Is my 2.5 V6 cooked?

[BaroqueMoon]

Originally Posted by kaiser

Yes there is a serious problem. A blocked stat fits the bill. Interesting to see what you end up with.
Cook the thermostat when you get it out, that should show you.

My first car was a 1972 Holden HQ straight 6.
If you had overheating issues you took the radiator cap off, pulled out the thermostat, cooked it in boiling water and if it didn't move you replaced it with a $3 part.
Sounds great huh.
Thing is, you had to put up with vinyl bench seats front and rear and no air con at all.
I don't miss that

[SD1too]

Originally Posted by BaroqueMoon

The thermostat housing isn't leaking but it sure seems like a stuck thermostat.

You can check by feeling the bottom radiator hose (the one with the bleed screw in it). If it feels significantly cooler than the top hose then it points to a faulty thermostat.

Make sure that the clips on the straight pipe are pushed fully outwards after assembly. They should be in close contact with the water pump inlet and the 'stat housing.

Simon

[BaroqueMoon]

Originally Posted by SD1too

You can check by feeling the bottom radiator hose (the one with the bleed screw in it). If it feels significantly cooler than the top hose then it points to a faulty thermostat.

Make sure that the clips on the straight pipe are pushed fully outwards after assembly. They should be in close contact with the water pump inlet and the 'stat housing.

Simon

It's tips like those that make all the difference.
Thank you.

[BaroqueMoon]

Well I'll be darned :P
Currently on my fourth beer after testing the new thermostat install.
IT WORKS!

Arctic's guide was a godsend as I followed his instructions to the tee.
I am rather delighted. It's the most involved mechanical job I have ever done and it has gone well.
What a relief!

The last time the thermostat needed replacing was due to the temp being too low. It cost $1200 dollars to replace.
This time a replacement was needed due to the temp being too high and it cost me $70 for a header cap and $190 for the thermostat kit.
I have saved a fortune and have learned a great deal along the way.

Thank you all for being so helpful.
I literally couldn't have done it without all the help.

Cheers

[rustymotor]

Great sense of achievement to fix it yourself, well done

[egremont]

Originally Posted by BaroqueMoon

Ambient Temp 22 in the garage. Nice day.

Testing at idle with a/c off.

After 6 minutes
Dash board Temp gauge at 9 o'clock
IPK reports 75 degrees

At 14 minutes
Temp hits 100
Fan starts

At 17 minutes
Temp hits 106
Fan increases speed

At 22 minute mark
Temp at 112
Fan increases speed

At 28 minutes
Temp 116
Dash gauge starts to move above 9 o'clock

Shutdown.

I have the front bumper off and the air box removed (I was getting ready to do the keyhole method of stat change) and with such good access I can see no leaks.

At least the thing isn't spraying water from around the cap. So that's a positive

The thermostat housing isn't leaking but it sure seems like a stuck thermostat.

Ah well...I was halfway done toward replacing it anyway.

Matthew, Did you have your engine idling over at say 650 rpm? Or did you work your engine harder. I assume your car was stationary inside your garage ["ambient Temp 22 in the garage"] whilst taking the temperature readings.

If this is the case, your car will not have the benefit of the additional forced volume of air that would be "rammed" into the radiator by your vehicles forward motion on the road.

Workshops, at least in my locality, always place a high performance fan directed to the radiator to compensate for the lack of "headwind" - and to prevent the car overheating.

Well done! It gives you a great sense of satisfaction when doing it yourself.

p.s. I am always wary of exhaust fumes in an enclosed space.

[BaroqueMoon]

Originally Posted by egremont

Matthew, Did you have your engine idling over at say 650 rpm? Or did you work your engine harder. I assume your car was stationary inside your garage ["ambient Temp 22 in the garage"] whilst taking the temperature readings.

If this is the case, your car will not have the benefit of the additional forced volume of air that would be "rammed" into the radiator by your vehicles forward motion on the road.

Workshops, at least in my locality, always place a high performance fan directed to the radiator to compensate for the lack of "headwind" - and to prevent the car overheating.

Well done! It gives you a great sense of satisfaction when doing it yourself.

p.s. I am always wary of exhaust fumes in an enclosed space.

Hi Bruce
I tested at idle speed (650 rpm) so that I could get easily reproducible results and the warming would be very gradual.
I had the garage door and windows open minimising the exhaust fume issue.

I was very satisfied with my efforts I must admit