my car troubles

[Saleen Cougar]

ok i found out why my car was over heating, my t-stat was stuck closed.
and then about 20 miles from my house, my car started running really bad. it turns out that on the back side of the motor, a hydolic tentioner had falled, which, releaced tention on the chain causing there to be slack in the chain, and it jumped timing. but after a little work it is all back to normal.

[CougarBum]

Good stuff, glad to hear you were able to resolve the problem Mark!

[MaverickFlyer]

I told you to pull out the t_stat on the way back from fest.

[bensenvill]

care to elaborate on the t-stat.... I'm afraid my car is getting very high on the temps but I havent spent much time looking at it.

[MaverickFlyer]

T-stat => thermostat

When they get old they tend to stick. If your lucky they stick open, if they stick close your car will overheat. Cheap and easy to replace.

[ND4SPD]

this is interesting.... its only happened once, but while driving a few weeks ago, my temp needle just started to climb, and went all the way up. Once I really got moving past 50mph (was getting on the highway) it started to cool back down. Got home, checked things, nothing seemed out of place.

Its never happened before or since... but check the t-stat you say??
i'll do that before Hamillfest :)

[MaverickFlyer]

Sometimes they stick randomly. It's a part that should be replaced as general maintenance. Although people forget about it until there car overheats. You can take it out altogether but your car will take longer to heat up. A quick fix if it sticks when your on the road.

[bensenvill]

now where will I find this sensor?

[AtomicInternet]

Dude that sucks, timing chain tensionor? I didn't even know we had one.

As for the thermostat, same thing happened to me after my engine was sitting for 6 months, I think it being dry for so long broke or jammed it. Ironically Mark is the one that diagnosed it immediately. Since I needed a new one I decided to put in a colder opening one (cycles coolant to the radiator at a lower temp than stock) to help keep my engine cooler.

Thermostat is on the driver side of the engine below and slightly forward of the throttle body. It's on the "octopus" of coolant lines that join together from the engine right before the line to the radiator. There are two screws that hold the line together, you have to remove them to pull out the thermostat and it's a pain in the butt (and leaks coolant quite a bit).

Matt it sounds like your fan or fan switch might be bad if it cooled down once you got on the highway. Broken thermostat would keep it hot regardless of speed (or maybe the speed jostled it open again).

Speaking of coolant, I've got Ron's problem now with a leaky water pump gasket. I'm waiting for it to spew coolant everywhere before I replace it so I can enjoy the same stink Ron did when his went.

[MaverickFlyer]

Keep an eye on it Brad, the last thing you want is to overheat the motor and blow it up!

[EternalOne]

Actually, at highway speeds our car keeps itself good and cool (enough to stay in the middle of the temp sensor). When you stop, tho, it'll climb to red within 30 seconds. I found this out the hard way when my fans were disconnected and the t-stat stuck closed. :P

E1

[bensenvill]

Dude that sucks, timing chain tensionor? I didn't even know we had one.


actually we have 2.

[ClaymoreWW]

Keep an eye on it Brad, the last thing you want is to overheat the motor and blow it up!

no big deal, mark...his motor is already BLOWN!

--george

[Drewmanfu0]

Dibs on Brad's supercharger if it blows! LOL

[bensenvill]

why? because yours only sucks?

[jaged]

ill take a pic for you brad when i put the 3l back together of the timing chain tensioner

[bensenvill]

ok so I am doing my best to address heating concerns. I flushed my coolant, I found and reinstalled my upper radiator shield thingy [after 4 years].

hopefully soon I can get the svt radiator and tranny cooler in.

now I poked around but am unsure where the t-stat actually is.

can someone point it out to me in this photo

http://www.newcougar.org/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=25469&stc=1&d=1153001110

[MaverickFlyer]

It's in a metal housing right below the red battery cable. I think there are 2 bolts holding it together.

[MaverickFlyer]

no big deal, mark...his motor is already BLOWN!

--george

Not that kinda Blown, or the other either! :rofl: