the excuse
1/2 ton status
if water is going through my radiator at start up do i need a new thermostat?
CK5
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theromstat
- Thread starter the excuse
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4xcrazy
3/4 ton status
yes, yours is either stuck open, or just plain missing
bigyellowjimmy
1/2 ton status
not necessarily, water will circulate some even with the stat closed. if your engine temp isnt the same as your thermostat heat range then replace it. Use a premium quality one from napa or carquest, they are much more accurate and last longer.
4xcrazy
3/4 ton status
I do agree the water will move alittle, but it should not be circulating at full speed through out the system, thats all i was saying. /forums/images/graemlins/waytogo.gif
99firehawk
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Water will circulate through the heater core. If your core return line dumps into the radiator under the nect this may be what your seeing.
4xcrazy
3/4 ton status
OK, let me rephrase this, if your engine is not warming or heating up at all,,"chances" are you "might" need a new t-stat. I had a problem with a vehicle not warming up to normal running temps and it was a slightly stuck open t-stat.
the excuse
1/2 ton status
hey good call on the no t stat thing. i opened it just to find a huge hole and no thermostat. i gues thats why the gauge i put in didnt read above 110. put in an 180 degree and now it heats up perfectly. Tons of steam comes out the tailpipes before it warms up though. i think is the head gasket or something. water comes out with the steam in dropletts. once it opens the steam clears up. my heater works reall good now except the motors burning out.
bigyellowjimmy
1/2 ton status
yep, your gauge temp should match your thermostat.....better start pulling spark plugs to check for coolant in a cylinder, good luck
99firehawk
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Steam is normal, to a point. White smoke on the othher hand = bad.
the excuse
1/2 ton status
i took off the valve covers ant they seemed clean, no water inside them. does that mean its the gasket thats bad, not the heads? how hard is it to change the head gasket?
4xcrazy
3/4 ton status
Generally you can smell coolant burning or coming out of the tailpipe if your head gasket is leaking, you will get some moisture out of the tail pipe at first and for alittle while afterwards, this is just condensation and the catalytic convertor working like it should, if after running about 30 minutes or so in cold weather you are still puffing out a good amount of steam and it smells funny, that you might want to have it looked at. You can also check the spark plugs, if you have one or two plugs really clean, with no carbon or black colored look to them, then get it checket out. When water enters the combustion chamber, it will clean off any carbon deposits. Thats not good if it's in one or two cylinders. Not good either if it's in all of them and you didn't do it,,, Did this help out any? Did you get enough information to check for a blown headgasket? /forums/images/graemlins/waytogo.gif
Wow, and to think, running without a t-stat makes a vehicle run hot some say. /forums/images/graemlins/rolleyes.gif (water will flow too fast through the system!!!)
I guess I can't be all "rolleyes" lol, situations are different. BTDT with a car though, no t-stat and it NEVER warmed up.
I guess I can't be all "rolleyes" lol, situations are different. BTDT with a car though, no t-stat and it NEVER warmed up.
4xcrazy
3/4 ton status
It depends on the temperature, out here in Arizona, during the summer (115 degrees) they definately run hotter. But i recently had one fail on me, it was barely stuck open, and being somewhat cool outside, it would not heat up at all. I even put cardboard in front of half of the radiator. They are weird.
