car was overheating think its the thermo stat????????????

 

Perez, a vehicle overheating can be caused by any of 3 things. 1) bad thermostat, 2) bad waterpump, and 3) lack of flow (either by blockage or by loss of coolant). With that being said, a new thermostat is a cheap piece to replace and may fix the issue that you are having.

I would recommend if you do change out the thermostat, this would be a good time to also flush the cooling system. This will help remove any particulate floating around or that might be stuck to the cooling system walls. This will eliminate 2 of your possible causes. if you are still having issues, then you can be almost assured that you have a bad water pump then.

Another simple check that you can do to see if it is the thermostat is to start the car and let it come up to near normal temp. Then put your hand on the upper hose. If the hose is cool/warm, then that helps to confirm a bad thermostat. If the hose is hot, then you are most likely looking at a bad water pump.

Hope this helps.

 

is there a simple way to change out the thermostat? seems kinda tight. I need to change mine. Looks like the seal in mine is worn and i see wetness around the bolts.

 

Just did mine a week ago. It is very tight I had a crack in the upper radiator hose (top of hard plastic"T"), which includes the thermo housing. Easiest way is to lift car, drain coolant from bottom of radiator, disconnect and remove air filter housing, hoses and thermo housing and replace. You'll need needle nose pliers, angled ratchet, and some patience. Second thought you'll need to remove battery and it's box for elbow room.