Problems, Problems, Problems :( Help Please

[ninjajim4]

This maybe very inneficient but have you thought of running the car without the thermostat for a while? at least just to see if it is flowing.

+1. that's the very first thing i would try... you don't really NEED a thermostat at all in a warm weather. they're like 10 bucks too, and easy to change

[onlytrueromeo]

^ yeah thats what I wanted to know, if I could do that. I'll try disconnecting it.


All my belts are torqued/set to spec, they seem to be spinning fine.

My coolant lines should not be screwed up - im pretty sure I triple checked everything, If I did, I dont think it would matter as most of them just push water through so it shouldn't matter what way it flows.

I would love to check and see if coolant is moving (which I think it is). Last time I ran without the cap, it was spitting up at the filler neck, not just because it was hot. No plugs in my exhaust, it blows out fine. No blockages in my hoses (as far as I know) because I reinstalled every one. When I squeeze ANY coolant line, I can hear the water moving elsewhere in the system.

I did notice that the car seems to at least TRY to idle with the IAC disconnected...it just idles very low and rough.

I'm going to go out and disconnect the thermostat and try it again.

[Stablo87]

It's not about disconnecting it, you have to take it off the housing. Are you sure you aren't talking about your temp sensor?

The thermostat is at the end of the upper rad hose.

Also what you may want to do is take both radiator caps off and start filling the one closer to the left until both sides overflow with coolant. The one on the right should overfill first, when that happens put the cap on that one and keep filling the left one.

[onlytrueromeo]

Yeah I can't disconnect the thermostat, I thought there was aplug for it. I guess my next step is to take off the hose, and take out the thermostat?

its full of coolant, I put it in and it overflows.

I tried running it again, and it still won't idle. if I leave the filler cap off, it ends up spitting out small amounts of coolant.

[onlytrueromeo]

OK, more info.

Ran the car for a few minutes, until it got up to temp. How long does a ZE normally tak to get up to operating temp on an average warm day? from the moment I started it I could basically see the needle rising.

I had to stay on the gas pedal to get it to stay running, otherwise it still dies. Fan kicked on about when I thought it would, so I thought that was a good sign.

However, coolant is getting HOT in a few specific places, by the IAC/Throttle Body and by the filler neck (where the temp sensors plug in) Coolant is COLD by the reservoir, and when I took the cap off by the reservoir, cold coolant boiled over. (It was not enough to fill up the reserve, but when I took the cap off, it pushed water out, there was a bit of pressure)

Should I attempt to change the thermostat with the one from the K8?

Is it normal for headers to already be discolored after so short a use? If not, maybe my exhaust is too hot? Could that be right?


I AM GETTING NO CODES, no matter if I'm running in limp mode w/ the pins jumped, or regular. I've tried resetting many times, but my problem is not with that.

[Nd4SpdSe]

Don't worry about codes, you won't get any with your problem.

Ya, the thermostats should be interchangable.

[onlytrueromeo]

OK I guess that's my next step...


I wish this were easier.

[Stablo87]

I would just suggest to run it with out the thermostat for a while.

Also, when you take the thermostat out you can check it by boiling it in a pot with water. If you have a thermometer in the water while its heating up you can see at what temp it is opening at.

It might help to narrow your search for the solution.

[onlytrueromeo]

Thanks guys, it seems that removing the thermostat has allowed my car to NOT overheat, it just doesn't quite get warm. (Wich I think was expected.)

Now, I have another problem I found, entirely unrelated. I will be starting a new post since it doesn't quite below in this section.

[Stablo87]

Did you check the thermostat?

[onlytrueromeo]

I am going to do that. I'm beat as I got a bad headcold yesterday, and was only able to work outside for 30 mins before the g/f yelled at me to go lie back down. (fever and whatnot) I figure I have the old K8 thermostat that worked fine before, and should work now. If not, well, I'll wire a switch up to my fans and control it manually before it gets too cold

[Stablo87]

if anything get a new one, they're like 7 bucks. I'm glad its not overheating anymore tho.

How is the idle prob?

[onlytrueromeo]

Meh the idle sucks. I need to play with the screw, but its totally blocked since my TB is upside down. I'm just going to wait til I get up to school when I can put on my curve neck manifold, instead of trying to make my straight neck work.

If I rev it a little, it doesn't die and seemed to be alot better when it warmed up. I think my IAC is still being weird, but I'm getting a new TB as well, so maybe that will be fixed.

I am having big clutch problems though (I think it's big)


I don't know whether I'm unlucky or just retarded

[Stablo87]

Meh the idle sucks. I need to play with the screw, but its totally blocked since my TB is upside down. I'm just going to wait til I get up to school when I can put on my curve neck manifold, instead of trying to make my straight neck work.

If I rev it a little, it doesn't die and seemed to be alot better when it warmed up. I think my IAC is still being weird, but I'm getting a new TB as well, so maybe that will be fixed.

I am having big clutch problems though (I think it's big)


I don't know whether I'm unlucky or just retarded

i just changed my clutch like 3 weeks ago, pm me if you need help

[ninjajim4]

if it starts heating up right from the start, you DEFINITELY have a block (i know this from experience ). and if removing the thermostat stopped that from happening, then it seems pretty clear it's the thermostat that's the problem. i would just get a new one. even if it behaves in testing, it can get stuck intermittently. i'd also just use water until i got this all sorted out, save some change... you could change it out later when its 100%. and seriously... dont use the old one