever it hit that it would cool itself back down to around 203-205. So I'm obviously getting circulation and the thermostat is definitely opening and closing in response to subtle temp changes. I still haven't heard the fans come on high yet but maybe I just got used to hearing them all the time when stuck in traffic and it was over 100 degrees out all summer. My suspicion is now that I have a weeping type leak either around the thermostat gasket or maybe a loose clamp on a radiator hose ... I'll try to track it down and also let the car idle long enough in the driveway to get hot enough to where the fans should come on high speed.

This is my 2nd thermostat in this car. The dealer replaced the first one under warranty almost 2 years ago. That one did fail "open" and for a couple of weeks in November that year I wasn't getting a whole lotta love from the heater. Then I realized the car wasn't getting any warmer than mid to high 170's most of the time. I can't see where the leak is coming from yet because nothing is hitting the ground. It is just making the belly-pan wet so I need to get that off of there ... the wet belly-pan and the smell when getting out of the car when the engine is still hot are the only symptoms I really have to go by right now. But the car is running fine so I'm just going to wait until this weekend when I can take my time and find out where this leak is and check the fan operation thouroughly.

Thanks guys for the suggestions. I do want to drop in a 180 ... but I might wait until after winter to swap it out unless the T-Stat is where my leak is .... I do NOT like the cold, it's why I moved to TX in the first place ... God bless heated seats, too ...