What are the chances that the replacement thermostat housing (it may be a UroSpare) has a bad thermostat? I replaced mine and now after driving about 10 miles it shoots straight to HOT and it is. I replaced all of the housing except for the short “riser” that sits over the valley. (I did not need to pull the throttle body off this way.) I have no leaks and am not losing any coolant.

I am waiting for her to cool off and the temperature outside to drop a few more degrees before I tear into her again. Is there anything I could have screwed up and missed that could cause this to happen. I know my mind is not that great nowadays so I may have forgotten something. I am pretty sure all the electronics are all connected and are correct. I also replaced the water pump (AC Delco, the serpentine belt, the upper radiator hose, the coolant reservoir and both hoses that connect to the reservoir. The lower hose is original as the replacement is a “repop” from UroSpare through SNG Barret and I feel it is too small to force onto the radiator. The problem with buying parts to have on hand is you cannot return them after a couple of years go by.

 

you didn’t bleed it right

guaranteed

 

Maybe but I don’t really think refilling the system is that complicated. Having the bleed screw helps. Regardless it is easy enough to refill her and try again before I swap out the new thermostat. I hope you are right since I managed to install the new thermostat assembly, water pump hoses and serpentine belt without breaking any bolts, losing any parts or snapping off anything (except one plastic tab off the coolant level sensor’s electrical plug. Age and heat wreaks havoc sometimes. I will top her off and try again. Thanks.

 

they’re not hard just jack it up open the screw and watch it empty the whole expansion tank

 

I pretty much do that every time I flush the coolant. However this time I did something different. In the spirit of full disclosure I must post the fact that I fo got to tighten the bottom clamp on the lower radiator hose. It pretty much blew itself off the radiator at some point in my initial test drive. Given the sudden loss of pressure and coolant I do not know how much of a chance the thermostat even had to open. We will see today. At least I found a problem. Operator error/stupidity. Today I will test her again.

 

Check & see if the temperature sensor is plugged in.
Could be i posted too soon,

 

The sensor is in, but without the tab that clips the wiring assembly to the sensor. I thought everything was great after I fixed the clamp. I drove about 2 miles to my daughter's house where after a hour I topped off the system to get rid of the low coolant message. Then I drove home and checked it again because the message came back. The tank was empty. When I added water I heard the unmistakable sound of water striking the driveway..

About dark I went out and pulled the expansion tank one more time. This time I believe I had not pushed the heater hose onto the quick connected on the bottom of the expansion tank firmly enough and it was not fully connected. I had pushed it on until I heard a click but now I think the spring clip may have still been pulled out when I installed it and the click I heard was just the clip snapping into place on the hose not the same as when the quick connect it actually fully connected. However, I now see another potential issue. Since I have now removed the upper radiator hose at least 3 times since I initially replaced it, I have concerns about the radiator itself. Last night I had placed a plastic container under the car to catch any coolant and when I was connecting the hoses I heard something strike the bottom of the container. It was pieces of the radiator inlet's flared end. Meant to help secure the hose, now all I have are the small grooved/lines cut into the inlet. Do you think it be alright or should I go ahead and place the order for a radiator? Here are before and after pictures.

 

Looks like replacement time soon to me.

 

Mine was like that, but it was also cracked where that inlet blends in to the radiator side tank. I couldn't see where the steam was coming from so I took it for a pressure test, they proclaimed the radiator tank cracked. Once I got the radiator out it was plain to see, but in the car, and as tight as things are up there at the front of the engine bay, it was impossible to see in situ.

The radiator is very cumbersome to remove! the fan and shroud are about an hour all by themselves. If you get an air conditioning shop to evacuate the system and disconnect the tope line to the condenser, that will greatly ease the pain of radiator removal. That upper line wraps around the top of the radiator and is simply in the way!

 

New radiator required and check the AC condenser pipe joints for leaks.
New o rings can cure any leaks.