NEED HELP = THERMASTAT REPLACEMENT

[WANTED]

on my way to the track tonight my temp would climb to 225 then go back to 190.
i had the heat on high getting warm air, not hot. the temp keep going back and
forth, eventually all air coming out turned cold. i was able to get it home without
over heating. i did pull over and checked the coolant level which was fine and
no noise was coming from the water pump, also no fluid leaking underneath. i had
noticed the temp doing this right away the last 2 times i drove my car. when the
temp would go back to 190 it stayed there, but not this time. this leads me to
belive its the thermastat, if anyone thinks its may be something else please post
what you think it might be. i did find a thermastat at the local salvo autoparts
store. its made by STANT and is 190 degree, part number 14539.

WHAT DO I NEED TO REMOVE TO GET THE THERMASTAT OUT. its under the front of the
intake manifold but i see i can get to the bolts. TOP OF BOLTS HAVE THE STAR
DESIGN, so i guess i can use a star bit or sockect wrench. DO I HAVE ENOUGH ROOM
TO GET THE HOUSING OFF AND OUT OF THE WAY TO CHANGE THE THERMASTAT OR DO I NEED
TO REMOVE ANYTHING ELSE TO DO IT.

DOES ANYONE HAVE THE SERVICE MANUAL STATING HOW TO DO THIS AND IF SO WOULD YOU
POST IT OR EMAIL ME THE PAGES FOR THIS. IF ANYONE HAS DONE THIS BEFORE PLEASE
POST IT, PM ME, EMAIL ME [email protected] or call me on my cell 443-807-0503.

i would really appreciate any help. thanks in advance, tom

 

[99 R/T 10]

Hey Tom,
The intake does have to come off to change out the thermostat, but if the temp is changing wildly, I would guess it might be the sensor. It's cheaper and easier to change out. Let me see if I can scan in the pages out of the service manual.

 

[Jim Sullivan]

I replaced my thermostat without taking off the intake last year. Tough job. Lots of patience. Factory hose clamps biggest problem.

 

[99 R/T 10]

Depends on the year! Gen I cars can be done without removal(92-96 RT's), Gen II is tougher, never heard anybody able to do it without removing the intake.

 

[WANTED]

thanks for your input so far guys. i just spoke with viperjohn on the
phone and it seems i most likely have 2 problems.

1 - reserve is very low

which takes us to 2

2 - air pockects now in system, caused by sucking in air and no fluid from
reserve.

i hope this is the problem. i will be picking up coolant at the dealership
tommorrow as they are the only one's still carrying the green antifreeze.

also as a note john brought up a good point. my car only has 2000 miles on it
and it still is really just getting broken in. the last two times i've driven
the car its been cold out so i was turning on the heat. by turning on the heat
it sends coolant to all heater hoses which most likely were not full and had
air in them. using the heat requires more coolant so if there is no or not enough
coolant in the reserve its sucking air. (lol, makes sence to me) john stated
that as fast as the car would cool back down having air in the system would
act exactly this way. I HOPE HE'S RIGHT LOL

i'll let all know how it plays out.

AGAIN A BIG THANKS TO ALL YOU GUYS FOR YOUR HELP

THIS IS JOHN WITH THE HAMMER LOL, AND ME WITH THE EYES POPPING OUT

 

[ViperJohn]

Hopefully the problem is taken care of now.

 

[Knight Viper]

Hey Tom, Sorry we missed you last night. I will be more than happy to bring you my manual if you need it, just give me shout and good luck with you quest…John that was a good thought, my upper coolant bottle is fine but when I pulled my front fascia the overflow bottle behind it was empty

 

[93Cobra]

WANTED,

Let us know if burping the system fixed the problem. This is the exact thing that is happening to my 97. The only difference is that I am also getting a coolant smell when I come to a stop. It is not leaking anywhere so its weird. I am going to try and burp the system this weekend.