there were some pretty unfortunate happenings involving my wagon. i had an awful overheat and it broke down on me. i went back to it today and it started just fine. big improvement. it is overheating to an extreme extent. way above the top of the red! it'll be hot as hell but the radiator will be cold. i bought a new thermostat. a 180 degree. i'll put that in and then check compression to see just how damaged she is. thanks for everyones input.

oh yeah, it seems to stall out a bit at 31/2k rpm. what could this be?:boohoo:

Really sounds like you need a new radiator. Is it the original?

 

A thermostat is a cheap first try -- in another thread you say you're gonna replace that. But if it's the original radiator, I'm betting that won't fix the overheating problem. I went through similar stuff 6 months ago.... tried new thermostats, several flushes with stronger and stronger chemicals, etc. Eventually put in a new radiator and the temp gauge settles on halfway and never moves now.

 

I never got it heated up to the red zone. That's "blown head gasket" territory! Keep an eye on other symptoms, like white exhaust or frothy oil, or bubbles in the radiator.

 

-- Mark

Originally posted by MaroonDuneDoom

i bought a new thermostat. a 180 degree.

 

Hey bud...just curious, why didn't you buy a lower degree temp thermostat? Isn't it better to have a lower temp thermostat for top engine performance? Or am I way off on this one? Or, does the fact that you live in a winter wonderland have anything to do with the 180 degree?

 

Josh!

It's my understanding that a 180 t-stat IS a cold thermostat for this engine. I think mine has a 195 in it from the factory, but mine is set up with the all the cold-weather goodies.

180 is a cooler t-stat than stock . 195 is stock(although one of my sources says 192, whats 3 degrees between friends:D). 160 is available, but in wyoming, considering how cold it gets there, I think 180 is the way to go.

 

you said the radiator is cold.. its possible your water pumpm has gone kaput.. just a thought, wouldn't be the first person its happened to.

got the new t-stat put in and it runs at about 3/8 up the guage. i lost considerable compression and i think for sure i blew a head gasket. i'll get around to that when i find a garage or warm weather. it was just the t-stat though. stuck closed. i put it in a pan of boiling water and it remained closed. i'm loosing coolant somewhere though. i broke a plastic piece next to the t-stat housing that is involved with vacuum. i'll just go to the boneyard, they're just giving stuff away there!!!